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Long live Latin!
Tuesday 23 November 2010
Categories: Education, Media Influence
Did you know that classicists have the best employment record of any arts graduates? Surprised? You shouldn’t be. People who have studied the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome and their associated languages are in great demand – not least as teachers.
Why? Because, far from being long gone and irrelevant, those civilisations grappled with many of the same moral, ethical and philosophical issues that confront us today. Slavery, religion and the status of women, for example, were all explored as subjects in many different, and often highly entertaining, artistic forms. From plays to mythological tales, from wonderful art to political treatises, the vast body of Greek and Roman cultural output left very few topics of enduring debate unturned.
So what of Latin as a language? Surely there is no point continuing to teach it in schools when it long ago ceased to be spoken?
I would argue that there is every point. Latin is a language of few irregularities and pure structure – making it an excellent tool for encouraging logical thought and precision. It also forms the basis of many modern languages – providing common ground between them. You have a much better chance of being able to understand a word in French or English if, as a Latin student, you recognise its roots or prefixes.
The famous English author Dorothy Sayers wrote: “I will say at once, quite firmly, that the best grounding for education is the Latin grammar. I say this not because Latin is traditional and medieval, but simply because even a rudimentary knowledge of Latin cuts down the labour and pains of learning almost any other subject by at least 50 percent.”
So why don’t more schools teach the subjects?
There are a number of reasons including lack of resources – both in terms of time and specialist teachers – and the modern day preoccupation with the here and now, rather than the done and dusted. It’s more important to achieve the quick fix of conversational French, German or Spanish than a more in-depth look at grammatical construction which, in the end, leads to far better linguistic understanding and ability.
A new campaign Classics for All aims to give more children the opportunity to experience and enjoy studying the Classics. Listen to author and TV historian Bettany Hughes speaking about why she is backing the campaing on Woman’s Hour last week.
Latin is far from dead. It may no longer be spoken but it lives at the root of many modern day languages. It is also a key. The key to a door to an ancient world that many would be wise to consider when thinking about how our own society should or could progress. As they say, there is nothing new under the sun and, whilst the Romans and Greeks may not have had iPods or computers, many of their actions and decisions, set in a different context, could have been done or taken today.
Let’s get back to basics – bring back the classics. As they say, “ipsa scientia potestas est” – knowledge itself is power.
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