Latin Department: Charlie Barlow and Rebecca Rassier
Salve!
Welcome from the Latin Department
Our Goals:
Here at Christ the King, we learn Latin, the language of the ancient Romans, as our foreign
language. Our students take great pride in this defining feature of the curriculum. Our mascot,
after all, is a Roman gladiator, chosen by our first class of 2012 after learning of the revolt led
by the gladiator, Spartacus. Valuable far beyond its possibilities for unique mascots, we teach
Latin for three reasons:
1. Latin as a “gateway” language: Latin is the basis for many modern languages such as
French, Italian, and Spanish. The skills a student will practice in learning Latin are the
same skills they will need in college to succeed in any foreign language course. Our goal
is to have our students excel when they take French or Spanish or Chinese in college, by
transferring their knowledge of Latin grammar and vocabulary to those languages.
2. Latin as a way to improve English grammar: In English, the order of the words in the
sentence tells you what the sentence means, but that does not apply in Latin. In Latin,
the endings of the nouns and the verbs tell the reader what each word does in the
sentence. For instance, the endings tell you whether the subject is singular or plural,
and Latin requires you to match a plural subject with a plural verb, just as in English. By
studying Latin grammar, the students then gain a greater understanding of English
grammar. In essence, learning about the ablative case or the pluperfect tense forces
students to become more aware of English grammar.
3. Latin as a way to build English vocabulary: Latin serves as the basis for many
languages, including English. By studying Latin vocabulary, the student learns the roots
for many of our English nouns and verbs. English, for example, uses many Latin
prepositions as prefixes to words. By knowing what the prepositions mean, the
student can deduce the meaning of the English noun or verb.
Please note that all the bolded words above come from Latin root words!
ad maiorem deī gloriam
(AMDG - for the greater glory of god)