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Why Study Latin???
Intro to Latin
Ms. Littler
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Isn’t Latin a Dead Language?
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NO!!!!!!!!!!
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Latin is still very much alive. Just because it isn’t spoken a lot,
doesn’t mean it is dead.
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New Latin words are still being created.
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Latin is the primary language of the Catholic Church.
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Latin is the official language of Vatican City (in Italy).
So many languages, especially English, are based on Latin.
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Latin Teaches You Hard Work
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Latin requires you to work hard.
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Hard work can be tough, but it is SO WORTH IT!
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Studying Latin teaches you how to think.
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Studying Latin helps train your brain.
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Studying Latin actually makes you SMARTER!!!
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English & Latin
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So many English words are based on Latin.
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We call those words “Derivatives.”
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Example: Astra + Nauta = Star Sailor = Astronaut
English and Latin grammar are very similar.
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Studying Latin may turn you into a grammar snob. Yay!
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Latin Literature
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We study Latin in order to be able to read some of the
absolute BEST pieces of literature ever written!
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Sure, you can read English translations, but so much of the
beauty can be lost in translation.
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Getting to read these works in their original language – as
they were intended to be read – is a pleasure denied to so
many people.
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For Example...
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Latin Literature
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Vergil wrote such beautiful poetry.
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He was so meticulous in his writing that he wrote on average like
3 lines each day).
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And when he died, he thought it was such garbage that he asked
his friends to burn the whole thing.
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Thank goodness they didn’t!
Caesar was so cocky and loved to talk about his great
accomplishments.
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He wrote a lot about how great he was in the Gallic Wars and
Roman Civil War.
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Veni,Vidi,Vici = I Came, I Saw, I Conquered
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Latin Literature
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Ovid had amazing imagery in his poem Metamorphoses.
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He describes a young, running woman turning into a tree in such
a beautiful way.
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A turns a group of sister into bats because they basically already
were.
Plautus’ comedy is hysterical.
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He has such funny characters and their interactions.
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A lot of the famous tv comedies we like today have very similar
situations and characters to Plautus.
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Roman History
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Roman history is pretty much one of the coolest parts of
history to study.
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Gladiators and Spartacus
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Caesar and Cleopatra
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Nero fiddling while Rome burned
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Hannibal crossing the Alps with elephants
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Mount Vesuvius erupting and burying the city of Pompeii (and
then archeologists discovering it centuries later)
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Roman Culture
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Studying how Romans lived their lives – their homes, how
they dressed, their religions, their government, their stories,
gives us a lot of insight into a lost civilization (basically a
whole other world).
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We can also compare Roman culture to modern society in
America.
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Lots of our architecture, religion, literature, systems of
government, and other things are based on Roman civilization.
We can better appreciate our society today by
understanding where it came from.
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We are going to have so much fun
and learn a lot this year!
I hope you are all as excited as I
am.
Let’s get started…