Linglot

Lately I’ve been watching a historical fiction TV series called The Tudors, which is about the reign of Henry VIII. One thing I noticed in that show, is that a lot of Latin conversation takes place, such as during the Roman Catholic ceremonies and whatnot. Latin is kind of a fascinating language to me; it sounds beautiful and sophisticated. This got me thinking: where are some good places to learn Latin on the Internet?

Even though Latin has no practical use anymore, it can be helpful to know some, especially if you’re in a scientific or medical field. I’m finding out, as a nursing student, that a lot of medical terms are based on Latin. So, having some knowledge of Latin would certainly help when I hear a medical term while on the job, or when I need to conjugate a word at a moment’s notice.

If you’re not in the medical field, it can still be beneficial to study Latin a bit to gain a better understanding of the Romance languages such as Spanish and French, which are based on Latin. As I study my medical stuff, I’m often surprised to see that a lot of the Latin words are very similar to their equivalent Spanish ones. So, I developed a way to remember my medical terms by knowing the Spanish equivalents. Also, believe it or not, the English language is also partly based on Latin too, so by learning some Latin you can gain a better understanding of English.

However, I wouldn’t spend too much time studying Latin. It’s pretty much a dead language, and you’d be better off spending the majority of your time learning a practical language like Spanish. Latin’s just good for a little exploring and, if you’re like me, learning a zillion medical terms.

Latin Learning Resources:

Latin Language

Latinum Latin Language Podcast

Downloadable Latin Textbooks and Guides

Beginners’ Latin - UK National Archives

I think it’s fun to read about people who have made significant achievements in the language-learning world. It’s inspiring to know that learning two, three, four, or even more languages is definitely possible, and is something that people today are accomplishing. You may have heard of Cardinal Mezzofanti, who was a priest that mastered a huge number of languages. In fact, during his time and earlier, it was pretty common for most people in Europe to speak a handful of languages.

But nowadays, the art of language-learning has decreased dramatically, with most people being able to speak only one or two. Americans especially are “crippled” in this area, and the majority of us can only speak our native language–English.

Ryan over at The Linguist Blogger has compiled a list of modern people who have learned how to speak multiple languages fluently. A good number of Americans are in that list, and it’s cool to read about them. Hopefully they can act as role models for us to get in gear and start learning some languages.

My sister married a Hispanic man who was born and raised here in the US, and who grew up in a bilingual home. So far they have had two kids, and he has made no effort to teach them Spanish. Just about the only Spanish they’ve learned they have gotten from their grandmother, myself, and by watching Dora the Explorer. Why doesn’t my brother-in-law teach them?

I mean, at this stage in their lives their minds are like sponges–they absorb EVERYTHING. Why not take the chance to soak up some Spanish with that sponge? So far they’ve learned how to count up to about twelve I think, and say other miscellaneous words they learned from watching TV. How hard is it to teach them a phrase or two here and there? When I asked him why he wasn’t teaching his kids Spanish, he just sort of shrugged it off.

Now, I know that a lot of bilingual people do raise bilingual children. I also know that there are a lot who don’t even bother–people like my brother-in-law. When I have kids, I’ll be sure to teach them what I learned. I wish I had someone to teach me another language or two when I was little; it is so much easier at that stage.

I came across this somewhere on the wide world of the Internet–I don’t remember where–and I thought it was interesting. I like things like this, maps and charts and whatnot about languages.

A while back I posted a map of the languages in Europe. This one is an Indo-European language “family tree.” Looks kinda neat don’t you think? It’s interesting how this group of languages is just a tiny branch in the huge tree of language.

I’m an aspiring medical student, and this semester I’m taking Anatomy and Physiology II. Last semester I took A & P I, but this semester’s class has a lot of terminology to learn. Something I’ve found interesting is that a huge number of the medical terms I’m learning are scarily similar to Spanish words I’ve learned.

That would make sense, though, because most medical terms are either Latin or Greek, and Spanish is derived from Latin, so the two languages are pretty similar. I’m glad I have a background in Spanish, because this class is so much easier with it.

This is why I think public schools should enforce more foreign language education. Learning a foreign language has so many benefits, and they all don’t have to do with the speaking part.