Latin is worth your time.
It seems to be a universal experience for American students to know almost nothing about their foreign language of choice by the time they’ve completed their language cycle in school.
Latin, more so than most languages, feels inaccessible—reserved for an erudite few locked in their ivory towers, chanting ancient hymns and poring over dusty books (or whatever one does with the knowledge of Latin).
For me personally, Latin always felt this way. It wasn’t until years after I stopped studying Latin formally when the light bulb went off. I came across this article by a professor named William Dowling who had simplified the process of learning Latin into roughly 6,500 words.
I will summarize the good professor’s insights for you here, though I would highly encourage you to read the article for yourself.
In order to learn Latin, you need to understand a few simple yet foundational concepts that would be largely unfamiliar to those whose native language is English. These include Latin’s case system and the concept of inflection.
After understanding these concepts, it is necessary to memorize all of the essential Latin grammar paradigms
At this point, you can slowly work your way through Lingua Latina, a book written completely in Latin that is meant to gradually expose all debutants and neophytes to the language. By slowly working your way through this book and doing the exercises at the end of each chapter, you will become a proficient Latinist in a matter of a few years.
Finding Your Why
Something I have noticed about working out, budgeting, and other straightforward yet difficult tasks, is that it is not about the process itself. Anyone can find a workout regimen or a budgeting guide in a matter of seconds on Google. What differentiates those who accomplish their goals and those who do not is their resolve.
Similarly, you have to decide that learning Latin can add tangible value to your life, and that it is worth prioritizing over other things that constantly demand your attention (scrolling social media, TV shows, etc…).
There is a lot of good content out there promoting the value of Latin. I would start with the Substack ‘Learn Latin’ and go from there. For my part, I see Latin as being valuable for the following reasons:
You’re given access to primary sources. Rather than relying on other people to tell you what people in the past said, you can read some of the greatest minds in the very language they wrote. This is quite literally a superpower.
While many of these texts have been translated, many haven’t. By knowing Latin, you will have access to works like Cornelius A. Lapide’s Biblical Commentaries.
You can acquire romance languages with greater facility
As someone who attends the Traditional Latin Mass, I not only get to worship in the same way as my forefathers, but I can understand the prayers being said by the priest, too. That’s a win for me.
By knowing Latin, I’ll be able to teach Latin to my future children (Sir Thomas Moore, for example, spoke to his children in Latin).
Perhaps it is the contrarian in me, but I am always intrigued by things that have been discarded by the modern zeitgeist as outdated or irrelevant. Latin, and by extension the historical thinkers one can access through Latin, fall into this category.
I teach Latin in a classical school setting and love it. If you, like me, love languages and would like to chat with someone about your language goals, sign up for a slot here and we can have a phone call. I look forward to connecting with you!
My son is a traditional priest and teaches Latin- however, I strongly believe he snd his students but especially I will enjoy and greatly benefit from this article! (Or post, essay, writing? I never know what to call someone else’s work!) Thank you so much!
I took four years of Latin in high school, partly because I felt it was the essential language for understanding just about everything else. And also because my major crush sat in the chair in front of me all four years. Yes, I was that shallow as a teenage girl. I remember very little of it, but I still appreciate what Latin brings to the table, and like Peter Darcy has said: you’re lighting a fire under me to get back into it.