{"id":4836,"date":"2018-04-19T15:01:24","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T15:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalconversations.com\/?p=4836"},"modified":"2025-03-11T20:36:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T20:36:11","slug":"why-you-shouldnt-just-ditch-latin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalconversations.com\/blog\/why-you-shouldnt-just-ditch-latin\/","title":{"rendered":"Patience in Language Learning: Why You Shouldn&#8217;t Just Ditch Latin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div><p>This post is inspired by things I&#8217;ve seen on the Facebook groups to which I belong. The temptation to give up on Latin seems to fester around this time of year. (Coincidentally at the same time I personally get tired? I think not.) Homeschool mamas and papas and grandparents get tired, and we want to take something off our plates. I get that. There are many reasons, though, why you should not ditch Latin:<\/p>\n<h2>1. Latin Is Foundational<\/h2>\n<p><b>Latin is the subject most easily integrated into the other subjects<\/b>. Since Latin derivatives comprise 52.6 percent of English words and 90 percent of words two syllables or more, they are seen in all subjects. Chemistry and Biology are filled with Latinate vocabulary, as are logic and philosophy. Latin is really a continuous strand in the entire Challenge program. (That&#8217;s also why it&#8217;s so beneficial to <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalconversations.com\/blog\/high-school-latin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">build up your Latin for the Challenge level<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<h2>2. Latin Improves Reading Skills<\/h2>\n<p><b>Latin increases your child\u2019s comprehension in reading<\/b>. American and British authors use some big words. Remember how 90 percent of English words two syllables or more come from Latin?<\/p>\n<p>For instance, take these lines from\u00a0<em>Billy Budd<\/em>\u00a0by Herman Melville\u00a0(italicized words are Latin derivatives; parenthetical comments\u00a0are mine):<\/p>\n<p>For what can more\u00a0<em>partake\u00a0<\/em>of the\u00a0<em>mysterious\u00a0<\/em>than an\u00a0<em>antipathy\u00a0<\/em>(Latin and Greek)\u00a0<em>spontaneous\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>profound\u00a0<\/em>such as is\u00a0<em>evoked\u00a0<\/em>in certain\u00a0<em>exceptional mortals\u00a0<\/em>by the\u00a0<em>mere aspect\u00a0<\/em>of some other\u00a0<em>mortal<\/em>, however harmless he may be, if not called forth by this very harmlessness\u00a0itself?<\/p>\n<p>Every one of those \u201cfive dollar\u201d words that your student does not know decreases his or her reading comprehension. What is Melville saying here? If you know what \u201cantipathy\u201d (a strong feeling of dislike, from\u00a0<em>anti<\/em>, \u201cagainst\u201d;\u00a0<em>pathos<\/em>, \u201cemotion\u201d) and the other italicized words mean, you can see that this rhetorical question is basically saying that, in some people, sometimes a feeling of dislike is brought out (evoked) by a harmless people, perhaps because of the person\u2019s innocence itself. Billy Budd was an innocent sailor whom some people did not like simply because of his harmlessness.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Latin Builds Up English<\/h2>\n<p><b>Latin is a constant review of Essentials\u2019 grammar.\u00a0<\/b>Students have seen participles, gerunds, and infinitives in English; now it is time to use\u00a0them in another language and see\u00a0how the\u00a0constructs are the same\/different. If students do not take Latin and do not make a conscious effort to review grammar, they may lose what they have learned.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Latin Builds Up Romance Languages<\/h2>\n<p><b>Latin is the basis for the Romance languages, and the cornerstone of Western culture.<\/b>\u00a0If you want your child to study Italian, French, Spanish, Romanian, or Portuguese, Latin will give them a strong base. Romance languages become infinitely easier with\u00a0a foundation in Latin\u2014not just Henle\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/classicalconversationsbooks.com\/products\/as046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>First Year Latin<\/em><\/a>, but great Roman authors like Cicero and Virgil. As you study those authors, you will see how they relate to our culture. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams loved Virgil. In a letter to his son, Adams implored him to use the best dictionary when translating Virgil, and said, \u201cLet no Word escape you, without being understood.\u201d He then tells his son that John Drydens\u2019 English translation \u201cis good, but it is not Virgil. You will do well to Study the Difference.\u201d Adams understood that some things are lost in translation. He also understood the importance of a strong Latin background in education.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Try Scaling Before Skedaddling<\/h2>\n<p><b>Before you ditch Latin, try scaling it.<\/b> My friend Denise Jasso, a Challenge B director, says, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/classicalconversations.com\/blog\/mastering-henle-latin\/\">Scale, don\u2019t bail!<\/a>\u201d Vocabulary and grammar memorization are the most important things. Next, do some Latin-to-English translations. If you have time, maybe do English to Latin.<b>\u00a0<\/b>One strange thing I have found is that preparing for the National Latin Exam helps even the most hesitant student.<b>\u00a0<\/b>I think one reason is that it is multiple choice, so it is \u201ceasier\u201d than Henle. Another reason is that students get to learn about Roman culture and history and see its connection to their world. People usually think the National Latin Exam is for only the best students, but it is good for everyone. There is no failing and it helps you learn things that get overlooked in Henle.<\/p>\n<h2>Latin Rewards Grit!<\/h2>\n<p><b>Before you just ditch Latin, please know how important it is.<\/b> It is a major component in the &#8220;classical&#8221; part of Classical Conversations. It is easily integrated into other subjects and, in many cases, makes the other subjects easier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post is inspired by things I&#8217;ve seen on the Facebook groups to which I belong. The temptation to give up on Latin seems to fester around this time of year. (Coincidentally at the same time I personally get tired? I think not.) Homeschool mamas and papas and grandparents get tired, and we want to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":10635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[465],"tags":[3094],"class_list":["post-4836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classical-christian-education","tag-latin"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why You Shouldn&#039;t Just Ditch Latin - Classical Conversations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read, &quot;Why You Shouldn&#039;t Just Ditch Latin&quot;. 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