‘ ‘ ‘ Anyone who has tried to make sense of Latin after only being exposed to English all their life will understand my simultaneous frustration with the language and respect for those who have mastered it. But after spending two furious years under her tutelage trying to grasp the Latin language, I will forever deem her my intellectual superior. She looks very much like your average high school teacher, stands a few inches under the median female height and tells stories of her days working as a convenience store clerk. In most situations, she would probably come across as unremarkable. ‘ ‘ ‘ Without a doubt, one of the most impressive minds I’ve ever encountered belongs to my high school Latin teacher. Marine Corp lives by the Latin slogan, ‘Semper Fidelis’ or ‘always faithful.’ Pitt’s seal champions the motto ‘Veritas et Virtus,’ ‘truth and virtue.’ And if you ever try to read any kind of legal jargon or even the opinions of our Supreme Court, you’ll be much better served by having a decent grasp of Latin’s basics, as it is embedded into the very foundation of our English language. You can still attend Catholic masses in Brooklyn that are performed entirely with the priest reading passages in Latin and the church chanting its hymns likewise. ‘ ‘ ‘ Today Latin is the official language of the Vatican City. There are some fair knocks against Latin out there, but the case against it today ‘mdash that Latin is simply not common enough to justify any form of its widespread usage ‘mdash is poppycock. It is particularly difficult to understand, and most obviously, no one really speaks it on a regular conversational basis. Anyone who came from a peasant class would likely never understand its speaker, either linguistically or socially.
‘ ‘ ‘ On the flip side, lots of people probably looked at Latin with disdain for that very reason. Scientists, scholars and religious leaders decrypted its meanings, and only those who had enough time and resources on their hands could access its mysteries. For centuries, to speak Latin was to carry a status symbol with you wherever you traveled. Its tradition and history is remarkable in itself, regarded as the language of the learned in European societies.
‘ ‘ ‘ I know that not everyone is familiar with it, but Latin is so much a part of our everyday English that most of us throw it around frequently without even realizing. Commonly used Latin terms have been banned to make way for more user-friendly synonyms: Bona fide is now ‘genuine,’ and ‘improvised’ has replaced ad hoc. The local councils in Bournemouth and Salisbury City have adopted a ‘plain language’ policy, which considers Latin terminology too confusing for the public’s understanding.
‘ ‘ ‘ Associated Press reports have been coming out of Britain describing the recent movement to have all Latin phrases edited out of official government documents. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Where is Max Fischer when you need him? They say Latin is dead, but now it… ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Where is Max Fischer when you need him? They say Latin is dead, but now it is losing what little ground it has left.
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