# My friend was surprised I didn't know Latin, do YOU know Latin? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 15, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593 "2014-09-15T20:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/1 "2014-09-15T20:28:09Z")
I live in the US. My friend lives in Russia. We started talking about a video game (The Witcher) and about the Igni sign in it (which starts fires). He said it came from the word Ignis, which means fire. I said I didn’t know that, that it was interesting. …Now, this friend, he seems to be thinking I’m very uneducated now for not knowing Ignis means that. He’s giving me a hard time for it, saying I should have connected the word “igni” with “ignite” and that it was a simple connection that ANYONE would have made, but I maintain that there’s probably a lot of people in the US who wouldn’t know what it meant and who probably don’t know any Latin at all. But for all I know, more people here know about it than I think. So my question to you: If you live in the US, do YOU know Latin? Do you know anywhere it’s taught? Did you know what ignis meant before I told you? **And most importantly** , do you think it’s weird that someone from the US wouldn’t know what Ignis meant or wouldn’t have connected a fire spell named “igni” with the word “ignite”? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/2 "2014-09-15T20:33:25Z")
I would not expect someone in the U.S. to know Latin. However, I would expect someone in the U.S. to have been exposed to common Latin and Greek roots in English courses, as part of their preparation for college entrance exams. Not everyone is on that track, though. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/3 "2014-09-15T20:35:43Z")
I took a cool class in college, “English Words from Latin and Greek Origins.” I don’t remember learning “igni” specifically but I definitely learned how to have sussed that out myself. I’m super good at words and word origins and grammar. I have some pretty smart friends, but I wouldn’t expect any of them to know Latin roots unless they did something like took a class. They didn’t do Latin in our school system. Not sure if they even did it at the local Catholic schools. My mom went to Catholic schools in the 50s and 60s and she probably took church Latin and she probably would not know Latin roots. Just church stuff. So no, not weird. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/4 "2014-09-15T20:45:00Z")
I think it depends on where and how you were taught. My school offered Latin classes, not that I took them. I made other choices. No, not a Catholic school. You do see similar constructions in fantasy books and games quite frequently. Take a look at Jim Butcher’s books for some examples. Seems pretty popular for spell construction. If you’ve taken any “romance” languages, like French, Italian or Spanish, you’d run across lots of Latin roots. For that matter, they’re all over English as well. If you’re not looking for them, you wouldn’t notice them. So now you know. Start looking. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/5 "2014-09-15T20:46:04Z")
Nope, never took Latin and although I can recognize some word origins from context I wouldn’t expect anyone to know specific words. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/6 "2014-09-15T20:57:46Z")
Latin was a requirement for middle schoolers at the school I attended for high school - so I didn’t get any training in it, but it was part of the schools curriculum. That said, this was a fancy, private school for rich kids, so it’s probably not very representative. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/7 "2014-09-15T21:00:01Z")
I’m surprised there aren’t a ton of “of course I know Latin” posts, judging by the number of posters that quote it all the time. Myself: can’t real a lick. It was offered in my HS, along with Spanish. I studied the one that had a real-world application.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/8 "2014-09-15T21:02:37Z")
No latin for me either. I’m interested in word origins, but it’s as a dabbler. I wouldn’t have gotten “Igni” either. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/9 "2014-09-15T21:04:06Z")
I kinda vaguely remember Catholic mass being in Latin. I took 2 yrs of Latin in school. I also took 3 yrs of German. Then I joined the US Air Force and traveled extensively. I picked up some French, Italian, Arabic and Japanese. My 3 kids took Spanish in school, I picked some up helping with homework. I do not speak Latin. Never could. I probably would have figured that igni is from ignite. I wouldn’t have thought it was from Latin. Ignis sounds like text-speak for ‘ignoramus’. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/10 "2014-09-15T21:08:25Z")
I have picked up a few Latin words, and fewer Greek words. I don’t expect most Americans to do any better than that. English I talk really good. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/11 "2014-09-15T21:08:45Z")
I took three years of Latin in (Catholic) high school, and while I’ve retained very little of it (“semper ubi sub ubi!” – thank you, Fr. McDonald), it has definitely helped me figure out the meaning of some English words without having seen them before. That being said, I did not know offhand what “ignis” meant, and I’m not sure how long it would have taken me to guess an association with ignition. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/12 "2014-09-15T21:10:32Z")
I was the last generation of altar boys that had to memorize the Mass in Latin\*. After I did that, I got books on Latin and started teaching myself. I took two years of it in high school, translating Plautus’ _Menaechmi_ and attempting Martial (I was ambitious). My daughter took two years of Latin in high school, too. Certainly our high school gives courses in it, and we’re not unique \*I caught flak for saying this on the Board before, but it’s true. I’m not saying that _no_other altar boys are saying Latin masses anymore, but I was in the last generation where they ALL had to. After I started, Vatican II allowed Mas in the vernacular, and altar boys everywhere could use English, or whatever the local language was. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/13 "2014-09-15T21:16:36Z")
1. Knew Latin. I was a minor in college, but it would be a long, arduous journey for me to tackle any Latin prose at this point. 2. I took Latin for four years in public school, and then in college, both in the state of Vermont. 3. Yes. I would be surprised if a person who thought him/herself to be reasonably well educated did not know that root, or baring that wouldn’t have instantly recognized that the fire spell’s name came from a root related to fire, (“ah, just like ignite, or igneous rock . . . must be Latin!”). ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/14 "2014-09-15T21:19:03Z")
I never took Latin, but ‘Greek and Latin roots’ was part of our phonics curriculum in grammar school; that would have been Catholic Parish School in the late 70s. Things like ‘ignis = fire’ are exactly what we were taught (like \*\*ZipperJJ \*\*I can’t recall if we specifically learned ‘ignis’, but I would have been able to figure it out). It’s been immensely useful in understanding not only English but many foreign words as well. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/15 "2014-09-15T21:24:51Z")
The Jesuit high school I attended in the Seventies required us to take 3 years of Latin. From what I hear, even that school now makes Latin optional. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/16 "2014-09-15T21:31:55Z")
I remember Catholic masses being conducted in Latin, but I was very young when the practice ended. This is all the Latin I know: _Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni. Mali locus est._ Not from Catholic mass, obviously, but I would probably get knowing looks if I said it at a Star Trek convention. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/17 "2014-09-15T21:35:26Z")
No Latin here. My schools (JH & HS) offered a choice of languages and I always took French. We’d lived in Paris for a few years when I was younger and so French was easy for me - I wasn’t going to throw away an easy A! This was in the '70s, fwiw. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/18 "2014-09-15T21:40:37Z")
I know some Latin. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/19 "2014-09-15T21:41:40Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I would not expect someone in the U.S. to know Latin. However, I would expect someone in the U.S. to have been exposed to common Latin and Greek roots in English courses, as part of their preparation for college entrance exams. Not everyone is on that track, though. Agreed. The Catholic high school I went to 87-91 offered Latin as an option, and I took two years of it. I remember next to nothing of it these days. I remember my Latin II teacher was a tremendous jackass. Anyway, I think I would have made the igni(s) -\> fire connection, but I would have had to guess whether ignis was a Latin or Greek root. If one of my friends didn’t make the connection based on ignite, igneous, etc., I’d probably give them a little ribbing. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593/20 "2014-09-15T21:41:51Z")
While I never studied Latin as a language, I remember doing Greek and Latin roots fairly intensively in 6th grade (private Christian school) and again in 11th grade (traditional public school). When my son was in 2nd and 3rd grade and learning vocabulary, we did a course for kids his age in Latin. So I picked up a bit more there. As it is, my son (now 16) was quite frustrated that he couldn’t take Latin for his foreign language requirement. He thinks, and I agree, that two years of Latin would be much more useful than two years of high school Spanish or French. ETA: Yes, I knew what ignis was, but I’m not surprised that some people don’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-was-surprised-i-didnt-know-latin-do-you-know-latin/698593.md?page=2)