# Should I learn Latin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160 "2003-01-12T17:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/21 "2003-01-14T03:37:33Z")
**Solientius viridis est homines! est HOMINES!** :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DarRRva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@DarRRva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarRRva)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/22 "2003-01-14T11:27:25Z")
LATIN IS SOOO COOL! You have to learn latin, it is the coolest language. Not only is it dead, which means you don’t have to sit oral tests, you can piclk up french, spanish, itallian and porugeese easily, as well as improve your english grammar. ALso my latin teacher was recenlty offred $75,000US to work PART TIME as a latin teacher in the us! So GO LATIN! ---
**Author:** ![Zumpel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/bb73d2/32.png) [@Zumpel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumpel)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/23 "2003-01-14T15:55:36Z")
If you’d learn it on your own time, go for it. Useful when learning a lot of languages. But if it’s in school… different matter. Unless you’ve got loads of learning capacity and , go for a living language. Will be of more use later on, in ANY case. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/24 "2003-01-14T16:39:10Z")
Absolutely go for it. Besides making the modern Romance languages easier to learn, it really lays out the grammatical concepts all Indo-European languages have in common, which is a vital stepping stone for learning any of them. I only did a few weeks’ worth of Latin self-study, but it was enough to see the common patterns in the IE languages I’ve studied more thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/25 "2003-01-14T18:23:01Z")
I’ve done Latin for three years, and though I do plan to drop it, I don’t regret learning it in the slightest. **Semper ubi sub ubi, amicus meus!** ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/26 "2003-01-16T04:10:55Z")
“Always where under where, my friend”? Bargh. “Solientius viridis est homines” is a gorgeous line concocted in my first period Latin class. Imagine the very crowded Commons area of a high school and a small group of people come running out of the library (Latin class was held in a room at the back of the library. Damn Spanish taking all the funding) giving their best Charleton Heston impersonations, screaming “Solientius viridis est homines! Est HOMINES!” with the first in the air and everything. Beautiful. It was hilarious to begin with and only a small group of people ever got the joke, which made it even funnier. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/27 "2003-01-16T04:29:54Z")
I took Latin all through secondry school, and I realy enjoyed it. I’m at uni now, and first-year Spanish was such a cake-walk because of it. Also it’s fun to know, and generally the people who take it are an interesting sort. It makes the bit in Life of Brian where Brian has the Latin lesson from the Centurion so funny that it hurts. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/28 "2003-01-16T17:07:04Z")
I wanted to learn some Latin. So I bought a recommended textbook. I got 10 pages in and quite. I realized that every cute little table of endings, which were on almost every page, had to be memorized before you could go on. Same deal with the list of vocabulary words at the end of the chapter. You really have to like flashcards. A classroom course would probably spend weeks on each chapter. Just something to keep in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/29 "2003-01-16T21:04:48Z")
I’m 43 and I’m taking Latin 101 this spring. I’ve been trying off-and-on to learn it on my own since I was 20, but am way too lacking in self-discipline. This should be fun! **Vis vobiscum!** ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/30 "2003-01-18T05:03:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\*I wanted to learn some Latin. So I bought a recommended textbook. I got 10 pages in and quite. I realized that every cute little table of endings, which were on almost every page, had to be memorized before you could go on. Same deal with the list of vocabulary words at the end of the chapter. You really have to like flashcards. A classroom course would probably spend weeks on each chapter. Just something to keep in mind. \*\* It wasn’t like that at my school, though. We spent almost two weeks per book chapter, had a test over that chapter, and moved on. However, we were not very well disciplined on it. But some willingness to really learn the language and in no time you will even be thinking some words in Latin. I started to within weeks. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/31 "2003-01-18T14:58:46Z")
Can anyone recommend a good book or software program? I know there are alot of theories about the best way to learn new languages. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/32 "2003-01-18T15:09:01Z")
“What is this? ‘Romanes eunt domus’, ‘people called Romanes they go the house’?” “It-it says, ‘Romans go home’!” “No, it doesn’t!” ---
**Author:** ![Epigramcracker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Epigramcracker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epigramcracker)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/33 "2003-01-18T16:06:45Z")
Yes! Latin rules. I carry a big chip on my shoulder against people who whine that “you never use it” and “no one speaks it.” Blah blah. Okay, so no one technically goes around speaking actual Latin, but anyone who speaks good English is using it _every. day._ Latin has great effects in helping you with English grammar, and it’s not too tricky to pick up–obviously the order’s the only real catch. But I would definitely recommend it! Then you can understand all those pseudo-erudite characters in Shakespeare plays that reel off in bad Latin! _Valete!_ -Epi ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/34 "2003-01-18T16:09:49Z")
How is it that Latin helps with English? Is it just because of latinate English words or does the structure of Latin make the structure of English more transparent? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/35 "2003-01-18T16:50:31Z")
It will increase your geek quotient 10 fold. Thunder is right, though. Pig-Latin is a LOT easier… ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/36 "2003-01-18T18:41:53Z")
But Pig Latin **SUCKS**. Latin helps you with your English and almost any other European language (most words come from Latin and the sentence structure makes more sense. After learning Latin you can guess your way through other languages without having to learn them; however if you want to learn other European languages fluently Latin makes it a breeze too). Every cliche or pop culture moment in the English language becomes a trillion times cooler and funnier when translated to Latin. Try “we have found a witch. May we burn here?” in Latin. ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/37 "2003-01-18T18:47:00Z")
Ahem. “We have found a witch, may we burn here?”\* ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/38 "2003-01-19T00:05:34Z")
I think you _meant_ to say, “We have found a witch, may we burn here?” ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/39 "2003-01-19T00:16:50Z")
**Guadere’s Law!** ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mama\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_K)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160/40 "2003-01-19T02:50:22Z")
Like the great man Eddie Izzard once described, Latin can come in handy when you pull into a gas station at 3 a.m. and there’s a load of murderers behind you. Just turn around and yell “AMO AMAS AMAT! AMAMUS AMATIS AMANT!” And they’ll go “Fucking HELL! They know LATIN!!! RUN AWAY!” And as I say to my friends, Latin + U2 = Happy Mama K “Gloria in te domine…Gloria, exultate…” “Is there any slang in Latin?” “Yeah, it’s called Italian.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-learn-latin/148160.md?page=3)