In my lifetime, I have studied six languages.
Apart from English, I have studied German, Latin, Spanish, Mandarin,
and ASL (American Sign Language).
Although I can toss a few phrases to you in any of them, I
have spent the most time learning English, which has helped me talk good and
stuff.
The one that always puzzled me the most, though, was Latin, which
I was required to study during my first two years at a Catholic boy’s high
school. At the time, we all thought it was silly, because Latin has not been a
spoken language for close to 2000 years.
Our teacher explained to us that learning Latin helped improve
our study habits, but that could also be said about algebra, history, and
biology.
It’s even been said that Latin was the language of diplomats
until the end of the 19th century. That actually isn’t true, but it
IS true that French was the language of diplomats until the start of the 20th
century, and it is still used on a regular basis at the United Nations today.
https://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/language-of-diplomacy/
It may surprise you to know that 60% of the English language
is made up of words from Latin – and there is a reason for that.
In
the 15th century, English had produced no great poets, philosophers, or
playwrights. The only exception was Geoffrey Chaucer, the medieval writer of
The Canterbury Tales, and maybe a few other writers.
But they were seen as the exception that proved the rule:
English was a lowly, crude, and “barbaric” language with little literary or
artistic value. Any great minds or artists to
come out of England at this time preferred to write in Latin.
They thought English was inadequate for lofty ideas or artistic expression. loftiest
and most beautiful truths, so, they thought, it should be translated into a
language to match.
But this didn’t just mean ancient languages like Latin.
Any language would do, so long as it was eloquent. In fact, there were a few
French Bibles circulating in England at the time.
To
really understand the outlook, we need to get into a bit of religious history
(which doubles as linguistic history). In the 14th century, John Wycliffe, a
highly educated Englishman, wanted to translate the Bible into English. He met
much resistance from the Church and the government.
A key objection was that English simply wasn’t good enough for sacred Scripture. Back then, everyone believed the Bible was the Word of God. As such, it contained the loftiest and most beautiful truths, so, they thought, it should be translated into a language to match.
(The
Bible is actually composed of writings in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin).
The same thought process also applies to the Koran, since many
Muslims feel that the only proper language for the Koran is Arabic.
If
Wycliffe had wanted to produce a new translation of the Bible in French, it
would not have been controversial. But English was seen to be especially
“base,” “ugly,” and “vulgar.”
After the Wycliffe controversy, English-speaking people
had a renewed sense of the inadequacy of their native tongue. In fact, almost
zero original works of theology were produced in English.
In the 15th century, science, poetry, or philosophy appeared in English for the first time.
So, what changed?
English lacked eloquence. It was “barren” or “deficient,” which meant the English vocabulary lacked equal analogues to words in Latin, Greek, and other languages. The proposed solution by translators was to borrow, and thereby enrich the English language with foreign words.
Today,
we call this neologising: the creation or introduction of new words into a
language.
In England, neologising became a regular justification for
translation work. At the time, the esteem of a language was the amount of
learning it contained, so English speakers increasingly saw their mother tongue
as bankrupt. The way to enrich it was by pillaging the literature of other,
more eloquent languages.
Despite the increasing popularity of English, the first pubic
school in America, (Boston Latin) required four years of Latin.
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the
oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in
the United States. Its curriculum follows that of the 18th century Latin school movement, which holds the classics to be the basis of an educated mind. Four
years of Latin are mandatory for all students who enter the school in the 7th
grade, three years for those who enter in the 9th grade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Latin_School
Boston Latin made history in 2017, when it hired the first
person of color to lead the school.
Rachel Skerritt became the first person of color to lead what is considered the
crown jewel of the city’s school system. It also marked a homecoming for
Skerritt, a BLS alum who previously worked as a teacher there before moving up
to the Boston Public Schools central office, and eventually landing a district
leadership role in Washington, D.C.
The head of Boston Latin School, Rachel Skerritt, said on Friday
that she would step down at the end of the school year, ending a five-year run in
which she guided the nation’s oldest public school through pandemic disruptions
and controversy over the admissions process.
“I make this announcement with a heavy heart, but one full of hope
about what lies ahead,” Skerritt wrote in a letter to families that was
obtained by the Globe. “The responsibility of leading and stewarding this
community full of beautiful people with vibrant minds and tremendous promise
has been an enormous honor.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/11/metro/boston-latin-school-head-will-step-down/
There are still Catholic churches in America that have Latin
masses, since some of their parishioners yearn for “the good old days”.
There are still 649 churches in America where you can attend a
Catholic mass. The link below tells you where they are:
https://www.latinmassdir.org/country/us/
You can use the filter on the upper left-hand corner if you want to
find one in a particular city. There are 19 parishes in Minnesota that offer
that option.
Even if you don’t go to one of those masses, you can still get a taste of what it’s like to speak Latin by using Google translate. Sometime in the last 5 years, Latin got added to the available languages, which brought the total to 109 options.
Even though the commencement speeches at Flagstaff high school are
given in both English and Navajo, you will probably never see a Navajo translation
on Google Translate – and the Navajo Code Talkers may have had something to do with
that.
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