How Latin Has Helped.

Since starting Latin in 7th grade, it has helped me gain a greater understanding and new perspective on many aspects of my life.

1) One way Latin has helped me is in my understanding of English Latin-based words. In fact, three weeks ago, as I was reading Homer's Odyssey, I took notice of the word patient. Having just studied the word patior meaning to suffer, and therefor I knew that patient literally meant to suffer. Not only was this hilarious, it helped me gain a new understanding of what the character was enduring while waiting.

2) Another way Latin has helped me, was when I was watching a TV show a few days ago called Supernatural. It's a show about a few guys who go around hunting demons. Naturally this show contains several exorcisms. In these exorcisms, they chant in Latin. One of the things they say is "omnis immundus spiritus". This means all unclean spirits. Knowing Latin in this instance helped me gain a greater understanding of what exactly was going on and added to the mood and depth of the show

3) The third way Latin has helped me is in English. This happened towards the end of last year. My class was doing their mock trial and it was chock full of latin jargon. I distinctly remember the phrase "bona fide" within the trail packet and by checking into it, I realized that it meant "good faith". This helped make the mock trial richer and I gleaned a greater understanding of the trial because of it.

4) The fourth way Latin has helped me has been in sentence structure. The first time I really noticed this was a few weeks ago, when reading the Odyssey. By going over concepts such as participles, tense, and voice, I now possess a greater mastery of English sentence structure. In sentences like "the running man" and "I should have threatened" (with running and threatened being the participles), I can understand the parts of speech and usage. This is all due to Latin and breaking down its sentence structure.

5) And finally, the fifth way Latin has helped me is in my understanding of Latin headings on buildings. This occured while on a trip to DC last year. My knowledge of Latin helped me read the seal of the National Archives. It says "littera scripta manet". This means the written word remains, signifying the importance of physical documents. This, again, helped gain a greater understanding of the place we were in and helped increase the richness of the experience.

All in all, Latin has had many uses in my life, both practical and not. Mostly it has increased my understanding of a place and context and increased my enjoyment of an experience. But there are several instances of its more concrete uses, most notably my English sentence structure. Latin is so pervasive, especially now, that it's hard to go anywhere without finding a reference. I do not regret taking this course, even if it's not as plainly useful in terms of spoken communication, its uses and references are ingrained on the surface of our language, our culture, and our history. I encourage everyone who is able to take this course.