How Latin Has Helped Me

Latin is the basis for most of the english language, has a strong presence in pop culture, and is recognized in most of the world. Without it, I wouldn't be able to fully understand certain books or references in tv shows.

1) First of all, Latin helps me recognize the roots of some English vocabulary. A couple weeks ago during soccer practice, the coach had set up a relatively complicated drill to run, where depending on your position there was a series of movements you had to do. In response to it, one of my captains said "I don't think we have the cognitive ability for that, coach". Cognitive comes from the Latin word cogito, which means to think.

2) Last year, I went to the state Latin competition in Austin. While I was there, Dr. Morgan decided to take me and the other people who were there on a tour through the UT campus. We did a ton of sight seeing, among which was the littlefield fountain. On the back of the fountain, there was Latin inscribed, and me and the group I was with had to translate it. The translation went as follows: “Short life hath been given by Nature unto man; but the remembrance of a life laid down in a good cause endureth forever.”                                                                          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littlefield_Fountain


3) I play a lot of modded minecraft, and one of my favorite mods is Thaumcraft. Within this mod, it assigns different "aspects" to each item, terra being one of the most commonly found aspect. Terra actually comes from the Latin word terra, which means land or earth. Some other aspects are iter (journey), lux (light), and mortuus (death).

4) Me and my family are all big Harry Potter fans, and I even play the mobile app for it on my phone. It puts you in hogwarts, and has you learn different spells and potions you can use for dueling. One of my personal favorite spells is incendio (to burn), which throws a giant ball of fire at your opponent.

5) Finally, Latin not only helps me translate words I see everyday, but also with mythology. We are currently reading the Odyssey in school, and it has a ton of greek gods and monsters such as Hermes, Poseidon, Athena, Zeus, and even Polyphemos. Before the text told me, I already knew that Polyphemos was the son of Poseidon because I did a research project on his dad in 8th grade.

Latin in My Everyday Life

Washington D.C. Knowledge: Last year my grade went to Washington D.C. A lot of the monuments and articles we explored had Latin roots are Latin words. I could pick out the meanings on some of them, but this year, I have learned so much more about derivatives and endings. One of the examples of a Latin influence was the U.S. Constitution. I believe it has about 3 phrases that include Latin. When we were on the trip and were told to read the Constitution, I recognized one of the phrases. It was "pro tempore" which means "for the time being. If I had not taken Latin, I would not be able to recognize things like that and fully understand the U.S Constitution.

English vocabulary: Last year I really struggled to understand and being able to memorize meanings and derivatives of vocabulary. I failed in almost every quiz. This year, focusing on the grammar and roots of Latin words has helped me immensely. I got the highest grade on our first vocabulary quiz of the year. For example, we were writing a paper about land, and I was using boring words, so I thought of what other words I could use. I remembered that the Latin words, terra, means land, which is similar to the English word, terrace. On that paper, I got a high score for word choice. This would not have been the case if it wasn't for my Latin knowledge.

Odyssey: In English this year, we have spent a long time on a novel called the Odyssey. Latin has helped me so much through understanding what is going on in the book. I often find myself hearing other students, that do not take Latin, wondering what certain words mean. I can answer their questions because of the vocabulary we have learned this year. Last week in class, Alicia asked what the Roman numeral XVI (16) meant and I could answer her question quickly because of Latin. Knowing Roman numerals is extremely helpful because you see them everywhere.

Greek Mythology: I have honestly just been extremely interest in Greek Mythology my entire life, I would read Greek Mythology stories in third grade and explain the crazy relationships to my friends at recess. I am still invested in Greek Mythology, but nowadays I can confirm that I actually know what is going on and what I am talking about. For example, in sixth grade, I did a project on the goddess, Aphrodite, claiming she was the goddess on knowledge the entire time. I got a 60 on that assignment. But, this year I did a presentation on Athena, knowing she is the goddess of wisdom and Zeus' daughter! I nailed it this time. 

Harry Potter: In seventh-grade humanities, we read the first Harry Potter. The first Harry Potter introduces you to a lot of spells and Latin references I did not understand at the time. I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series this year, and although not understanding everything until I looked it up, I could pick out which phrases I saw were Latin. For example, one of the spells is called "Avada Kedavra". This sounded like the word English uses referring to magic "abracadabra" which I learned was Latin in seventh grade. I found that the word means "let the thing to be destroyed" and in Harry Potter's case, it is referring to people.

Overall, Latin is an extremely helpful language that has helped me understand more and more things over the years I have been learning it. It has helped expand my vocabulary, know the correct grammar in certain situations, and given me so much knowledge about Roman history. I believe everyone should learn at least some Latin because it is present everywhere you go. Latin class has been a great experience that I am very thankful for.

Abby McGarrity