When you’re told that learning Latin is apparently good for you, have you started to wonder why? It seems like an out-of-this-world suggestion. This is because Latin is extinct and is a dead language, so why bother learning it?
At present, it’s only spoken in one state of the world. But, remember that many years ago, it united almost the whole of Europe. Latin was taught as a part of the foreign language class. It had a sense of purpose and importance in the literacy programs of schools.
Today, however, what use does a dead language have for you? How do you seek to be benefited from it? For starters, Latin can improve your resume and credentials. In addition to that, you can also have these benefits for your career:
1. Enables You To Become Multilingual
The professional world today is becoming more global than ever. When you apply for a job, the world is your playground. You’re not only limited to being confined in your local country simply because you can’t speak in other major languages.
Contrary to popular belief, Latin is a language that didn’t die. Rather, it revolved into different languages, such as Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese; Tthe vocabulary and root words of these languages originated from Latin. Hence, the direct implication is that when you learn Latin, you’re also enabling yourself an easier opportunity to learn other languages with ease.
This way, you don’t need to limit yourself only to one additional language. Plus, when you endeavour to learn other languages, you’ve got no reason not to learn Latin as well.
Thanks to technology, there are now online courses available to open your schedule more to having the chance to learn the Latin language.
2. Helps You Understand Academic Writing
Business and academic written work today are filled with Latin expressions. Even as the language has evolved, Latin has stayed a classic.
Memorizing these Latin phrases is not really the most effective way of learning what they mean. The best way to go about learning and understanding academic writing still is in profoundly understanding the language.
Common examples of Latin phrases used in academic writing are the following:
- Ad hoc – formed for a specific purpose
- Ergo – therefore
- Ad lib –improvised
- Major – great, important, serious
- Alter ego – other self
- Per capita – per person
Through the use of the phrases enumerated above, you’re going to be able to write in-depth and more meaningful essays. Especially when you’re working in a job that involves a lot of writing, this is an added plus factor for you.
3. Improves Your Cognitive Skills
The cognitive skills of a person refer to the core skills that your brain uses to think, read, learn, pay attention, make memories, and even reason out. When these functions work together, you’ve got ample information that can help you excel at work and in your life in general. By learning Latin, your cognitive skills improve.
Learning Latin isn’t an easy task. It’s going to demand so many long hours of studying. But, all this hard work enhances your brain’s flexibility. It forces your mind not just to settle, but also to do more work every day. With this level of hard work, your brain’s function improves, such that your overall cognitive ability also increases as well.
4. Increases Your English Vocabulary And Grammar
Studying Latin is also helps you master the English language. In spite of the many language divisions of the world, English is a universal language that connects. When you’ve got a good command of English, your career success also improves as well so it’s worth investing in an English language class.
Because a majority of English words are also derived from Latin, the direct result is a wide expanse of your vocabulary.
5. Enables You To Be More Rigorous
Being methodical in your job helps you understand the logic and rigor that’s needed to complete a task. This enables you to become more systematic in all your dealings.
First, when you learn Latin, you have to go through the process of translating Latin to English and vice versa, which is not an easy feat. Translating requires you to perform a more inquisitive and investigative process to ensure that sentences and phrases aren’t mistranslated.
With this kind of practice, you can become a more systematic worker. Rather than jumping right into a task, you create processes and methods that work for a higher level of success and accuracy.
Conclusion
With these reasons that point to the importance of Latin, it’s easy to conclude that it’s not a dead language. While no longer in use, Latin is still a very important and relevant language.
Yes, it’s a language that’s still spoken, albeit only by a few. Linguists also always include Latin in their understanding of the written and spoken language.
Even as a guide to improving the grammar and structure of English and other languages, fields such as law and medicine still have Latin very much in use until today.