Latin - what are the benefits?
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Anonymous
i don't know about that. . I went to UMBC which is definitely not the most fancy or liber artsy of colleges but Latin def. fulfilled the language requirements. If a second tier (I'm being kind- i was a terrible student) like UMBC accepts Latin this shouldn't be a problem. Latin def. helps in SAT/GRE and just is enriching, my kids are in preschool but I am planning on having them do at least a year of Latin, most probably more and we are a bilingual (non Romance language) household. Latin teaches you to manipulate language and also how classic thinkers manipulated words and played with ideas and concepts. You should totally do it! |
Anonymous
| Makes the gres easier. |
Anonymous
21:51 here. I wholeheartedly agree that any college that wouldn't accept Latin as a foreign language requirement is not worth consideration. How absurd. Now, I have heard of programs requiring you to be able to read/comprehend certain modern languages because source documentation is so frequently in one of those languages. Many Classical graduate programs require you have knowledge of French, German and/or Italian. I learned all three (although my spoken French is poor, my reading of it is good). But, it's one thing to require a particular language for college admission, it's completely different to exclude Latin because it is not a modern language. Appalling. |
Anonymous
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Do kids who are bilingual have the opportunity to test out of foreign language requirements? If yours do, and they want to study Latin anyway, then sure, why not take it at school. If they don't want to take it or if they can't test out of the language requirement, or if they want to study a different language, then leave it alone. Hopefully you will give them some say in this.
I would have preferred that both of my kids study Spanish, but one dropped it for German (Spanish teachers were horrible) and one took French. |
Anonymous
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A quick tour of language requirements of area colleges/universities:
William & Mary: Among the ancient languages in which one may demonstrate proficiency at William and Mary are Latin, Greek, and Biblical Hebrew. http://www.wm.edu/as/modernlanguages/students/languageproficiency/index.php UVA:Languages taught at U.Va. that count towards the requirement are: American Sign Language, German, Italian, Persian, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Japanese, Portuguese, Tibetan, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean, Russian, Urdu, French, Hindi, Latin, Sanskrit http://college.as.virginia.edu/requirements/competency VA Tech: Students must meet a language study requirement either through high school enrollment or prior to receipt of the undergraduate degree. The minimum requirement may be met in high school by completing 2 units of a single foreign or classical language or American Sign Language. http://www.undergradcatalog.registrar.vt.edu/1516/acapolicies/index.html JMU: Looks like Latin would count towards the language requirement. https://www.jmu.edu/catalog/13/programs/languages.html UMDCP: Allows Latin to count towards its Global Engagement Requirement (formerly the foreign language requirement). http://www.arhu.umd.edu/sites/default/files/arhu/undergraduate/pdf/ADVISING-GLOBAL%20ENGAGEMENT.pdf Georgetown: Allows Latin to count towards its foreign language requirement. https://college.georgetown.edu/academics/core-requirements/foreign-languages GWU: No foreign language requirement American: Not sure; I can't find anything that indicates there is a university-wide foreign language requirement (modern foreign language appears to be required for a degree in international relations). Just for good measure: Harvard: Degree candidates must meet a foreign language requirement in a language with a written component that is taught at Harvard or for which an appropriate examination with a written component can be given. (Latin is taught at Harvard.) http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/current/chapter2/language_requirement.html Princeton: Allows Latin to count towards its foreign language requirement. https://www.princeton.edu/ua/sections/11/ Stanford: Allows Latin to count towards its foreign language requirement. https://language.stanford.edu/academics/language-requirement |
Anonymous
At most colleges/universities, yes. |
Anonymous
| My DS got a perfect on his SAT verbal. I attribute some of it to Latin. |
Anonymous
??? This misses the point. For admission, will they accept latin to meet their foreign language requirement? |
Anonymous
High school Latin teacher here. Absolutely yes. At virtually every college and university in the US. In 20 years of teaching, never had any if my Latin students have an issue with this. |
Anonymous
^ thank-you.That's good to hear. |
Anonymous
| Latin is logic. |
Anonymous
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According to Boris Johnson, "the reason we should study Latin and Greek is that they are the key to a phenomenal and unsurpassed treasury of literature and history and philosophy, and we cannot possibly understand our modern world unless we understand the ancient world that made us all."
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Anonymous
| Assiduus usus uni rei deditus et ingenium et artem saepe vincit. |
Anonymous
I'm a PP with the BA Classics (Latin). What in the world does this sentence have to do with this thread? Rough translation - Dedication to the assiduous practice of a single thing often overcomes talent and creativity. Based on word order, I can tell you that 'assiduous practice' and 'overcomes' are especially emphasized in this sentence. Notice how they bookend the sentence? I don't know the context of the work it was taken from (and won't bother to look it up) but it would be interesting to analyze why the writer chose to highlight that. But, again, what does it have to do with this thread. Seems more appropriate for the political thread. |
Anonymous
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all three of my kids took 4 years of Latin in HS.
They enjoyed it. They did not want a language you had to speak. some say it will help SAT but its hard to say cause 2 of them didn't have great SAT scores on the verbal. (maybe it would have been worse without latin…will never know) ALSO some colleges have language requirements, depending on your major. Some will not consider Latin and will have to take more language in college. we didn't have that problem but something to think about.. |