Gratulatus sum, Caecilie.

When I was about 8, I had a huge argument that lasted for days with my dad about the value of Latin. I remember it pretty vividly; like most children, I could see absolutely no value in learning a dead language, despite my interest in history. At 12, I was presented with the choice of studying Latin or Business studies – a choice quickly made as Business Studies seemed to have even less value (making posters has never appealed to me.)

 I quickly came to realise that Latin is far from a dead language buried under millennia of mutations and borrowed terms it is still very much the beating heart of contemporary speech for a large part of European tongues. Recently, I’ve been asked for language learning tips (in fact the reason I started this blog), and I have to say that if you’re going to go the whole hog and really commit, start with our old friends the Romans. A knowledge of where all Romance languages stems from gives you instant access into an enormous vocabulary and builds bridges between languages that make learning an awful lot easier and quicker. I only regret not having given up my ICT GCSE in favour of Ancient Greek when it was offered to me.

Sadly I think that my school no longer teaches Latin now that my teacher has finally retired (I remember it being her 75th birthday when I was 15), and has lost a huge opportunity to give other children the vital leg up that they gave me. All the same, I very much hope that Caecilius is still in horto and that he remains there for millennia to come.

(PS: He was there when my parents were at school and is still there, just waiting for you to find him deep in the ruins of Pompeii: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-Latin-Course-Book-Level/dp/0521635438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327009401&sr=8-1)