Instruction in Latin
The
For the most part, the language is treated as a
Philosophical aims
Although Latin was once the universal academic language in Europe, academics no longer use it for writing papers or daily discourse. Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Church, as part of the Vatican II reforms in the 1960s, modernized its religious liturgies to allow less use of Latin and more use of vernacular languages. Nonetheless, the study of Latin has remained an academic staple into the 21st century.
Most of the Latin courses currently offered in secondary schools and universities are geared toward translating historical texts into modern languages, rather than using Latin for direct oral communication. As such, they primarily treat Latin as a written
Living Latin
Conversely, proponents of the
Institutions that offer Living Latin instruction include the Vatican and the University of Kentucky. In Great Britain, the Classical Association encourages this approach, and Latin language books describing the adventures of a mouse called Minimus have been published. The Latinum podcast, teaching conversational Classical Latin, is also broadcast from London. There are several websites offering Nuntii Latini (Latin News) which usually cover international matters: in Finland (weekly), in Bremen/Germany (monthly), and on Radio Vatican [2]. In the United States, the National Junior Classical League (with more than 50,000 members) encourages high school students to pursue the study of Latin, and the National Senior Classical League encourages college students to continue their studies of the language.
Influence on artificial languages
Many
Curriculum requirements in Australia
Latin is not offered by the mainstream curriculum; however it is offered in many high schools as an elective subject. Many schools, particularly
Curriculum requirements in New Zealand
Latin is offered by the mainstream curriculum under NZCEA (New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement). They offer several years of government supported instruction. However, not all schools teach Latin as it is an optional subject. Auckland Grammar School (AGS), is one of the last public schools requiring higher achieving students to take Latin instruction in their first year of study.[1] Latin is also available for study in tertiary education at several universities.
In 2020 there was debate over the proposed removal of government support for the Latin curriculum.[2]
Curriculum requirements in Europe
Belgium
Dutch-speaking regions
Latin is optionally taught. Most students can choose Latin as one of the two majors. Other majors may be Greek, maths, science, humane sciences or modern languages. Almost one third of "ASO" students learn Latin for a number of years.
Francophone regions
Latin is optionally taught in secondary schools.
Croatia
Studied in some General and Scientific Gymnasiums for 2 or 4 years, while in Classical Gymnasiums it is studied together with ancient Greek for 4 years, it is a 2 period per week subject in most schools, but there are often many options for extracurricular activities and competitions involving Latin for students that take interest. For a 2-year education in Latin, the curriculum consists of translating short texts, learning declension of nouns, conjugation of verbs, studying tenses, learning "dicta et sententiae" - important or wise quotes said by people in the past or just useful or important phrases with some historic significance, learning Roman history and learning roman numerals together with their respective Latin names and declension patterns, for a 4-year education, most of these curriculums are lengthened and more thorough. Most students in Scientific Gymnasiums argue that there is no place for studying Latin in schools that focus on physics, math and science, especially when that Latin education is purely classical and has little to do with scientific fields those students wish to study in. In Croatia Latin has traces back to the 9th century, while it was also used much earlier since Croatia was part of the Roman Empire. Latin has since stopped being used in churches and courts in the 19th century, while it still plays a large role in medicine.
France
Latin is optionally studied in French secondary schools.
Germany
In Germany, Latin is a choice for the compulsory second language at the Gymnasium (main secondary school preparing for university entry), usually together with French and sometimes Spanish, Russian etc. Nearly one third of students at the Gymnasium[3] learn Latin for a number of years,[4] and a Latin certificate ("Latinum") is a requirement for various university courses. It is the third most popular language learnt in school after English and French, ahead of Spanish or Russian. In some regions, especially majority-Catholic ones such as Bavaria, it is still very popular, to the point that more than 40% of all grammar school students study Latin. However, in Eastern Germany where educational traditions were broken during the communist period, it does not command much popularity.
Greece
The teaching of Latin has a very long history in Greece. Latin is today compulsory for high school students who wish to study law, social and political sciences and humanities, and is one of the four subjects tested in Greek examinations for entry into university-level courses in these fields. In high school, the subject is taught in a very detailed manner that has provoked criticisms.
Ireland
Latin until recently was quite popular in secondary schools. Latin is now not widely taught, but can be taken as an optional subject in some secondary schools.
Italy
In Italy, Latin is compulsory in secondary schools such as the
Around 40 percent of Italian high school students study Latin at high school for five years.[5] Latin courses comprises a quite high number of weekly periods, and this contributes to make Italian schooling system somewhat different from other countries', where only a negligible number of students decides to take Latin courses at high school. In Italy, Latin and Ancient Greek are considered important because they are believed to help the students learn an effective study method. In Italy, it is also believed to "open the students' minds" (as people say) i.e., to make them more skilled and more intelligent, even though there is no conclusive statistical evidence for this. Due to words overlaps between Latin and Italian, and sometimes even in English, it is believed that students of Latin have a wider vocabulary in the fields of science, literature, law, philosophy, and also in foreign language (Spanish, French, Portuguese, English, Romanian). Some content that, Latin and Ancient Greek courses may reduce the remaining weekly periods devoted to any other course one can deem more important [6][7]
Latin and Ancient Greek courses at high school comprise both grammar and literature. Grammar is normally analysis of the text given, and this, among other things, is supposed to improve the students' language skills. Inside liceo classico and liceo scientifico, the translation of short texts from Latin and Ancient Greek is among the most complex homework given to students in the first two years of high school. Literature is studied in the remaining three years. Students are also regularly assigned homework consisting of translating short texts from Latin and Ancient Greek (in Italian, they are called versione di latino and versione di greco respectively). Students are taught to carry out a translation assignment following a strict semantic analysis.
The translation of short texts from Latin and Ancient Greek has been compared by Italian physicist Guido Tonelli to "scientific research" and it is said to be a useful mental exercise.[8]
Italian schooling system has received both praises and criticism. It has also been suggested that it should be revised to meet the needs of the
Inside Italian schools, the pronunciation adopted by teachers is normally that of Neo-Latin.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, learning either Latin or Ancient Greek is compulsory at the highest variant of secondary education, the gymnasium – both languages for at least the first three years. After that, the pupils can choose either to keep only Latin, or to keep only Greek, or to keep both classical languages in their curriculum for three more years.
Poland
Latin is a non-compulsory foreign language that students of some[clarification needed] high schools can choose to learn. Latin language and the culture of antiquity is also one of the extra examinations a high school graduate may take during their matura. Latin language is a compulsory subject for students of law, history, medicine, veterinary and language studies.
Romania
Latin is a compulsory subject in 7th grade. Latin is also taught in high school, but only at humanities specialisations and theological seminaries. Students studying social sciences are taught latin in grades 9 and 10, and those specialising on philology study latin in all four years of highschool. Also, latin is a subject (usually optional) at some faculties, such as theology, law, philosophy and letters (linguistics).
Spain
Latin is a compulsory subject for all those who study humanities (students can select from three sorts of study: sciences, humanities or a mixture) in grades 11 and 12.
Switzerland
Since the 1980s when about half of all Gymnasium (grammar school, type of secondary leading to university entry) students had Latin, the language took a deep dip. After modest recovery in the past years about one fifth of all students at the Gymnasium nowadays take some years of Latin. There are regional differences: whereas in few
United Kingdom
In the first half of the 20th century, Latin was taught in approximately 25% of schools.
Other countries
In Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Austria, Hungary, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania, Latin is studied at high school level as compulsory or optional subject. It is compulsory in Gymnasium high school programs. In Portugal, Latin is also studied. In Finland, Latin is studied at a small minority of high schools.
Curriculum requirements in North America
Canada
Latin is occasionally provided in a small number of Canadian secondary schools, usually studied as an elective.
United States
In the
Curriculum requirements in South America
Chile
Latin is not a compulsory subject in school, and it is presented as optional in very few secondary schools. However, many universities impart Latin as a compulsory subject for the students of philosophy, Literature, Linguistics, Theology and sometimes Law.
Venezuela
In
At university level, the
Latin is also taught in Roman Catholic seminaries.
Curriculum requirements in Asia
Mainland China and Taiwan
Latin was one of the things which were taught by the
Latin is a rare language in Asia, including Taiwan. There are fewer than five universities offering Latin curriculum.
As a Catholic university, Fu Jen University is the most important school to offer the Latin curriculum in Taiwan. It offers short-term Latin courses with dormitory in summer vacation and even attracts many students from mainland China.[21]
In China many universities offer Latin courses. At Beijing Foreign Studies University since 2009 there is a Centre for Latin Studies called Latinitas Sinica.
Independent study
A number of people interested in Latin do not have access to formal instruction. In many countries, Latin has fallen out of favour in schools and colleges. As a result, there is a growing demand for resources allowing people to study Latin independently. Online study groups offer a certain degree of guidance to independent learners. The beginners' textbook
See also
References
- ^ ags.school.nz/assets/Uploads/Course-Handbook-2020.pdf
- ^ nzherald.co.nz/nz/ncea-changes-teachers-overwhelmingly-reject-extremely-dramatic-proposal/KGESQ4LWF2LHQSWBTXUIXYCNJA/
- ^ http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/wissen/untote-sprache-jeder-dritte-gymnasiast-bimst-latein-a-503814.html Der Spiegel , lookup 11-6-2014
- ^ There are three levels of certificates, requiring different numbers of periods: Kleines (small) Latinum, Latinum, Großes (big) Latinum
- ^ "Corriere: Latino, Italia record: Lo studiano 4 su 10".
- ^ "I dati che smontano la presunta superiorità del Liceo Classico".
- ^ "Aboliamo il Classico!".
- ^ Massimo Fusillo (3 October 2016). "Perché non difendo il liceo classico (così com'è)".
- ^ "Aboliamo il Classico!".
- ^ NZZ 21.09.2014 "Latein ist beliebter als angenommen"
- ^ "That'll Teach 'Em 2: Then and Now".
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
- ^ Duque Arellano, José Gonzalo Pertinencia y vigencia del latín en la enseñanza de la lengua española, en las áreas de la morfología y de la sintaxis Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine; Universidad de los Andes (in Spanish)
- ^ Detalle de la Carrera: "Letras Mención Lengua y Literaturas Clasicas" Archived 2008-02-09 at the Wayback Machine; CNU-OPSU: Oportunidades de Estudio de Educación Superior en Venezuela (in Spanish)
- ISBN 978-0-520-21991-5.
- ISBN 978-1-317-64048-6.
- ISBN 978-3-0343-0040-7.
- ISBN 978-0-674-78129-0.
- ^ Egor Fedorovich Timkovskii (1827). Travels of the Russian mission through Mongolia to China, with corrections and notes by J. von Klaproth [tr. by H.E. Lloyd]. pp. 29–.
- ^ Egor Fedorovich Timkovskiĭ; Hannibal Evans Lloyd; Julius Heinrich Klaproth; Julius von Klaproth (1827). Travels of the Russian mission through Mongolia to China: and residence in Pekin, in the years 1820-1821. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. pp. 29–.
- ^ "Program of Western Classical and Medieval Culture, Fu Jen University". Archived from the original on 2008-12-30. Retrieved 2008-11-27.