Latin or lat-out: Why latin refuses to go quietly

“Habemus Papam” announces the Vatican; people pause, reach for their phones, and pull up Google Translate. The recent announcement that Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected the first American Pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, was met with confusion due to its delivery in Latin. It has also reignited the long-running debate concerning whether Latin is useful in our modern era; whether it is worth learning; and whether it is truly a ‘dead’ language. Latin may no longer be anybody’s native tongue, but its influence lingers in institutions, education, and cultural traditions. The question is whether we should finally lay it to rest.

Latin is associated with the elite and the well-educated. In 2020, a study by the British Society revealed that “only 3% of state schools offered Latin at Key Stage 3”, but that in private education “that figure rose to 49%”. Clearly, the association of Latin with the wealthy, snobby, and elite stems from an institutional level. BBC North East and Cumbria also revealed that there is a geographical divide within the UK, with pupils in state schools in the southeast of the country being much more likely to be offered the opportunity to study Latin than those in northeastern state schools. With the Conservative government’s ‘Latin Excellence Programme’ being scrapped by the new Labour government due to public sector funding issues, it seems Latin will remain confined to the institutions that can afford to provide it – private schools.

Latin has an inherent conciseness that English cannot achieve, due to its inflexion-based grammatical structure, lack of articles, and ability to express complex concepts in single words

In terms of practical modern use, it seems Latin has little to offer. No one speaks it natively, so fluency in the language is not exactly going to help you order a drink at a bar on holiday. Surely this means that, for the average tourist, learning more widely spoken languages, such as Spanish, is more useful. Spanish also applies to a greater variety of jobs, as it enables you to work in multiple countries and important positions, such as governmental translators or ambassadors. Although this may be true, and the importance of learning modern foreign languages cannot be overstated, Latin cannot be discounted as entirely useless. Despite Latin in its original form being ‘dead’, it is the root of many modern Romance languages, such as Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Therefore, having a foundation in the language that is the convergence of all these modern languages can help with understanding grammatical forms and constructions. Latin etymologies help with vocabulary learning too. When I was in Italy, despite knowing little Italian, my knowledge of Latin vocabulary meant that I was often able to make educated guesses as to the meanings of many words. Despite it not being particularly helpful aurally or verbally, visually I found myself able to get the sense of much of the language.

Alongside developing links with modern Romance languages, Latin carries a certain prestige. It persists in elite circles, such as law, medicine, science, academia, and the Church. In science, it has an extremely practical use: as a universal language for practices such as naming organisms, which avoids having to choose one superior modern language or use a confusing medley of languages and allows scientists of all nationalities to communicate effectively.

Being able to access historical texts by Cicero, Sallust, and Virgil in their original forms gives you a unique opportunity to directly interact with ancient culture

However, in other circles, does Latin carry the same practicality, or does it just indicate the elitism of the field? Latin has an inherent conciseness that English cannot achieve, due to its inflexion-based grammatical structure, lack of articles, and ability to express complex concepts in single words. This brevity is useful in law as it can precisely express concepts that might require more words in English. Also, due to its ‘deadness’, it is no longer an evolving language – there are no new words being added, no new dialects or idioms, and no changes in its grammatical features. This makes it ideal for encapsulating objective legal concepts. Its uses in law and academia are practical but should stay practical. Using Latin phrases to add unnecessary gravitas is exclusionary and adds to Latin users being perceived as elitists.

Learning Latin is not just a study of language, but of the history and culture that served as the foundation of modern-day Western civilisation. Theo Claxton, a second-year Classics student at the University of Durham emphasises the importance of recognising that ancient people experienced “similar existential and cultural concerns to us”, and that by directly accessing these texts, we access the “thoughts and stories of people who helped define our understanding of what it means to be human”.

Latin should not be devalued and buried, as some suggest, but offered as an option to all students. It is not essential, nor is it obsolete

Being able to access historical texts by Cicero, Sallust, and Virgil in their original forms gives you a unique opportunity to directly interact with ancient culture, without that relationship being mediated by a translator. It allows you to come to your own conclusions, rather than being led to an interpretation. For example, reading The Aeneid translated by Shadi Bartsch compared to David West’s version gives a different sense of the text. Bartsch’s translation is more modernised in comparison to West’s attempts to replicate the Latin structure in English. Moreover, Bartsch uses free verse to create a more lyrical, flowing, and emotional tone whereas West uses iambic pentameter to mimic Virgil’s epic dactylic hexameter. Bartsch brings in ideas of feminism and empire to a text usually associated, as West maintains, with patriarchal nationalism and heroic masculinity. This discrepancy in interpretation highlights the complex nature of ancient culture and links it directly to our modern-day concerns.

The value of Latin is often underestimated – it is widely used in many areas of modern life, although often in specific fields. Latin should not be devalued and buried, as some suggest, but offered as an option to all students. It is not essential, nor is it obsolete. Latin learning fosters an interest in history, culture, mythology, philosophy, law, and politics, alongside expanding language-learning skills and providing a foundational understanding of the root of modern Romance languages. Learning Latin should not be privileged above modern foreign languages; it should be made accessible to all, to try to deconstruct its elitist reputation and encourage it as an optional addition to students’ learning.