Do you believe Latin is a dead language? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Latin isn't really used in conversation anymore (although I suppose it might be in use for certain correspondence within the Catholic Church) but it is still useful to learn.

Latin forms the basis of so many different languages, that studying Latin is like studying language itself. Knowledge of Latin makes understanding any of the modern Romance languages (such as Spanish, French, Italian, and English too!) much easier. And that helps your writing and speaking, which are all-important skills in today's world.

Answer 2

Latin will never be a fully dead language; it is just a language that is severely limping along. Scientists in many fields continue to use Latin in their research and discoveries, and there are those hardcore linguists that actually converse in Latin (visit an MLA conference). Plus, Latin still survives in some ways with some modern languages (English, French, Spanish, and Italian) and the Vatican. However, as a language unto itself, Latin will not make a comeback anytime soon. We have been far too removed from it to bring it back. The same could be said for Sanskrit or other ancient languages.

Answer 3

Oh no Latin is NOT a dead language.
1. Biology students use Latin all the time.
2. All the taxonomic words are Latinized words.
3. Many of the legal terms are latin.
4. Roman Catholic priests give their high masses in Latin.
5. Latin American students have a big advantage taking some of the biological sciences because they speak Spanish which is founded in Latin.

Answer 4

Latin is NOT a dead language. I just returned from a vacation to Italy and my previous High School Latin classes served me well. I was able to read and understand quite a bit of Italian without ever having taken a course. Latin has been an asset to me in understanding and reading English. Many word origins can be traced back to Latin.

Answer 5

Yes. Nobody speaks the language unless they're in a Latin class or unless they're a priest, etc. We use derivatives of Latin today in the English language, but the Latin language as a whole is dead.

Answer 6

It depends.

If by "Dead" you mean no longer spoken or written in common use, then Latin certainly continues to live. It's the official language of the Vatican, a recognized nation-state, and is the official language of communication for the Roman Catholic church.

Latin is studied in thousands of classrooms around the world, both for its historic value and because Latin is the parent of the Romance Languages (Italian, Spanish, French, Portugese, Romanian, and numerous smaller variations and dialects). Latin's influence extends to Germanic and Oriental tongues as well, as languages share word-concepts over time. And because Latin has a strong grammar, it is fundamental to basic linguistic studies.

Latin is the language of science; the entire biological taxonomy is based on Latin names. Scientific and engineering fields from medicine to electrical engineering use Latin terms.

BUT: if by "dead" you mean is Latin no longer a living language, growing with society and technology, borrowing terms from other languages like every other "living" language, then one must admit Latin is dead. I doubt there is anywhere on earth where Latin is the first language a child learns to speak. Latin in the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church is a convenient, traditional artificiality that eases communication between worldwide clergy.

Personally, I've never studied Latin. But it can make you sound pretty smart if you can toss around Latin phrases like "aqua vitae" (water of life, a slang term for brandy) or "ex post facto" (done retroactively, after the fact).

Or, if you're really into it:
Sona si Latine loqueris. (HONK IF YOU SPEAK LATIN)!

Answer 7

Latin is a dead language because it's not spoken in any country. The catholic church and some ancient literature are still in latin but the reason that it is considered a dead language is because it's not spoken as a countrys language.

Answer 8

Yes.
Latin is a dead language because it is not in popular use and therefor the meanings of latin words never change as they do in an active modern language

Answer 9

Yes, on one has used Latin as a common spoken language in a 1000 years.

Answer 10

Not yet! My grandmother was trying to teach my cousin and me Latin a while ago and I still have some of the study books. As long as there is one person on the planet who knows the language, it's not dead!