Hate English? Learn Latin!
"Latin is a language,
As dead as it can be.
First it killed the Romans,
And now it's killing me.
All are dead who spoke it,
All are dead who
learned it,
All are dead who wrote it:
Noble death ? they earned it!"
Though English is by far the most frequently used western language nowadays, the roots of most western language trace back to the Ancient Romans. As the weird person I am, I for one can't help being attracted to this dead language of the Romans that gave birth to
countless modern languages ? Latin.
Ever notice the similarity among Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Rumanian, etc? ? Precisely why it's
relatively common for
medieval upper class European to speak two or three languages, with the Romance System
holding the origin of these language, it is no more difficult to learn a few western language than to speak a couple of dialects.
Even though the English language technically developed out of German dialects, as much as sixty percent of English vocabulary comes from Latin, directly or
indirectly, as result of the Norman
invasion to Britain in 1066, during which the French conquered the English and introduced French words of Latin origin into the English language.
Many other derivatives of Latin origin came into English during the
revival of
classical learning in the Renaissance and Enlightenment period (around 1550), and Latin words had been significantly introduced into English usage in scientific, medical, and legal terminology.
"Prefix, suffix, Latin roots" ? that's how Americans teach their youth the native language. Indeed the mother language is the way to go. The study of Latin language
inevitably enhances one's English skill on large scale due to its extreme meticulousness on every grammatical details and
excessive demands on knowledge of basic roots.
Speaking from personal experience, agonizing over every fastidious detail in Latin may not be the most enjoyable thing to do, but it makes study of English a piece of cake. I
herebysincerely propose the perfect solution to all hatred toward English ? learn Latin! Take care of the problem from the root, and even if you hate it, it's not
necessarily a bad thing ? at least then you'll start to love the English language!
关键字:
网友情怀生词表: