Havergal College Course Calendar, 2016-17 Academic Year

CLASSICAL LANGUAGES

LATIN

GRADES 9 TO 12 Latin is not a dead language. Students find that studying Latin helps them develop skills that can be transferred to other areas of study: English, history, the arts, drama, philosophy, law, medicine and the sciences. Studying this ancient language encourages the mental processes of alertness, attention to detail, memory, logic and critical reasoning. It also helps students develop a college-level vocabulary, since 65% of all English words come from Latin, 90% if one counts words of more than two syllables. As well, Latin fulfills the foreign language requirement at almost all universities and provides an excellent point of departure for the study of other foreign languages. One cannot exaggerate the cultural richness of Latin. Its study will open the door to new cultures as varied as Republican Rome of the third Century BCE and early modern 17 th Century France, and much in between. As the lingua franca of the Ancient Roman Empire, Latin united diverse peoples from all corners of the ancient world: Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia Minor. As the living language of medieval Europe and the language of learning in Early Modern Europe, Latin continued to unite peoples of diverse languages and cultures. Today the Latin classroom is a port, with Latin its lingua franca, uniting students from all over the world in common study and allowing them to enter directly into conversations left by ancient, medieval and modern authors. It is this direct contact with a language so foreign in structure, culture, place and time that allows Latin students to transcend the barriers of place, time and culture while growing, expanding and adapting intellectually in ways unique to this discipline. 1 CREDIT This course introduces students to the enduring achievements of the classical world through the study of Latin. Students will learn vocabulary and grammatical concepts essential for reading and translating adapted classical texts. Although English is the language of instruction, students will develop language skills that will enable them to read and interpret the classical language with fluency and confidence. Through a variety of enrichment activities, students will explore aspects of life in the ancient world including trade, commerce, education, entertainment, and social customs. In addition, students will enhance their literacy skills and improve their interpersonal skills through effective communication skills, and will make connections across the curriculum between the classical world and the world around them. Prerequisite: None LVLBD – Classical Languages, Level 1 Latin, Academic

96  HAVERGAL COLLEGE | Course Calendar 2016–2017