Picture Latin at its own funeral. The guests are solemn. Someone delivers a moving eulogy. “You had a good run,” they whisper. “Aqueducts. Epic poetry. An impressive number of verbs.” Then the supposedly deceased language sits up in its coffin. “Sorry,” it says, “but I’m on your school crest, in your biology homework, and all over the legal paperwork for this funeral. Also, that obituary needs proofreading.” An awkward silence follows. It appears we have buried a language that still has appointments.
It is easy to consider Latin as simply a dead language, mostly confined to the page or spoken in reverence at a Catholic mass, but if that were true, then why does Latin appear everywhere in everyday conversations and in a variety of contemporary circumstances? From the proper names of species to school mottos to the roots of some of our most common words, Latin remains alive and well and has situated itself as an essential part of modern lexicon. Although it is no longer spoken with the same fluency as, say, Italian or French, Latin holds a vital place in the modern era and has remained alive and well despite being declared “dead.”
Tyrannosaurus Rex! Habeas corpus! Carpe diem! In vitro! Memento mori! Audentes fortuna iuvat! These are all Latin phrases, words, terms, and names we still use today, and their origins date back over two thousand seven hundred years —around 700BCE—which was but a minute ago. Born near the Palatine Hill of what would become the heart of Rome itself, Latin became one of the world's most important languages, dominating the ancient Mediterranean and spreading across much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
From its humble beginnings as an outpost for the Etruscans to its rise to a Kingdom, Rome went on to become a powerful Republic before developing into one of the most influential civilizations in antiquity: the Roman Empire. Rome held sway over a massive realm that stretched across three continents, and Latin became the predominant language for millions of people and the foundation for other languages, including French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, and other “Romance” languages that developed over time to become the languages we use today. These dialects are all derived from the language of Rome, which is just a long-winded way of saying Latin, which found its own origin in Ancient Greek, Etruscan, and Proto-Italic vernaculars found on the Italian peninsula.
French words like amor, liberte, and vin (love, freedom, wine) come from the Latin words amo, libertas, and vinum, respectively, and it doesn’t take an etymologist (someone who studies the origins and development of languages) to figure that out. In turn, English words like belligerent, terminate, and deception all find their origins in Latin (bellum meaning war, terminus meaning end, and decepio meaning to deceive) and are rooted in the ancient tongue. Many languages, even non-Romance languages like English, trace many of their words’ origins to Latin and continue to be developed.
Prefixes, suffixes, and roots in modern words often trace back to Latin. Examples of Latin-based prefixes (beginnings of words) include pseudo, meaning false or fake, as in pseudoscience, and quadri, meaning four, as in quadrilateral. Latin suffixes (endings of words) appear throughout languages today, and in English we use suffixes like -mentum, found in words like momentum, and -ax, like syntax. These foundations help us understand context and clues to a word’s origin, which, as one can tell, draws much inspiration from Latin, a supposed dead language.
Latin itself is used in a variety of fields, from the doctor’s office to the courtroom, and throughout academia, and plays a vital role in classification and professional avenues. The fuzzy eight-legged creature that lurks in the corner of any bedroom, better known as the arachnid (or spider), comes from the Latin word aranea. The legal term for without someone present, or in absence, comes from the term in absentia; humans are homo sapiens, the scientific name for our particular species, and toxoplasmosis refers to someone who is sick because they have been infected with the Toxoplasma gondii parasite. You can find a lot of Latin in academics, such as the use of et cetera (often abbreviated as etc.) meaning “and the others,” which refers more to “and so on,” particularly when listing similar examples in the context of the work being done, or ibidem (often shown as ibid) meaning “in the same place” when denoting a repeated source in footnotes.
Mottos and phrases are often written in Latin to harken back to the ancient world and build a deep connection to a group's traditions and ideals. This appears throughout the military and academia, as well as on family crests and business logos. The motto for the Scottish clan Armstrong is invictus maneo, or “I remain unvanquished,” which reveals how a family’s history of devotion to never surrender is deeply intertwined with its core values and ideology. The U.S. Marine Corps’ slogan, semper fi, is an abbreviation of semper fidelis, meaning “always faithful.” The motto “striving towards the sun,” or arduus ad solem, is the official maxim of Manchester University. Veni, vidi, vici, or “I came, I saw, I conquered,” are words attributed to Julius Caesar at the Senate in Rome in 47BCE after a stunning military victory. These words carry incredible weight because they speak not only of the past but also bring it into the modern era, encapsulating the old world (Rome) through its use of Latin.
Through the examination of history, law, language, and science alike, Latin remains not only alive and well but thriving to a point of near fluidity in the common language we use today. Modern English utilizes Latin to establish our current vernacular and vocabulary, whether it be in the use of Latin words or their roots and suffixes. Many languages across the world have developed as a direct result of Latin, and, even though it is not really spoken in common conversation (at least not outside of a classroom), Latin is alive and well in many avenues of modernity.
Back at the funeral, the guests begin quietly packing up. The doctor has patients to see, the lawyer has a habeas corpus petition to file, and the biology teacher has thirty essays on Homo sapiens to grade. Latin watches them leave, looking suspiciously pleased for a corpse. Someone asks what should happen to the headstone. “Keep it,” Latin says. “Just change ‘Rest in Peace’ to ‘Working Remotely.’”
