By: Newsletter Staff

The English language is difficult and complicated as it is. So, many people think, “Why would I want to make things harder by trying to learn only two years of some foreign language that I will probably never use nor ever be able to speak fluently.” Learning at least two years of at least one foreign language will actually improve your perspectives on a person’s native language. Learning a foreign language opens people’s eyes to the ways in which others express themselves, and thus improves speaking and writing skills.

I have taken four years of Latin, three years of French, one year of Ancient Greek, and I am in my second year of college level Russian. I am not fluent in any of these languages. I certainly hope to be fluent in them some day, but I have benefited immensely by studying all of them. Each one gets a little easier because I have become more practiced in understanding the basic principles upon which all languages work. Studying foreign language has improved my memory, my vocabulary, and my sentence structure. People do not have to be fluent in foreign languages to reap their benefits of them. Starting with one will enable you to use English more effectively, and it will allow you to learn other languages more easily. I would recommend starting with Latin first and then take your pick from German, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, etc. Any one of these will probably be a little easier after having taken at least two years of Latin.

So, why should you take Greek? It’s a dead language, how you supposed to use it? Is it any fun? Well, there are answers to all three of those questions. The Ancient Greek class at Catoctin is run by Mr. Brainerd , the chicken loving, plastic sword and helmet bearing Latin teacher but that’s the worst part, I promise. It is recommended that you take through Latin 3 before trying Greek; not because it’s hard, just so you have a decent base in translating foreign languages. The Greek class, like Latin, helps build your vocabulary. You can learn lots of good SAT words. You also learn about Greek Society and government and learn more about some of the myths in depth. In addition to all the culture and history, you’ll learn the ancient Greek language. Don’t get scared by this fact, the word ‘alphabet’ comes from the first two letters in the Greek alphabet, (alpha and beta). You’ll learn Greek words and their endings, and translate sentences and eventually start reading the Greek. Yes!, I said reading. By the time the class is over you’ll be able to read about 30 lines of Greek at a time. Cool huh? But wait there’s more! Because of the small class sizes, Mr. Brainerd can go on more tangents than usual, some of them will include: trepanning, architecture, poetry, and the origin of words.

So, I hope to see you there!