Carmenta Blog

Category: Analysis

  • “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #6: Access to 2000 Years of Western Literature

    “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #6: Access to 2000 Years of Western Literature

    Unparalleled Access to Ancient, Medieval, and Pre-Modern History and Literature

    The sixth (and last) reason to study Latin is in my mind the most persuasive argument of all. For most of the past two millennia (up until the 19th century) Latin was the common language of the literate West and so of the majority of literature and academic writing. Serious students of Latin (for obvious reasons) have unique access to this vital period of world literature — a period too often ignored by modern education. Obviously, it’s possible to read all these works in translation, but is it the same? I would argue it isn’t. In fact, decades of experience with the language have shown me that students of Latin generally get far more out of Latin literature than other readers, developing insights into the texts that non-Latinists can never have. There’s also the issue of exposure — most students read a very limited selection of literature in school, almost none of it Latin literature. And since standard required reading in the English-speaking world skews heavily toward English-language texts and works of the 19th and 20th centuries, the average student is left with an enormous blind spot in his or her overall education. To me this is a tremendous shame since students can’t possibly develop an honest understanding of the modern world if they haven’t already developed a solid understanding of the ancient, medieval, and early-modern periods. A student who is never exposed to writers like Pliny, Virgil, Bede, or Aquinas loses that valuable perspective and, perhaps even more unfortunate, won’t even know it’s missing!

    History

    An oft-repeated quotation (frequently attributed to Mark Twain) is “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” This is (I think) an important insight, so important that it merits some serious attention and analysis. Every student of history knows that, while historical events reflect their particular period and the circumstances of the time, there are also often key parallels linking different times and places, which the educated observer can use to see the patterns of humanity and civilization and so better understand contemporary events. A person without at least a minimal grasp of the vast span of known history is navigating the modern world without a paddle (and I’m not convinced this is an accident).

    While there are definite patterns and common themes to history, they aren’t generally evident over just a century or two. The waves of history — the rise and fall of civilizations, technology, and learning — happen over millennia, and so people whose perspective on history goes back no more than a couple hundred years will necessarily suffer from serious historical myopia. Most intelligent people strive to understand the contemporary world better, and the actions and decisions of the people who run it. But this is almost impossible without a broad perspective — one that spans thousands of years. The truly crucial parallels to the world empires and global events of our day don’t appear in recent history. In fact, the student will HAVE to go back as far as Rome or ancient China, the Aztecs and the Inca, or even back to the Sumerians and the Akkadians in order to see them. Without this long-term view the overall events of the contemporary world often appear accidental and unpredictable. Those with a broad grasp of human history, though, are able not just to understand and (to a certain extent) predict the twists and turns of current history, but even respond to them.

    Advanced Latin students are exposed to a wide range of Latin historical literature and for this reason in a far better position to understand the civilization that parallels our own more than any other — the Roman Empire. Most people’s understanding of Rome is vague at best. They’ve heard of it, obviously, along with major historical figures like Julius and Augustus Caesar, and perhaps even Pompey or Marc Antony, but everything beyond that — the actual events and convolutions of the civilization and its history — are a complete blank. This, in my mind, is a genuine tragedy. We can’t possibly begin to understand how modern-day empires work without a clear understanding of the ancient empire that we know the most about AND most closely parallels the one we live inside of today. In a similar way it’s impossible to predict the probable aftermath and consequences of our own civilization without a comprehensive understanding of the millennium or so in between the Roman Empire and the current Western Empire, a period of time encompassing the medieval and early-modern periods.

    The one group of students, of course, with real access to the literature of the ancient, medieval, and pre-modern periods and so in the best position to understand these periods are Latin students. They’ve read Caesar and Livy, Suetonius and Bede, historians recording the events and personalities of the Roman and post-Roman eras. Most students, though, never read these historians (even in translation) or any of the many other important historians of these periods. It’s clear to me that, if you want your student to understand ancient and medieval history (and I think you should), the best way to make that happen is through serious study of the Latin language.

    Poetry and Fictional Prose

    To most students the many centuries of pre-modern poetry and fictional prose are (like the history of that time) a complete blank. The earliest literature most students ever read is Shakespeare (or perhaps Beowulf if they’re lucky). The majority of students aren’t even exposed to Homer or Dante. In fact, most poetry and literary prose that students do read comes out of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (probably 90% or more), and almost none of it is pre-Shakespearean. To me this is beyond unfortunate, and I would argue that it may constitute a genuine crisis! Poetry and fictional prose, at their best, express the human experience in a way history can’t ever hope to. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that fiction is just as important as historical writing for understanding a period of history and the people who lived through that history. In fact, poetry and fictional prose (contrary to people’s general idea of what “fiction” means) can provide a far clearer picture of a time and place than any historian ever could. Most people’s concept of Victorian England, for example, comes directly from Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, not from any historian of the period.

    In the same way, students can’t possibly develop an understanding of earlier historical periods, of their context and mores, without reading the great fictional prose and poetry of those periods. Just as we read William Faulkner to understand the postbellum American South, we should all be reading Catullus and Virgil to better understand first-century-B.C. Rome. If we want to approximate the experience of people living in the 1st and 2nd-century-A.D. Roman Empire, then in addition to the historians, we should be reading Petronius, Juvenal, and Apuleius. And to get a sense of 11th and 12th-century Europe we should read Geoffrey of Monmouth, Bernardus Silvestris, and Peter Abelard. Unfortunately, most students have not only never read any of these writers — they likely haven’t even heard of them! Latin students, of course, are a notable exception. A student who’s reached an advanced level in the language WILL read many (if not most) of these authors and in this way gain an understanding of these specific periods of history that he or she would otherwise never have access to.

    Philosophy

    Despite its being almost completely ignored in primary and secondary-school curriculum, and far too small a part of college-level core curriculum, philosophy is a vital discipline, one that every educated person should receive (at the very least) a minimal education in. In fact, it’s essential to develop an understanding of the philosophers of a period and place if we want to grasp what that period and place is all about. Philosophers reflect the age in which they live, on the one hand adapting their philosophy to the context and needs of the period and on the other influencing the zeitgeist of that particular period in myriad ways. Lucretius, for example, provides insights into the cultural context of the early Roman Empire that no historian could hope to communicate. In the same way, we can’t begin to understand medieval thinking without reading Aquinas, or the intellectual milieu of the pre-modern period without Descartes, Spinoza, or Leibniz. Of course, all of these philosophers wrote in Latin, and like the historians, poets, and fictional prose writers listed above, few students will have the breadth and depth of exposure to these philosophers that the advanced Latin student has.

    Math and Science

     I’m starting to sound like a broken record, I know, but the same argument that I’ve applied to Latin-language historians, poets, fiction prose writers, and philosophers can be applied just as easily to mathematicians and scientists. An age’s technology and overall understanding of the universe is reflected in its science and math. You simply cannot understand the pre-modern period in any meaningful way without knowing something about Newton, Euler, and Descartes. Or the Middle Ages without learning about Roger Bacon or Fibonacci. Or the ancient world without some knowledge of Celsus, Vitruvius, or Boethius. Again, the students with the greatest access and exposure to these thinkers are Latin students.

    Latin Is Access to the World!

    By now (I think) my thesis should be clear — you can’t possibly understand the events and cultural context of an age without reading the important writers of that age, whether they’re historians, poets, fictional prose writers, philosophers, mathematicians, or scientists. And since the majority of the scholars and artists of Ancient Rome and medieval Europe and a large minority of those in pre-modern Europe wrote in Latin, there’s no group of students with better access to and a clearer understanding of their works than Latin students. If you want to understand the world and your place in it, then study Latin!

    Check out the main article in this series: Why Study Latin?

  • “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #5: Modern Language Learning

    “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #5: Modern Language Learning

    A Solid Foundation in Latin Boosts Modern-Language Success

    Like much in this series, this may seem counterintuitive, but in fact, one of the best ways (if not THE VERY BEST way) to achieve long-term success in a modern language is to study the Latin language first. Obviously, starting with Latin may seem like a weird detour when your real goal is to learn a completely different language, but decades of experience in both learning and teaching ancient and modern languages have convinced me that this is the best route for most students. 

    The vast majority (well above 95%) of English speakers who study a modern language never achieve even minimal fluency in the language, most quitting before they’ve learned even the basics. It isn’t that these students are incapable of learning (or are lazy), but that they’re being taught the language in a short-sighted and ineffective way.

    Conventional modern-language curriculum ignores grammar as much as it possibly can, instead emphasizing an intuitive understanding of the language built up through long-term repetition. I will admit, since the sentence structure of most modern European languages is so close to that of English, this approach CAN work to some degree. Still, it’s far from the best (and most efficient) way to go about it. In fact, students learn languages far more quickly and effectively (and are far more likely to be successful long term) if they develop a detailed understanding of the grammar and vocabulary-logic of both English and the language they’re learning. And the best way to achieve this (BY FAR) is through the study of Latin.

    Latin Teaches Grammar

    Long-term study of Latin compels students to learn not just the grammar of Latin itself but, by extension, the grammar of English and most other modern European languages. Latin students develop both 1) an awareness of the very existence of grammar and 2) a solid knowledge of specific grammar categories. And even though the grammar of the modern language will not match Latin or English exactly (it will be the same in some ways and different in others), because Latin is so good at revealing the “skeleton” of not just Latin and English but language in general, the student will now be able to identify the similarities and differences between various languages FAR more easily. A student who has previously studied Latin will learn another language’s rules of grammar FAR more easily on account of this awareness of universal grammar categories.

    Modern-Language Curriculum Avoids Grammar

    A solid understanding of grammar is a tremendous shortcut for the student, allowing him or her to learn, retain, and apply concepts far more easily. Unfortunately, most modern-language curriculum includes very limited grammar instruction. The reason for this should be obvious to most language teachers — very few 21st-century students have had even minimal previous instruction in the elements and rules of English grammar and for this reason will find it quite challenging to learn new grammar concepts. Because of this, curriculum creators know that, if they do teach grammar in a real way, most students will quickly become frustrated and likely quit the course.

    Course creators can, as I said, get away with avoiding grammar to some degree because of the grammatical similarities between English and other modern European languages. Students can lean on their intuitive “understanding” of sentence structure since the new language will have pretty much the same structure as English. Unfortunately, the flipside of this poor understanding of grammar is a permanent limitation on students’ long-term progress.

    Avoiding Grammar Limits Student Success

    Without a complex and detailed understanding of grammar it’s very difficult for students to achieve anything resembling fluency in a language. I’m not saying that students who are native speakers of one modern language can’t learn another modern language without this understanding. In fact, many students do, particularly those in Europe (most of whom are learning English). But these students learn within a very different system, one that mandates the continuous study of the language over MANY years alongside their peers. Because so many students are learning the same language (English more than any other), it is relatively easy for the student to practice speaking it and optimize the intuitive method. I would argue, though, that they’re still making it far more difficult than it needs to be. An advanced understanding of grammar would accelerate learning AND allow the student to reach a much higher level in the language.

    Students Never Get Beyond a “Broken” Version of the Language

    Most students of modern languages (even the ones who achieve some level of fluency) never get beyond a “broken” version of the language, continuing to make very elementary mistakes even after decades. In fact, these students are essentially incapable of correcting these mistakes because they have little to no understanding of grammar. They tend to impose their native language and its idioms onto the non-native one, creating their own unique version of the language. Their non-specific, intuitive “understanding” becomes a barrier limiting how well they speak and write the language. This is an even bigger issue when the grammar of the native language is significantly different from the grammar of the one the student is learning.

    Latin Corrects This Grammar Deficiency

    Native English-speaking students who first take Latin THEN a modern language tend to be far more successful in the modern language than other students since they’ve already developed a deep and complex understanding of grammar. This makes up for many of the grammar shortcomings of the modern-language curriculum, giving the student a framework for the language that allows him or her to achieve fluency and understanding. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that previous Latin instruction combined with typical modern-language curriculum will almost always be MORE effective than modern-language curriculum with grammar instruction integrated into it. Latin teaches students the elements of grammar FAR better than other languages BECAUSE its overall logic and sentence structure are so different from modern languages. This contrast between the structure of English and Latin makes it impossible for students to rely on their intuitive “understanding” of language. They are forced to develop a detailed, conscious understanding, which in the end is what they need the most.

    Latin Improves Modern-Language Vocabulary

    A good knowledge and understanding of Latin vocabulary provides tremendous insight into the vocabulary of modern Romance languages like Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian. As I discussed in my “English Vocabulary” article, Latin reveals the meanings of words in English and many other modern languages through its word-construction patterns, combining simpler Latin words together into larger compound words or basic Latin verbs with a limited number of prefixes. Latin students’ understanding of these patterns allows them to guess and remember the meanings of Latin words as well as the Romance-language words derived from them. This turns memorization of vocabulary, the bane of most students’ existence, into something far more manageable.

    Since English is a Romance/Germanic combination language, with the majority of its words derived from Latin, a solid knowledge of Latin vocabulary creates a direct link between much of the vocabulary of English and the Romance language. At the same time, though — and this is a surprise to most people — a solid knowledge of Latin vocabulary may be even MORE helpful for linking Germanic-derived English words with their modern-Romance-language translations.

    For example (one among MANY), the English verb “understand” can be translated into the Latin:

    “intendo, intendere, intendi, intentum” 

    Which combines the basic Latin verb:

    “tendo, tendere, tendi, tentum” (which means “extend” or “direct”)

    With the Latin prefix:

    “in-” (which means “in”, “toward”, or “upon”)

    And so:

    “in” (“toward”) + “tendo” (“direct”) => “intendo” (“direct [the mind] toward” = “understand”)

    Understanding how this Latin word was constructed from a basic Latin verb and prefix makes it far easier for the student to learn and remember its meaning (considering that it has no direct linguistic connection to its common English translation) and better understand the corresponding word in a modern Romance language. The following chart shows the equivalent words (which are all translated “understand”) in several other Romance languages:

    English: “understand”

    Latin: “intendere”

    Spanish: “entender”

    Portuguese: “entender”

    French: “entendre”

    It’s easy to see how the Spanish, Portuguese, and French versions came from Latin, but the average student will still have no idea why these words mean “understand”. Over time, as these three Romance languages evolved from Latin to their current state, the clear structure of the word (verb stem + prefix), with the well-understood meaning of each part, was lost. For this reason most native English speakers’ only option is to memorize the translation of “understand” (and countless other words) in the modern language without the help of any structural understanding. Of course, most people are VERY bad at straight memorization, which is one of the reasons most native English speakers fail in their attempt to learn another language. Students who have taken Latin, though, understand WHY this verb means what it means, creating a mental chain between the English word and the translation in the other language that makes learning and remembering the word MUCH easier.

    “Understand” <=> “direct [the mind] toward” <=> “in + tendere” <=> “intendere” <=> “entender” 

    Latin Is the Key to Modern-Language Success

    Study of Latin is the key to understanding the grammar AND vocabulary of Romance languages. Without this understanding the average student will have a MUCH harder time progressing in the modern language and retaining what he/she has learned. In my mind Latin is the true solution to the crisis of modern-language learning in the English-speaking world.

    Check out the main article in this series: Why Study Latin?


  • “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #4: SAT and ACT Scores

    “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #4: SAT and ACT Scores

    Latin Boosts SAT and ACT Scores

    While long-term Latin study has a variety of benefits, one in particular is most likely to get the attention of high-achieving students and parents — a significant increase in SAT and ACT scores. In previous articles in this series I’ve outlined precisely how Latin study improves students’ understanding and command of English vocabulary and grammar, which the SAT and ACT test in a very direct way. (In fact, students without a large English vocabulary and in-depth understanding of English grammar can’t possibly score well on the verbal part of these standardized tests.) I’ve also discussed how study of the Latin language develops students’ logical-thinking skills — which is also essential for success on these standardized tests. The structure and logic of the Latin sentence is so different from that of English that the process of translating sentences from Latin to English and English to Latin is necessarily quite complex. And while this makes Latin a more challenging language to learn (especially early on), this built-in complexity is hugely positive for the growth of students’ lateral-thinking abilities. Being forced to identify, apply, and reorganize a wide range of individual rules of grammar and information-points forces students to develop advanced logical-thinking skills. And unlike a broad knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, which is really only helpful on the verbal portion of the test, excellent logical-thinking skills give the student a huge boost on BOTH the verbal AND math sections of the SAT and ACT.  

    Students who’ve studied Latin for at least a year will see significant improvement in the following three areas:

    1) English Vocabulary
    2) English Grammar
    3) Logical-Thinking Skills

    Obviously, growth in these areas is beneficial to the student in myriad ways, making him or her far more successful not just in other subjects in school but later on in life in general. One specific (and important) benefit of these skill sets is improved performance on the SAT and ACT standardized tests. In fact, in my experience there’s nothing a student can do that’s more effective for boosting SAT/ACT scores than to study Latin.

    In the following article I’ll explain precisely how a solid knowledge of Latin improves students’ command of each of these three areas, then demonstrate how each plays a part in boosting standardized-test scores.

    English Vocabulary

    Approximately 56% of words in English are derived from Latin words, either directly borrowed from Latin or passed down through French. (Finkenstaedt 1973; Xiao 2020) In addition, many of the words in English with a Latin origin were later purposely Latinized, their spellings made to conform to the spellings of their Latin “parents”. These two characteristics of English allow students with a solid knowledge of Latin vocabulary to learn and remember English word spellings far more easily. Even more positive, though, is the significant improvement in the understanding of English word meanings. The vast majority of Latin words are combinations of shorter, more basic Latin words or of bases or stems with different prefixes added. The study of these components, their translations, and how they fit together gives Latin students insights into English word meanings that no other language can provide. I’ll do my best to illustrate these points with a couple examples.

    First, let’s look at verb stems and prefixes and how their combination creates new meanings. If we start with the fourth principal part of the following basic Latin verb:

    traho, trahere, traxi, TRACTUS (which means “drag”, “draw”, or “pull”)

    Then add the prefix “ex-” (which means “from” or “out”),

    It becomes:

    “ex-” (“out”) + “tractus” (“pull”) = “extractus” => “extract” (“pull out”)

    But if we switch the prefix to “con-” (which means “together”),

    It becomes:

    “con-” (“together”) + “tractus” (“pull”) = “contractus” => “contract” (“pull together”)

    Or if we switch it to “re-” (which means “back” or “again”),

    It becomes:

    “re-” (“back”) + “tractus” (“pull”) = “retractus” => “retract” (“pull back”)

    And this pattern holds across the entire Latin language. If a student knows the meaning of a basic Latin word and the meanings of a couple dozen Latin prefixes, then the student can quite easily guess the meanings of new verbs formed from a combination of the basic verb and a prefix. This then allows the student to guess the meanings of English words derived from these combination Latin verbs quite accurately. 

    Second, let’s take a look at how the meanings of non-verb Latin words compounded from multiple basic Latin words can also be guessed quite easily.  

    A good example is the English noun “equilibrium”, which comes from the Latin noun:

    “aequilibrium, -i”

    This is a combination of the adjective:

    “aequus, -a, -um” (“equal” or “even”)

    And the noun:

    “libra, -ae” (“balance”).

    And so together:

    “aequus” (“equal”) + “libra” (“balance”) = “aequilibrium” => “equilibrium” (“equal balance”)

    Another example is the English adjective “multilateral”, which comes from the Latin adjective:

    “multilateralis, -e”

    This is a combination of the adjective:

    “multus, -a, -um” (“many” or “much”)

    And the noun:

    “latus, lateris” (“side”).

    And so together:

    “multus” (“many”) + “lateris” (“side”) = “multilateralis” => “multilateral” (“many-sided”)

    This combining of multiple words into new longer words or of basic verbs with a limited number of prefixes is characteristic of the Latin language. And since the Latin student can’t help but develop an understanding of these patterns over time, it becomes extremely easy for him or her to guess the meanings of compound Latin words (and their English derivatives) accurately and with little effort. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that gaining an understanding of how Latin vocabulary works while simultaneously learning the meanings of a relatively small number of basic Latin words is the EASIEST and MOST EFFECTIVE way to expand one’s English vocabulary. As you might guess, this deeper understanding of Latin (and related English) vocabulary is a huge boon to any student looking to raise his or her SAT/ACT verbal test scores.

    English Grammar

    One of the best ways (if not the VERY best way) to learn the subtleties of English grammar is by studying Latin. Because the logic of a Latin sentence is so different from that of an English sentence, students are forced to move beyond their vague, intuitive understanding of grammar toward a clear, conscious understanding — translating between these two languages would be impossible otherwise. Most modern European languages, on the other hand, have a sentence structure so similar to that of English that students are (unfortunately) never forced to move very far beyond an intuitive understanding of sentence structure and grammar. 

    The following is a summary of the four basic English sentence templates. Though there are many variations, every English sentence or clause will fit into one of these four.

    1) subject – action verb – direct object – “to” – indirect object

    Ex.: “A man gives a present to the woman.”

    2) subject – action verb – indirect object – direct object

    Ex.: “A man gives the woman a present.”

    3) subject – linking verb – predicate nominative

    Ex. “The man is a teacher.”

    4) subject – linking verb – predicate adjective

    Ex.: “The man is tall.”

    English speakers have an intuitive understanding of these four templates, knowing the role that each noun has in the sentence by its position in the template. A Latin sentence, on the other hand, has a completely different structure and logic. Latin has all the same roles for nouns (subject, indirect object, direct object, possessive, etc.), but the role of a noun isn’t determined by its position in the sentence. Rather, the ending on the noun, which varies according to the noun’s case and number (singular or plural), determines the role. This concept becomes clearer in the following example.

    English Sentence: “The girl gives the girls a girl of the girls.”

    Latin Translation: “Puella dat puellis puellam puellarum.”

    I’ve used the same noun several times in this sentence as a way to make the structural differences between the two languages a bit clearer. As demonstrated in the four templates above, English indicates the role of each noun by its position in the sentence and/or an introductory word or words (e.g., “of”). The subject precedes the verb, the direct and indirect objects follow the verb, and the possessive is preceded by the word “of”. Latin, on the other hand, indicates the role of each noun by its ending. (“Puell-a” = subject; “puell-is” = indirect object; “puell-am” = direct object; “puell-arum” = possessive.) The upshot of this very different method of indicating the role of each noun is that the pieces of a Latin sentence don’t need to be in any particular order, and therefore the following variations on the Latin sentence all have the exact same meaning:

    “Puella dat puellis puellam puellarum.”

    “Puellarum puellam puella puellis dat.”

    “Dat puella puellam puellarum puellis.”

    “Puellis dat puellam puellarum puella.”

    And these are just some of the possible Latin translations! As you might guess, this structural difference makes it impossible for the student to translate between Latin and English without an extremely clear idea of the grammar of both languages. For this reason, Latin students have a far better grasp of English grammar overall than students of modern languages, and so tend to score much higher on the SAT and ACT verbal sections.

    Logical Skills

    Because translation from Latin to English (and vice versa) requires transporting meaning from a sentence with one type of structure to one with a completely different type of structure, the student is forced not just to acquire a detailed understanding of both but also to develop some very advanced logical skills. Unlike translation between English and most modern European languages, which doesn’t require the English-speaking student to move outside of an intuitive understanding of sentence structure, translation between English and Latin necessitates the comprehension and application of a wide range of grammatical rules in the context of a complex and ever-changing process.  

    This complex process of translation between Latin and English must be learned gradually over the course of years, and while this is clearly a significant time commitment, the benefits are great. Not only does the student learn the subtleties of English grammar and vocabulary far better than he or she would through study of a modern language, but at the same time, that student is forced to develop logical problem-solving skills that will make a huge difference on both parts (verbal AND math) of the SAT and ACT, raising the student’s scores significantly.

    Check out the main article in this series: Why Study Latin?

    References

    1. Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Wolff, Dieter (1973). Ordered Profusion: Studies in Dictionaries and the English Lexicon. C. Winter. p. 119. ISBN 3-533-02253-6.
    2. Xiao, Xiao (2020). “The study of loanwords in English”. Journal of Contemporary Educational Research. 4 (12): 36–43.

  • “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #3: Logical Skills

    “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #3: Logical Skills

    How does Latin develop students’ logical-thinking skills?

    In the last article in this series I explained how the difference in the structure of a Latin sentence versus an English sentence forces students to understand the grammar of both languages in a deep, detailed way, which leads to students reading, writing, and speaking English at a much higher level. This is just ONE of the benefits of this difference, though. In fact, this structural dissimilarity also has a second very positive effect on students–it forces them to develop advanced LOGICAL SKILLS.

    Translating a sentence from Latin to English or English to Latin requires the student to transfer the meaning of the sentence out of one structural system into an entirely dfferent one. And because these two systems have so little in common with each other, the English-speaking student isn’t able to rely on his or her intuitive understanding of sentence structure in the way he/she can when translating between English and modern European languages like Spanish, French, or Portuguese. This forces the student to go beyond the intuitive to a conscious and detailed understanding of how both systems work and then figure out how to move from one to the other in a logical way.

    I’ll do my best to clarify what I mean through a few examples.

    English vs. Modern-Language Sentence Structure

    First, let’s look at a very simple English sentence:

    “The boy reads the book.”

    The Spanish translation of this sentence is:

    “El niño lee el libro.”

    The logic of the English and Spanish sentences is the same. We have an action verb in the middle, which we identify as the verb both because it comes second in the sentence and also because it clearly indicates an action. We also have a subject, which we know must be the subject because it immediately precedes the verb, and a direct object, which we know is a direct object because it follows the verb.

    The following English words/phrases have these Spanish direct translations:

    “The boy” = “el niño” [singular noun with definite article]

    “Reads” = “lee” [present, third-person singular verb form]

    “The book” = “el libro” [singular noun with definite article]

    Since the structural logic of the two languages is exactly the same, with the roles of words dependent on their position in the sentence, to produce a Spanish translation we simply replace each English word/phrase with the corresponding Spanish word/phrase in the same position in the sentence.  

    English: “The boy [subject] reads [action verb] the book [direct object].”

    Spanish: “El niño [subject] lee [action verb] el libro [direct object].”

    In both languages the role of the noun (subject or direct object) is indicated by its position in the sentence, and the final meaning of the sentence is then determined by the order of the words. Because the logic of sentence structure is (at least in this case) the same for both languages, the student can translate this quite easily, replacing each English word with its Spanish translation in the exact same spot in the sentence. This means that the student can rely on his/her intuitive understanding of sentence structure and doesn’t need to understand many of the the details of grammar.

    English vs. Latin Sentence Structure

    A Latin sentence, on the other hand, is governed by a completely different set of rules of grammar and has a completely different overall logic to it. In Latin the role of a noun is indicated not by its position in the sentence but by its particular ending.

    The following English words/phrases in the same English sentence (“The boy reads the book”) have these Latin direct translations:

    “The boy” = “puer” [singular subject noun, which therefore has the nominative singular ending; Latin has no articles, so the article is dropped]

    “Reads” = “legit” [present, third-person singular verb form]

    “The book” = “librum” [singular direct-object noun, which therefore has the accusative singular ending; again, the article is dropped]

    If we maintain the same order of elements in the sentence, then the English sentence is translated to Latin thus:

    English: “The boy [subject] reads [action verb] the book [direct object].”

    Latin: “Puer [subject] legit [action verb] librum [direct object].”

    Unlike English and Spanish, the subject and direct object must be given the ending that corresponds with their role in the sentence (which is expressed by case) and number. This is necessary because (unlike English and Spanish) Latin doesn’t demand that the words be placed in any particular order. The Latin sentence “Puer legit librum” could be expressed in any of the following ways with no difference in meaning:

    “Puer librum legit.”

    “Librum puer legit.”

    “Librum legit puer.”

    “Legit puer librum.”

    “Legit librum puer.”

    While there are certain general word-order conventions in Latin, these conventions are not anywhere close to absolute and are broken quite often (particularly in Latin poetry), so it is essential that the student fully understand this very different structural logic and also memorize the many endings that are used to express this logic. The need for a very specific understanding of grammar becomes obvious if we take one of the five Latin translations that doesn’t follow English word order and then translate it to English.

    Latin: “Legit librum puer.”

    “Legit” [present, third-person singular verb form] = “reads”

    “Librum” [noun with the accusative singular ending, which therefore is the direct object; the definite article “the” is added to conform to English convention] = “the book”

    “Puer” [noun with the nominative singular ending, which therefore is the subject; the definite article “the” is added to conform to English convention] = “the boy”

    Therefore:

    Latin: “Legit [action verb] librum [direct object] puer [subject].”

    Becomes:

    English: “Reads [action verb] the book [direct object] the boy [subject].” = “Reads the book the boy.”

    But this obviously makes no sense in English because the role of a noun in an English sentence depends on its position, not on an ending, so it is now necessary to take the pieces and reorder them to follow English word order. The final translation becomes:

    English: “The boy [subject] reads [action verb] the book [direct object].”

    Why Latin Develops Students’ Logical Skills

    As you can see from this example, translating between Latin and English is quite complex (even for a sentence as simple as this one) and is only done successfully if the student fully understands the grammatical rules and logic of both languages. And while the rules of grammar and the general steps of translation stay the same, the exact process of translation varies depending on the particular sentence and the elements included in that sentence. Students learn over time to hold a large amount of information in their minds all at once and then apply that information as needed to a particular sentence.

    Most students educated in the English-speaking world have been taught in school to think in a very linear fashion, memorizing series of steps that they then apply in the exact same way every time, or even just memorizing straight facts. Latin forces these students to develop a more lateral way of thinking. They are taught to break a complex sentence in Latin or English into its component parts and then hold all that information in their minds as they reorganize it so it conforms to the rules and conventions of the other language. This requires the development of quite advanced logical-thinking skills–skills that the student is then able to apply not just to his/her other subjects but also to many other aspects of life.

    Coming from me, a Latin teacher, I understand why you may take the following statement with a grain of salt, but I truthfully have never seen another subject (with the notable exception of Ancient Greek) that develops complex logical-thinking skills as well as Latin does. (And I’m including all levels of math.) No matter what goals the student has in life and what field the student finally chooses to go into, a solid education in Latin (under a competent Latin teacher or tutor) will allow that student to develop the logical-thinking skills he or she will need in order to excel in school, and in life in general.

    Check out the main article in this series: Why Study Latin?

  • “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #2: English Grammar

    “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #2: English Grammar

    Latin Teaches English Grammar

    It’s counterintuitive, but BECAUSE Latin and English grammar are so DIFFERENT from each other in so many ways, Latin actually teaches English grammar far better than modern languages do. In fact, a major reason for the general decline in English-grammar understanding is the steep decline in the number of students studying this ancient language. Latin teaches English grammar effectively because it provides students with a unique grammatical perspective that reveals the structure and logic of the English language, a perspective that most modern European languages don’t provide BECAUSE their sentence structure is so SIMILAR to that of English.

    How It Works

    English and most modern European languages have pretty much the same basic sentence structure. Every English sentence contains (at the very least) a subject and a verb, and may also contain a direct object, indirect object, predicate adjective or predicate nominative, objects of prepositions (in prepositional phrases), and/or possessives. All of these words are nouns (one of the parts of speech, along with adjectives, verbs, prepositions, etc.) except for the verb and predicate adjective.

    English speakers know (though usually only intuitively, not consciously) what “role” a particular noun has in a specific sentence from the position that the noun has in the sentence. The English speaker is able to identify the verb quite easily because it indicates an action (action verb) or a state of being (linking verb). In English the noun that precedes the verb will then have to be the subject of the sentence, and nouns that follow the verb will have to be a direct object or indirect object (if it’s an action verb) or a predicate nominative or predicate adjective (if it’s a linking verb). Possessives and prepositional phrases can be placed pretty much anywhere in the sentence but are easily identified by the way they’re expressed (possessive = “of the noun”, “noun’s”, or “nouns’ “; prepositional phrase = “preposition + the noun”).

    Here is a summary of the four primary English sentence templates. Every English sentence or clause will fit into one of these, though there are many variations within each template.

    1) subject – action verb – direct object – “to” – indirect object

    Ex.: “The boy gives the book to the girl.”

    2) subject – action verb – indirect object – direct object

    Ex.: “The boy gives the girl the book.”

    3) subject – linking verb – predicate nominative

    Ex. “The boy is a student.”

    4) subject – linking verb – predicate adjective

    Ex.: “The boy is smart.”

    As you can see here, we know what role each noun has by its position in the template relative to the verb and the other nouns. The logic of a Latin sentence, on the other hand, is totally different. Latin has the same parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs, prepositions, etc.) and the same roles for nouns (subject, direct object, indirect object, object of preposition, possessive, predicate nominative), but the role of a noun in Latin is determined by its “case”, indicated by the ending on the noun, which changes depending on the case (role) and the number (singular or plural).

    If we translate the following English sentence into Latin, which uses the same noun in a variety of roles and numbers, we see how this works:

    English: “The man gives the men to the man of the men.”

    (subject – action verb – direct object – “to” – indirect object – possessive)

    Latin: “Vir dat viros viro virorum.”

    In the English example we know which noun is the subject, which is the direct object, and which is the indirect object by the position, and we know that the final noun is possessive from the word “of”. In the Latin translation, on the other hand, we know the role of each noun by the ending. And while in the example above I used the same word order in Latin as I used in the English sentence, this isn’t actually necessary because position isn’t needed in Latin to determine role (which is instead determined by the noun’s ending). In fact, the main parts of a Latin sentence can be put in any order. Therefore the sentence above (“Vir dat viros viro virorum”) could be written in any of the following ways:

    “Vir dat viros viro virorum.”

    “Dat vir viros viro virorum.”

    “Virorum viro dat viros vir.”

    “Viros vir viro virorum dat.”

    “Viro virorum viros dat vir.”

    And these are only SOME of the word-order possibilities for this sentence. In fact, the primary elements of the sentence (subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, prepositional phrases) could be in any order and the meaning of the sentence would still remain the same since the endings determine the roles.

    As you can see, this is a VERY different way of structuring sentences compared to English, and a successful Latin student will have no choice but to learn and be able to apply every single rule of grammar relating to the structure of both Latin and English sentences. Over the years I’ve had very few students who genuinely understood the structure of English sentences before they began their study of Latin. After a relatively short time studying Latin, though, they all developed an advanced understanding of English grammar and sentence structure. Students learning languages like Spanish, French, or Italian, on the other hand, end up understanding English barely any better than they did before because the logic of sentence structure is pretty much the same in those languages as it is in English.

    Latin students really have no choice–they HAVE to develop a detailed understanding of English grammar or they won’t be successful in Latin. But what does this mean in real terms? Well, because Latin students are forced to understand the logic and grammar of their native English language, their relationship to English tends to change in the following ways:

    Change #1) Common mistakes in English grammar are greatly reduced in speech and writing.

    An example of a common English mistake is the confusion between subject pronoun forms (I, we, he, she, they) and the corresponding object pronoun forms (me, us, him, her, them). Because the average English speaker has never learned the overall logic of the English sentence and because subject and object forms are exactly the same for all other nouns, he or she may have a hard time understanding why “Bobby and me love sports” is incorrect but “Bobby and I love sports” is correct. Most people end up relying on what they hear the people around them say, even though those people may understand English grammar no better. But because Latin nouns have distinct forms for each role in the sentence, Latin students rapidly learn the difference between subjects and objects, making the correct use of English subject and object pronouns quite easy for them.

    Change #2) Students write English more clearly and efficiently.

    Because Latin students learn the grammar and logic of English better and in more detail than other students, they develop a conscious control of the language that allows them to write in English at a higher level and much more easily. Since they now understand English sentence structure, they’re able to put sentences together with little effort and fewer mistakes. Writing skills are key for every student’s long-term success and should be a central focus of a good education. Unfortunately, the general quality of students’ writing has degenerated over time with changes in educational norms, and in recent years accelerated with the advent of AI (artificial intelligence). If you are a parent who’s concerned about this trend, there’s (in my opinion) only one clear solution–put your student in Latin. People who study Latin acquire the tools and knowledge they need to write English at a high level even if their previous education in English may have been less than ideal.

    Change #3) English reading speed and comprehension are greatly increased.

    As you’d probably guess, Latin improves students’ English reading skills just as much as it improves their writing skills. The understanding of English grammar and structure that comes with the study of Latin makes it far easier for the student to interpret English in an accurate and specxific way. This greater reading competence affects all aspects of the student’s education, making it far easier for him or her to excel in every other subject. There’s been a severe and rapid degradation in recent years in the general literacy of the English-speaking world (due partially to changes in educational models over time and partially to the explosion in the use of AI). If you’d like your student to be the exception, there’s no better and simpler solution than the study of Latin.

    Check out the main article in this series: Why Study Latin?

  • “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #1: English Vocabulary

    “Why Study Latin?” Series — Reason #1: English Vocabulary

    Latin Study Expands English Vocabulary

    Most high-achieving students would love to improve their English vocabulary. They know that a better understanding of the meaning and spelling of English words will lead to higher grades in a wide range of subjects and (perhaps more important to most learners and their parents) MUCH higher scores on standardized tests like the SAT and ACT. In fact, a broad and detailed understanding of English vocabulary is (probably more than anything else) what separates the highest-achieving students from the rest.

    It isn’t surprising that a good vocabulary is closely associated with improved academic achievement, but what most students and parents may not realize is that one of the best and easiest ways to learn and retain English vocabulary is through the study of Latin. Since the roots of English lie largely in Latin, gaining a solid understanding of the elements and logic of its vocabulary leads to a far better understanding of English vocabulary. This makes it much easier for the student to learn a wide range of English words and even guess (quite accurately) the meaning of words he or she has never seen before.

    But why is Latin such a great tool for learning English vocabulary? How exactly does this work?

    First of all, about 56 percent of English words are derived from Latin, either directly or through French, so the vocabulary link between the two languages is quite strong. (Finkenstaedt 1973; Xiao 2020) In addition, the Latin-derived words in English (unlike Latin-derived words in most other languages) have been purposely Latinized, their spellings largely conforming to the original Latin spelling, making it quite obvious which specific Latin word each English word was derived from.

    But how exactly does this help students understand the MEANINGS of English words? Well, the real key lies in the way Latin words are constructed.

    Most Latin words were assembled from a limited number of smaller pieces–combinations of more basic Latin words, or combinations of stems or bases and a small number of prefixes. Knowing the meanings of these pieces allows the student to guess the meaning of the larger Latin word quite accurately, which is then carried over to the related English word.

    A couple examples should make this clear.

    Example 1:

    The English word “invisible” comes from the Latin word: 

    “invisibilis, -e”

    Which is a combination of the fourth principal part of the verb:

    “video, videre, vidi, VISUS” (which means “see”)

    Plus the prefix “in-” (which means “not”),

    And so:

    “in-” (“not”) + “visus” (“see”) = “invisus” => “invisible” (“not seeable”)

    A basic knowledge of Latin allows students to discover the precise meaning of this English word by taking the meanings of the Latin pieces (the basic verb plus the prefix) and then putting those pieces together into a final combined meaning. This is just one of countless examples of English words whose meaning can be found and understood by digging down into the Latin roots.

    Example 2:

    Another example is the English word “magnanimous”, which comes from the Latin:

    “magnanimus, -a, -um”

    This is a combination of:

    “magnus, -a, -um” (“great”)

    And:

    “animus, -i” (“soul”).

    And so together:

    “magnus” (“great”) + “animus” (“soul”) = “magnanimus” => “magnanimous” (“great-souled”)

    This is a good example of Latin’s tendency toward compound words (new words formed by joining together two or more smaller words). Unfortunately, without a minimal understanding of Latin and the meanings of the two common Latin words fused together in the example above the meaning of the related English word will elude most students.

    The examples above are two of many thousands of English words that can be understood by breaking down the related Latin word into its component parts. Study of Latin reveals the actual roots and logic of English vocabulary and so makes it far easier for the student to learn new English vocabulary words and their meanings. This improves the speed and quality of the student’s English reading and writing and also boosts the student’s SAT/ACT scores.

    Because most students and parents are unaware that Latin is such an effective shortcut to English-vocabulary mastery, they generally settle for the highly inferior method of straight memorization of English words and their definitions. The reality is that most people are very bad at straight memorization, and since their attempts at memorizing English vocabulary in this way are in general so unsuccessful, the majority of students go into the SAT or ACT with one arm tied behind their backs. Students end up wasting countless hours trying to memorize long lists of vocabulary words that they’re unlikely to remember on test day or, realizing the uselessness of it all, just give up and settle for lower standardized-test scores.

    These same students, though, with just a couple years of Latin, will improve their English vocabulary knowledge far more than they could through straight memorization. The average human brain is far better at remembering the meanings of a limited number of words and/or roots that have been seen over and over (as happens with the study of Latin) and then recognizing the pieces when they appear in larger words and in this way understanding the meaning. To most students the word “magnanimous” is just an incomprehensible series of letters and/or sounds that the student is unlikely to have seen enough to know the meaning of, but to any first-year Latin student the meaning is obvious because he/she knows the meanings of the component parts. In the same way the meanings of compound English words like “backhand” and “Badlands” are obvious to English speakers who may never have heard or read those words before.

    Of course, the improved understanding of English vocabulary that comes with the study of Latin isn’t just helpful on standardized tests. It also contributes to long-term success in a variety of subjects and even helps the student at the college level and later on in life. There is a crisis of illiteracy in America. According to a 2017 PIAAC study 54% of American adults read below a sixth-grade level, and only 32% of university freshmen read at a 12th-grade level. (PIACC 2017) In an article in The Atlantic, Columbia professor Nicholas Dames states that many of his students now struggle to comprehend and finish books. Professors at UC Berkeley and Georgetown voice similar concerns in the same article. (Horowitch 2024) Obviously, a major part of the problem is the poor English-vocabulary knowledge of these students, and one of the best and most realistic ways to improve that vocabulary knowledge is to study Latin.

    Check out the main article in this series: Why Study Latin?

    References

    1. Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Wolff, Dieter (1973). Ordered Profusion: Studies in Dictionaries and the English Lexicon. C. Winter. p. 119. ISBN 3-533-02253-6.
    2. Xiao, Xiao (2020). “The study of loanwords in English”. Journal of Contemporary Educational Research. 4 (12): 36–43.
    3. Highlights of the 2017 U.S. PIAAC Results (Report). United States Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. 2017. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
    4. Horowitch, Rose. “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” The Atlantic, November 2024 (published online October 1, 2024).

  • Why Study Latin?

    Why Study Latin?

    What foreign language should my student study?

    If you assert that Latin is not only highly useful but in fact the best foreign-language choice for the vast majority of English-speaking students, the response will (in most cases) be one of skepticism and even mockery. People may respond that Latin is a “dead language” and so useless to the twenty-first century students. If you then ask people what language the student should study instead, they will probably respond with a variation on one of the following:

    1) English is the dominant world language, and so foreign-language-learning (whether modern or ancient) is unnecessary, or

    2) Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, or Arabic are spoken by large numbers of people in the world today, so any of them would be a far better choice than a useless “dead language”.

    Should I even bother to study a foreign language?

    Both of these responses seem reasonable at first. The first response, which (unfortunately) is the dominant attitude of those who control primary and secondary school curriculum and even English-speakers in general, makes sense in a very superficial way. If I already know English, which the rest of the world speaks or is learning to speak anyway, why would I bother to study another language? The second response is typical of a much smaller group of people who are more academically ambitious but still ill-informed. If I do try to learn a foreign language, then shouldn’t it be a language many other people already speak?

    Of course, the reality is that foreign-language education is rarely taken very seriously in the English-speaking world and the number of students who actually learn to speak another language is so low that it’s easy to dismiss the many hundreds of hours students spend on foreign-languages study as a complete waste of time. I would argue, though, that the one language that most definitely ISN’T a waste of time is Latin, and if you’re lucky enough to have a competent teacher, then it’s the best language choice you can possibly make. But why? What does Latin offer the student that other languages can’t or are unlikely to offer?

    1) English Vocabulary

    A better command of English vocabulary is a primary goal of most high-achieving students. These students understand how vital advanced vocabulary knowledge is for their overall academic success in a wide range of subjects (English, writing, history, science, etc.) as well as their success on standardized tests (SAT, ACT, etc.). What they usually don’t understand, though, is that there’s no better and more effective way to achieve this goal than the study of Latin. The roots of English words lie largely in Latin (56% of English words are derived from Latin), and so a strong understanding of Latin vocabulary and the internal logic of Latin words is key to understanding English vocabulary and increasing one’s command of it. (Finkenstaedt 1973; Xiao 2020)

    For more information on this point, please click over to my article on Improved English Vocabulary in the “Why Learn Latin?” Series.

    2) Understanding of English Grammar

    This will seem counterintuitive to most people, but BECAUSE Latin grammar is so different from English grammar in so many ways, it helps students understand English grammar far BETTER than most modern languages do, whose grammar is much closer to that of English than Latin is. The contrast between the sentence structure of English and Latin forces students to get beyond their intuitive understanding of English to a detailed, conscious understanding. In fact, I would argue that the primary reason for the general decline in English-grammar understanding is the simultaneous decrease in the number of students who study Latin. Latin is an excellent teacher of English grammar because, through this very contrast, it reveals the logic and structure of the English language.

    For more details, click over to my article on Improved Understanding of English Grammar in the “Why Learn Latin?” Series.

    3) Logical Skills

    The significant difference in structure between an English and a Latin sentence not only forces the student to understand the grammar of both languages better but also to develop advanced logical skills. When a student translates from Latin to English or English to Latin, that student is transferring the sentence’s meaning from a language with one type of sentence structure to a language with an entirely different one. Because the two languages are so different in this way, the student cannot rely on his/her intuitive understanding of sentence structure. This barrier forces students to get beyond the intuitive and develop a more detailed and conscious understanding of how both structural systems work. The mastery of the process of translation from one language to the other then leads to better overall logical-thinking skills that can be applied to many other subjects and disciplines.

    Click over to my Improved Logical Skills article in the “Why Learn Latin?” Series for a more detailed explanation.

    4) SAT/ACT Scores (Both Verbal and Math)

    The advantages of Latin study are many and various, but the one argument for choosing Latin over other foreign languages that gets students’ and parents’ attention more than any other is the almost certain significant increase in standardized-test scores. Not only does Latin greatly improve the student’s command of English vocabulary and grammar, which on their own drive up SAT or ACT scores for very obvious reasons, but it also gives the student extensive training in the sort of logical-thinking skills that are essential for success on these tests. As I explained in point #3, learning and then applying the complex process of translation from Latin to English or English to Latin forces the student to develop lateral-thinking skills that most students in this day and age never develop. For better or worse a student’s success on the SAT or ACT depends just as much on that student’s general test-taking skills and efficiency as on actual knowledge of English grammar/vocabulary and math, skills that can be learned and applied successfully only if the student has already developed the logical-thinking abilities that Latin is so good at instilling.

    Click over to my Improved SAT Scores (Both Verbal and Math) article in the “Why Learn Latin?” Series to learn more.

    5) Easier to Learn Modern Languages

    It will come as something of a surprise to most students and their parents that one of the best ways to guarantee success in a modern language (like Spanish, French, or even Mandarin Chinese) is to study Latin first. A background in Latin streamlines the study of modern languages and makes it FAR more likely that the student will retain what he/she learns and so achieve actual fluency in the language. As I mentioned above, Latin forces the student to develop both a detailed understanding of grammar and advanced lateral-thinking skills, which are essential for success in modern languages. Unfortunately, standard modern-language instruction does its best to avoid teaching grammar, considering this to be too challenging for the contemporary student. Despite the clear benefits of a deeper, more detailed understanding of the grammar of a modern language, standard curriculum does whatever it can to teach the language while not teaching WHAT the language is, focusing on vague intuitive mastery at the expense of TRUE mastery.

    Check out my Makes It Much Easier to Learn a Modern Language article in the “Why Learn Latin?” Series, where I dive much more deeply into this topic.

    6) Western Literature

    The final reason to study Latin is one that (unfortunately) most students and parents care very little about, though it may be the best argument of all. For almost 2,000 years(all the way up to the nineteenth century) Latin was the common language of the West and so the language of more literature (whether history or fiction or poetry or science) than any other. A student who studies Latin in a serious way and achieves a high level in the language gains direct access to a raft of important literature. And while it’s clearly possible to read these works in translation, understanding the original language gives the reader insights into the text that he/she wouldn’t otherwise have access to. In addition, study of Latin exposes the student to authors and works that he/she would be unlikely to read otherwise. People who have never been exposed to authors like Caesar, Livy, Virgil, or Bede can’t possibly understand how valuable their perspective is and, in general, how vital it is to understand the perspective of ancient and medieval writers if one is to understand the modern world.

    Take a look at Access to 2000 Years of Western Literature in the “Why Learn Latin?” Series for a more detailed analysis of this topic.

    References

    1. Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Wolff, Dieter (1973). Ordered Profusion: Studies in Dictionaries and the English Lexicon. C. Winter. p. 119. ISBN 3-533-02253-6.
    2. Xiao, Xiao (2020). “The study of loanwords in English”. Journal of Contemporary Educational Research. 4 (12): 36–43.