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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ll do my best to clarify what I mean through a few examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, let’s look at a very simple English sentence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The boy reads the book.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Spanish translation of this sentence is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“El ni\u00f1o lee el libro.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following English words\/phrases have these Spanish direct translations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The boy” = “el ni\u00f1o” [singular noun with definite article]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Reads” = “lee” [present, third-person singular verb form]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The book” = “el libro” [singular noun with definite article]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
English: “The boy [subject] reads [action verb] the book [direct object].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spanish: “El ni\u00f1o [subject] lee [action verb] el libro [direct object].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following English words\/phrases in the same English sentence (“The boy reads the book”) have these Latin direct translations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The boy” = “puer” [singular subject noun, which therefore has the nominative singular ending; Latin has no articles, so the article is dropped]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Reads” = “legit” [present, third-person singular verb form]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The book” = “librum” [singular direct-object noun, which therefore has the accusative singular ending; again, the article is dropped]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we maintain the same order of elements in the sentence, then the English sentence is translated to Latin thus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
English: “The boy [subject] reads [action verb] the book [direct object].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latin: “Puer [subject] legit [action verb] librum [direct object].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Puer librum legit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Librum puer legit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Librum legit puer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Legit puer librum.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Legit librum puer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latin: “Legit librum puer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Legit” [present, third-person singular verb form] = “reads”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latin: “Legit [action verb] librum [direct object] puer [subject].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Becomes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
English: “Reads [action verb] the book [direct object] the boy [subject].” = “Reads the book the boy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
English: “The boy [subject] reads [action verb] the book [direct object].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n