The best way to learn about a group of people is to study their language. Can you imagine trying to learn about the history of a country without being able to read its language? While any people's culture is comprised of their music, writing, history, food, and a multitude of other factors, language is what ties culture together. That's why the the best way to understand any group of people is to learn their language!
The place to start learning Latin is to learn about the language itself -- what does it sound like? What letters does it use? Where did it come from? In the videos below you will learn about the beginnings of Latin and the basics of its pronunciation.
The place to start learning Latin is to learn about the language itself -- what does it sound like? What letters does it use? Where did it come from? In the videos below you will learn about the beginnings of Latin and the basics of its pronunciation.
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Where did Latin come from?
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Latin Alphabet/Pronunciation
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Today we have a pretty good understanding of where Latin originated. The answer, however, goes far beyond the peninsula of Italy and starts with a hypothetical "mother-language" which we call "Indo-European." Click on the illustration to the right to see how almost every modern language in Europe and the Middle East originated from the same source! The image below also gives you an idea of how Latin connects to other languages of the world (including English).
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Minna Sundberg's Illustration of the Indo-European Langauge Tree -- c/o The Guardian
This image shows the distribution of I-E languages across the globe. Dark blue represents countries in which I-E languages are the majority, while light blue indicates countries where I-E languages are present but not the majority (image from Wikipedia)
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Connections Between Languages
Click on the images below to expand them and look at how all of these Indo-European languages relate to each other. These connections are why it's easier to learn these languages when you have a base knowledge of Latin! It's also why it's easier for people who speak one of these languages to learn the others. Hopefully this inspires you to learn another spoken language -- it can really expand your connections to the world around you! Take a look!
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How do people move (and bring language with them)?
So now that we've seen that many of the world's languages are connected, how did this happen? The answer can be understood by looking at the migration patterns of human beings. Remember, as people move they bring their language with them. To better understand this, take a look at the video below. Over time, you can see how the movement of our ancestors spread language out across the globe! Also, try to think about why people moved in certain directions -- what would have been there to attract them to these places?
Tracing the movements of humans can help explain some really interesting linguistic phenomena. For instance, have you ever wondered why only certain countries use the word "tea"? Take a look at the tweet below to see why that is the case!
If tea spread to your country by sea, you call it ‘tea’. If by land, you call it chai.
— Pádraig Belton (@PadraigBelton) January 12, 2018
(*This is because the ports of Fujian and Taiwan use the coastal pronunciation ‘te’, whereas Mandarin uses chá.) pic.twitter.com/HQsesNik9d
Continue Learning!
If Latin is a "dead" language, how do we know what it sounded like? It's a good question, but luckily for you there is plenty of evidence to tell us what Latin sounded like -- most of this is based off our knowledge of the "Romance Languages" and our study of ancient and modern languages. Also, there are a few places where Latin is still spoken today-- so you still can hear it spoken!
Watch the videos below to learn about the Latin alphabet and the pronunciation of Latin vowels, consonants, and special pairs of vowels known as "diphthongs." |
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Pronunciation Practice
Why Does Pronunciation Matter?
If you're wondering why pronunciation matters so much, just take a look at the visual to the right and the videos below! They might open your eyes to how important it really is!