Latin: A Dead Language's Resurgence

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Students across America from Alaska to New York are choosing to learn Latin in schools in greater numbers than before. They are doing so for a variety of reasons: some want to boost their SAT scores and some are inspired by fictional wizard Harry Potter's Latin incantations.

In fact, according to a New York Times article, the number of candidates taking the National Latin Examination have risen by 33,000 in the past decade to more than 134,000. And the number of students has nearly doubled for the Advanced Placement test in Latin to 8,654 in 2007.

While still not the dominant foreign language for students, with more of them learning French, Spanish and German in schools, Latin is making a steady comeback. More schools in more towns, including New York where more than three dozen institutions teach the subject, are now offering the language.

Latin used to be mandatory at most public schools in the early half of the twentieth century, but fell out of fashion during the '60s when there was an upheaval of classroom traditions and when it ceased to be the official language for the Roman Catholic mass.

Although it was still taught in some schools, it's only made a significant comeback in recent years.

Some say pop culture has helped breathe a breath of fresh air to the language spoken by the ancient philosophers. JK Rowling's Harry Potter series uses Latin in the majority of the spells and Hollywood flicks like Gladiator and Troy have glamorized it.

As such, more students, like Ciera Gardner, want to learn Latin.

“It’s different,” the third-year Latin student said. “Everyone says ‘I take Spanish’ or ‘I take Italian,’ but it’s cool to say ‘I take Latin.’ ”

She added that having Latin on her college applications will give her an edge. Jason Griffiths, a headmaster agrees.

“It’s the language of scholars and educated people,” He said. “It’s the language of people who are successful. I think it’s a draw, and that’s certainly what we sell.”

Marty Abbott, education director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, discussed the likelihood of Latin beating German to become the third most popular language taught in schools, after Spanish and French.

“In people’s minds, it’s coming back,” she said. “But it’s always been there. It’s just that we continue to see interest in it.”