How Latin has helped me

1) The first time Latin helped me in the world was to recognize the title of a game and understand why it was called what it is. It is a visual novel called carpe diem and although i have never played it I believe it is about a friend leaving you behind and you have to do as much in the day as you can.

2) The second time Latin has helped me was with the word defenestration. Since fenestra is window in Latin I decided the meaning would be something like out of window. The actual meaning of the word is to throw something out of a window.

3) The third time Latin helped was in chemistry. I recognized that Au and Ag on the periodic table were gold and silver. Their Latin words are Aurum and Argentum which is how they got their abbreviations on the periodic table.

4) Another usage of the word Aurum I found in a game called Kid Icarus. I didn't recognize at the time that the name of the enemy would translate to the the gold army. I find this choice strange as the enemies themselves are more silver with green accents. The title of the game is also a reference to the myth of Icarus. The main character is an angel that cant flt by himself and needs the help of his goddess Palutena to fly. Even after he has been given the power of flight he cannot use it for more than 5 minutes at a time or his wings will burn up like Icarus when he flew too close to the sun.

5) My last example is about a game called Ryse: Son of Rome. the game itself is all about the Roman legions fighting Celtic barbarians and when I first saw it I didn't pay much attention to the details but I would like to say most of them are relatively accurate. They have accurate looking armor minus keeping the plumes on their helmets attached in battle and they use a short sword to fight, although with more slashing than stabbing. They also use certain formations such as the testudo formation when advancing on enemies and you can see in game arrows entering their shields which would prove its effectiveness. 

What Latin Has Done for me

1. Some time last year, I was watching a movie (I don't remember the name but I do remember when I watched it because my memory is weird), and one of the characters said, "ergo". Being familiar with the popular Latin phrase "Cogito, ergo sum.", I recognized "ergo" as the Latin word for "therefore".

2. While looking at the periodic table in my bedroom (yes, I have a periodic table poster hanging over my bed), I noticed that the atomic symbol for gold was "Au". The word "gold" had neither of these letters in it, but I remembered the Latin word for gold, "aurum" I then concluded that the atomic symbol for gold was derived from its Latin word.

3. Just earlier today, I was again perusing my periodic table when I looked at scandium, and realized that it looked similar to "Scandia", the Roman name for Scandinavia (which is a key part of my world domination plot).

4. Earlier this month, I was reading through the second book in the Fablehaven series when I came across the word "cogitator". Again recalling the aforementioned phrase "Cogito, ergo sum.", I guessed that "cogitator" meant "thinker", and according to the dictionary, I was correct.

5. Last year, we were reading "The Odyssey" in English class. This epic is almost entirely based upon Greek mythology, and I recognized many of the key events due to prior knowledge of Roman mythology (more specifically, I recognized the names of gods like Zeus and matched their names to those of their Roman counterparts (Jupiter in this case)).

One of the reasons that Latin is so impactful is that it has derivatives in so many languages. These languages were, and are, spoken by the powerful countries that helped shape the modern world. Because of this, Latin has served as the foundation for much of the civilization we have today.

-Connor Ramsey

How Latin has helped me

How Latin has helped me

1. In English this week, we were reading Things Fall Apart, which is set in a country in Africa. Certain words from the local language are included in the book. We discussed in class the use of feminine and masculine words, which is not as prominent in English. By studying Latin prior to reading this book, I understood the masculine/feminine aspect of words better, and I recognized it when we discussed them in class.

2. Watching Grey's Anatomy a few months ago, I recognized the phrase "pro bono". They used this phrase when they talked about doing surgeries for free. The phrase comes from Latin and means for good or for the better. 

3. In World History this week, we were looking at different articles of a declaration from the French and American revolutions. The articles were numbered with Roman numerals, which I recognized from Latin. It helped me understand the assignment better.

4. This week, the first Parish Olympics was held. The games that the Latin section hosted mirrored some events from the ancient Olympics. The fights with the pool noodles resembled the ancient gladiator fights and other events represented ancient events as well.

5. In math, we are talking about polynomial functions and there are degrees stemmed from Latin. Some names are quartic and quintic, and I recognized them from the words from Latin numbers.

Latin is an important building block of our language. You see it everywhere. I would encourage students to take it in the future to enhance their learning and appreciate more of the world around them and how it came to be. I appreciate Latin's role in my education in all of my classes. 

Maddy Collins

Latin Everyday

1. My first example was in chemistry class. Mr. Abronowitz wrote i.e. on the word when he was talking about more examples of a certain concept. I.E stands for id est which translates to this is. The prefix in English shows a lot of the time that there are more examples coming after the one that you just listed. You see this a lot in writing.

2. While filling out an application, I saw that one of the people who worked for the program had a Ph.D. in front of their name. That official name stands for Philosophiae doctor. This is a name that is given to someone who has completed a certain amount of school or has gone to learn more about a specific topic.

3. In English, Mr. Adcox wrote E.G on the board as he was listing some examples of a writing technique. Those letters stand for exempli gratia. That directly translates from Latin to for example. That's why people write it before listing off examples.

4. The other day, my mom was talking about going to Europe for vacation this summer. We talked about going all around the area, so places like Greece and Rome came into the conversation. I was able to tell her more about the places that would be interesting to visit because of some of our in-class conversations about them.

5. My younger brother is in Latin in seventh grade. He asked me to help him with his homework, which was over vocab, nouns, and verbs. I was able to help him with the verb endings because of what I've learned. I was able to help him learn that different verb endings meant different persons, like you, he, she and it. I was also able to give him tips about learning his vocab because I've learned how to study for vocab quizzes over the years I've taken Latin.

How Latin has helped me

How Latin has helped me

Finn Collins

The Battle of Cannae and military history

After I researched the Battle of Cannae for Latin class we learned about it in Military History. My preknowledge on this battle and the Battle of Zama helped me a lot in understanding our military history comprehension questions. My knowledge of Roman military customs and leadership also helped me when taking notes on battles I did not know about. The history part of our Latin curriculum helped me a lot in my Military History Class and helped me understand the Latin Military.

Quid Pro Quo

The obvious one that comes to mind is the phrase Quid Pro Quo. This 3 word Latin phrase is at the center of all news programs right now. Meaning "this for that" is a phrase used to talk about a deal or a trade. My knowledge of Latin Vocabulary and mottoes gave me the edge when I first heard the term on KERA. While other people might have to look up what Quid Pro Quo means, I remembered what that motto meant because we learned it in our unit on mottoes.

Track and The Olympics

I recently joined the track team and with the Olympics coming up I felt that I should write about how Latin has helped me know more about these two events. In Latin, we learned about the origins of the Olympics and some of the track and field events. This knowledge won't help me in getting to the Olympics or shave a minute of my mile time but it is useful knowledge and helps me know about the history of popular sports. Because of Latin, I knew what events I could see in track and field and the different origins of Olympic sports.

Law and Order

Latin has helped me understand my favorite show Law and Order. It helped me understand the legal terms. Before the Latin blog post about Latin legal terms, most of the things said in Latin in the law and order courtroom went over my head. But because we were taught about these different terms (ie Ex parte, Postmortem.) Latin helped me further understand my favorite television show and its complex legal terms. Of course, this also helps me understand legal terms in real life but it was more helpful to understand my favorite tv show.

Trip to Italy

Latin helped me enjoy my trip to Italy more. Learning about ancient Rome gave me a preknowledge of the architecture and history of Rome. My experience visiting the Roman Forum was made better because I knew how they used this space and who would walk in this area. It also helped me learn more about the Colosseum. It really let me understand where I was and the importance of it all.

Latin has helped me enjoy and understand obscure and big pieces of knowledge. Whether pertaining to legal terms or historic events Latin has shaped the way I look at ancient history. Latin affects aspects of our everyday lives and I feel sympathy for those who did not pursue Latin. Latin is the best choice I could've made in a language

How Latin has helped me

The first place latin has helped me outside of class was during English 1 last year. It helped me because I was only able to understand english grammar by learning it in latin. One example I remember very well was infinitives in english because I found it really difficult to know how the infinitive was functioning. Luckily, the words in latin that help you identify its function were the same in english. The next place latin was helpful was during Donald Trump’s impeachment. Everybody started talking about a quid pro quo without ever providing a translation. However, I did know the translation, which is what for what or this for this. The next place I noticed latin was this wednesday. I was in a car and I noticed a Marriott hotel, and realized that their logo is a latin cursive M. The next place I noticed latin was earlier this school year. I don’t know how I never made the connection until then, but September-December are based off of 7-10 in latin. After realizing this I got frustrated with the calendar because septem means seven, but september is the 9th month of the year. The next example is a reference to Roman history that I noticed about 2 months ago. The reference took place in Star Wars when Palpatine convinces the senate to transition the galactic government from a Republic to an Empire. The reference is to how Julius Caesar transitions Rome from a Republic to an Empire. I have appreciated taking latin because it has made school easier by actually teaching me grammar. It is also nice to understand references to Roman History. Also, some parts of life are in latin, so it a lot easier to translate it when I know most of the grammar in latin.

-Diego Roman

Latin in Everyday Life - Abby Jackson

Example 1: Experiencing Latin in the musical

I am currently in matilda the musical, and when practicing music, I came across a part of a song that was in Latin, and although some of it was fake, I think it is pretty funny and definitely still derived from the language. The motto of the imaginary school is "Bambinatum est Maggitum", which "translates" to "Children are Maggots". Later, this is sang in a song, as well as: "circulum est deus". This was not translated for us in the script, but I understood that it means "the circle is god". As well as containing Latin, this song was about the hammer throw (hence the line about the circle), which is an Olympic event that has been around since the ancient Olympics. I had already admired the lyricist of this show, and after exploring the Latin references, I think they just add to the genius of it. 

Example 2: English class

Obviously Latin is present in many, many words in the English language, and I recently got to explain this to my parents. I was talking to them about the Colloquium, which is an event where many schools all come together to discuss and appreciate one book. My parents had no idea why it was called that, but it made total since to me to put together "col", which means together, and "loqus", which means language. I explained to them the Latin and how the colloquium was literally a collection of languages, and now I think they understand it better. 

Example 3: Chemistry

Of course I had to include this one, the periodic table is classic. maybe I should have put this one first to set your expectations lower. Oh well. In Chemistry class, we are learning about the periodic table, and of course, it's confusing when an element's symbol doesn't contain the same letters as the actual element. Let's take, say, gold for example. Why does the periodic table say "Au"? Well, I can tell you that: "Au" is short for Aurum, which means gold in Latin. Pretty sophisticated, right?

Example 4: Driving

I love drivers ed. It is my favorite thing to do. This, of course, is a lie, but I did happen to notice some Latin amidst the dated, beige, dinosaur of a PowerPoint that I was being forced to endure. They said something about an interstate highway, and I wondered why it was called that. I know that in Latin, "inter" means "between", and the highways take you between states, and it all made sense. 

Example 5: Big Bang Theory

This might be my favorite Latin moment. It happened a while ago, but I was watching the Big Bang Theory, and basically, Sheldon said something about not wanting a houseguest because they would run out of food in their earthquake kit faster, and his roommate tells the potential houseguest they can stay as long as they don't become a cannibal. Sheldon then replies by saying:

"he's engaging in Reductio ad Absurdum. It's the logical fallacy of extending someone's argument to ridiculous proportions and criticizing the result, and I do not appreciate it."

I found this extremely funny not only because of the English sitcom humor (although I think the Big Bang Theory has better humor than most), but also because I was able to figure out the Latin. "reductio" - to reduce, "ad" towards, "absurduim" - absurdidy, reducing toward absurdidy, or basically what Sheldon just explained. 

Sources:

Big Bang Theory clip- https://youtu.be/ytWGiOuzpe4

How Latin has Helped Me Outside of Class

Cogito Ergo Sum

Discovery: I first encountered this term at the beginning of Dr. Blue’s second trimester class of Modern Philosophy.

Influence: This term simply means “I think therefore I am.” In the most literal sense.

Background: In this case, Descartes uses this term as a realization in his philosophy, his end goal is to prove the existence of God and to do this he first starts by proving that he himself exists. By using this term (Cogito ergo sum) he is saying that he knows he exists because he experiences his thoughts.

Cognate

Discovery: I have heard this word over and over in my Spanish class.

Influence: The word cognate refers to words from one language that appear similar to words from another language and also carry the same meaning.

Background: In-class Mrs.Cano tells us that a word is a cognate, meaning she expects that we should be able to decipher its translation without it being one of our vocabulary words.

Res Cogitans

Discovery: This is another term that was used in Dr.Blue’s second trimester Modern Philosophy class.

Influence: This term means “a thinking thing”

Background: In Descartes Meditations this is what he believes he is at his core at least generally, this self-description also proves his own existence which is crucial to his argument.

Interphase

Discovery: In Bioethics we often study cells and one of the stages they go through is called the Interphase

Influence: Interphase cans simply translate to “between phase” or “between stage”

Background: In class, the interphase is an important stage because it is the critical pivotal point when a cell goes through its most major change. Being able to recognize the interphase as the between stage helped me associate it with its characteristic.

-Mos

Discovery: I noticed the use of this ending in Spanish as we began to conjugate verbs

Influence: when -mos comes at the end of a verb, the verb translates as "we verb"

Background: Though this is not a Latin ending, it reminded me of the Latin ending, mus, which conjugates the exact same way. I used this knowledge as a beginning for me to start seeing Spanish as simple for me because of the experience I have in Latin.

For me, Latin has been challenging and at times difficult to pick up on, however, I cannot help but acknowledge how vital it has been to my learning process ever since taking it. The challenge of Latin has made me work harder in other classes because in this subject you cannot just go through the motions or rely on your memory in, it truly takes commitment and practice. Latin has improved my vocabulary and understanding of words so much over the past few years and that is something that has made me feel confident in classes such as English and the Sciences, I am never phased by big words or even words I haven't seen before because I can at least have an idea of what they mean. It has also made me a more engaged reader and I have now begun to enjoy reading much more than I used to. Other students should take Latin because it will improve their reading and thinking skills.

 VINNIE

My Five Latin Moments

When I was watching Frozen 2 for the 3rd time (illegally), I realized in the song "Some Things Never Change", Elsa says that she "can still go out and seize this day". I knew this was a reference to the common Latin phrase "carpe diem", which means "seize the day".

This August, a new Disney Channel Original Movie, Descendants 3, came out. One of the characters was Hades and in his lair was a sign that read “Beware of the Dog”.
This is because the dog Cerberus guards the underworld. In ancient Rome, “Cave Canem” or “Beware of
the Dog” was a common sign to put outside of your house to keep people away. Both Hades and “Beware
of the Dog” are culture references to the ancient world.

A couple weeks ago, my mom dragged me to see a Christmas Church Choir. In the program, some of the
songs that they sang were in Latin and there was an english translation written under the words. Using my
extensive latin vocabulary, I was able to read the latin and translate it myself. I identified a couple jussive
subjunctives like “Let us praise”, and recognized that some other latin phrases were poorly translated.

I went to Tokyo DisneySea over the summer, and one section of the park is Venice themed.
In the architecture, I saw some Roman elements and an alcove with a statue of Minerva. Because I learned
about her in Latin class, I was able to recognize Minerva by the plumed helmet, spear, and armor. It makes
sense that there would be a statue of a goddess, because Italy used to be the Roman Empire. Charlotte and I
had a convo about it because we both were sending latin moments to each other while on vacation.

Ironically, I never realized that my dog is a latin moment. Her name is Aurora. Aurora is the Roman goddess of the dawn, whose Greek counterpoint is Eos. I think she was named after the Disney princess, Aurora, but the Disney princess Aurora is named after the Roman goddess. 

Latin is always present in my daily life. In english and chemistry, latin has helped me on vocab tests and
memorizing the periodic table. If would be good for other students to take latin because it can help them
with their vocab tests. Latin is also full of amazing history and knowledge which you might be able to use
next time you watch Jeopardy. Beyond high school, I hope to continue learning about Roman history and
find latin moments in my everyday life. 

My Five Latin Moments

By Charlotte Eades

Quid Pro Quo

Whenever I do my homework in my family room, my parents turn on the news. The only thing the news has been talking about recently is Donald Trump’s impeachment scandal with Ukraine. The phrase “quid pro quo” comes up a lot on the news and my parents assumed I did not know what it means. However, they forgot to consider that I take Latin and I can translate it. Quid pro quo means “which thing for which,” but Americans use it as “something for something.” Using my latin knowledge, I could listen to and understand the political commentary while procrastinating on my homework.

On Instagram

The Instagram algorithm usually recommends me posts that Instagram thinks I will like. For example, during Christmas Break, a funny picture came up on my explore page. I was able to understand this image because I did a project on the Arch of Titus. I knew about Titus conquered Jewish societies because there are images of menorahs on his arch. Thanks to my presentation on the Arch of Titus, I was able to enjoy the wittiness behind a picture.

In Japan

This summer Sophie was in Japan and found a latin moment. She sent it to me and we figured out it derives from the word votum. According to Latin Lexicon, votum means “a promise to a god, solemn pledge, religious engagement, vow.” Using my knowledge on latin and my knowledge from global cultures, I figured out that Sophie was at a Shinto Shrine. A Shinto Shrine is a place where people place their wishes and to pay respects to people of higher authority/gods. It was cool to use our Latin knowledge when we are half way across the world from each other. (Sorry for the bad quality)

Instagram Comments

Latin helps me out smart people online. For example, there's this Instagram account that always posts bad Latin translations and Sophie and I like to make fun of it. One day she dared me to write a comment correcting the account, and so I did. When I wrote this comment, we were learning about subjunctives and indirect commands and I was able to incorporate what I was learning in class into my social media life.

Vocabulary Tests

Mr. Mazzella tests us on vocab from each book we read. By aligning the words with their latin prefixes, roots, suffixes, and derivatives, it help me memorise the word. This strategy helped me memorise the following words:

Theosophist - “One who professes or believes in any system of speculation which bases the knowledge of nature upon that of the divine nature." This comes from the root “theo” which means “God” and the suffix “-ist” which means “person.”

Transient - “Not lasting; temporary; brief, fleeting." This comes from the prefix “trans” which means “across, beyond."

Prodigiously - “To a great extent or degree; extremely, immensely; prolifically, copiously.” This comes from the prefix “pro” which means “big, much.”

Dictum - “An authoritative utterance or pronouncement attributed to a particular person or source." Dictum is a derivitive from the latin word “dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus” which means “to say.”

Monolith - “Solidly uniform; resembling a pillar or monument.” This comes from the prefix “mono” which means “one.”

Bacchanal - “Indulging in, or in a manner characteristic of drunken revelry; riotously drunken, roystering." This derives from the word for the Roman god of wine, Bacchus. Also, it can be connected to Bacchanalia, an ancient holiday filled drinking and indulgence. I presented on Bacchanalia for Latin Club.

Sources:

Definitions provided by Mr. Mazzella’s worksheet (OED)

Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes provided by Dr. Morgan’s worksheet

https://latinlexicon.org/word_study_tool.php