LatinLanguage.us

A center-right think tank in England is suggesting a return of Latin to primary and secondary schools, and that report has found its way into the hands British media figures:

A group of writers and broadcasters including Ian Hislop and Sir Tom Stoppard is calling for the return of Latin to the curriculum.

They are urging ministers to end Labour’s ‘discrimination’ against the language of the Romans and give it the same status as French, German and Spanish.

No doubt some of this is riding the recent anti-Labour trend, but the report does highlight the usual positives associated with studying Latin. I for one am a little tired of the “no native speakers” argument used against the subject, as if the only benefit of a foreign language is asking directions or booking a hotel abroad. And if English primary/secondary students are anything like their US counterparts, how many actually achieve conversational competence with native speakers anyway–much less true fluency.