Latin and Greek Tuition

Many come to Latin and Greek with a fascination for the ancient world already, but find themselves at a loss for teachers, or frustrated with the self-tuition materials available. Hardly any schools in South Africa teach it any longer, likewise significantly fewer schools in the English speaking world do now than once did. University departments worldwide are shutting down classical language teaching at an alarming rate. Moreover, what is taught is often either rushed due to course time constraints or simplified for practical purposes.

 

So why learn the ancient languages? Surely everything is available in translation?

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These languages are so much more than just a doorway to the distant past. These were the international languages of their day, facilitating interaction between peoples and cultures on all sides of the Mediterranean. Long after the Roman Empire collapsed, and well in to the 19th century, Latin and Greek were the chief languages of intellectual society and diplomacy.

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Their respective culture resonates to this day, for learning one or both not only connects us directly with the people of the past, as if a hand were reaching out to grasp our own, but opens our eyes to the richness of cumulative centuries of tradition present everywhere today. Being able to read in the original causes us to see beyond our own frame of reference by 'standing on the shoulders of giants'.

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There are, of course, practical benefits too: improved logical and analytical ability, an ease of learning derived languages like Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese, as well as improving one's own grasp of English.

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It is also immensely rewarding!

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