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Latin is the forerunner of all Romance languages and the source of 80% (give or take) of the English language. There's Classical Latin, the language of Rome's aristocracy, and Volgate/Vulgar (Church or Ecclesiastical) Latin, the language of the common people. No! Not that kind of vulgar! xD

Classical Latin is usually the one most often taught in schools, when it is offered at all. For churchgoers, usually Catholics, Volgate Latin is the Latin heard from the pulpit. The main difference between Classical and Volgate Latin is pronunciation.

In Classical Latin, every syllable is pronounced, "ae" sounds like "eye", "V" sounds like "W" does in "what", and most consonants are "hard" consonants. (C sounds like "kuh", not "see".) Anybody who's studied Julius Caesar (classically pronounced "Kaiser") will have at least heard his phrase "Veni. Vidi. Vici." Classically, that would sound like this: "Weni. Widi. Wiki."

Ecclesiastically, none of those rules apply. "ae" is "ay" or "ee", V sounds like V, and consonants are either hard or soft. It's confusing, but liken it to British English(Classical) vs. American English(Volgate).

"If it's a dead language, why did you bring it up?" Because I can, and I studied Classical Latin for 3 years in high school. That and Latin is still in use today, specifically in the scientific community, law, and economics. You know those funny names that they give animals, like Homo sapiens(human) or Vulpis vulpis(fox)? That's Latin right there. So is "ceteris paribus," (all other variables held constant) in economics and a writ of habeas corpus (you may have the body) in law.

Whether we like it or not, Latin is still around today. It was the the pure ancestor to today's Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. When it mixed with the Germanic languages of the Celts and "barbarians" of the north, we came to have English. It's a lot more complicated than that, but we're not studying English here, are we? wink

Fwee! I take Latin ^^ One of my fav classes because my teacher sings declension songs and invented a rap for the 2nd decl. Besides, where else can I randomly pull out food during a test and get away with it?! rofl

Latin may be dead, but not in Vatican City, the world's smallest country. AND speaking Latin grants you the benefit of sounding smarter than people who choose French or German and allows you to pretend you're a genius xD

"Latin is dead
as dead as can be!
It killed the Romans,
now it's killing me!"

I'm currently learning Latin at my International Academy, and it helps substantially with my English. My class did horrible on our exams a few weeks ago (completely unprepared), but it is a lovely experience.

My Latin teacher is actually a Priest (so we call him "Father" instead of "Mr."), and he enlightens us on many things (and he curses, alot!).

I think Latin is very helpful to those who want to improve themselves in identifying words in Romance languages (I have many Hispanic friends in my class that recognize words), or just in general. I really love the mythology of it all as well.

(:

I used to know a prayer in latin... how did it go..

Nam et si, ambulavero timeblo malla.

There was more, but I can't remember it.

I know the translation though. If someone finds the latin translation of this for me that'd be awesome.

Though I walk in the valley in the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil.

Ash wants to learrrrn! D: