There's an article and quiz over at the
BBC which deals with less-spoken languages, or extinct languages i..e Latin, Aramaic, Akkadian. I've always wondered what the role of these languages today can be. Should we teach Latin as a basis from which to understand history, or the modern languages to which it gave birth? Or would we spend our time more wisely on modern languages, on modern themes? A balance seems best. In Spain Latin and Greek are on the curriculum and yet in Britain knowledge of those languages is only pushed at independent and/or private schools. However, while in Britain Latin and Greek are revered in those schools that teach it, in Spain Classics are thought of as something that are completely useless, and it is likely to find the Classics teacher with a job outside of school too! Someone should tell Boris Johnson that Classics is worthless...
The article and quiz at the BBC form part of a larger BBC emphasis on languages which is admirable, but could be improved. It would be good to see more programmes like that of Stephen Fry's
Planet World and less language learning between 4 and 6am - they couldn't really give a worse schedule and thus importance... However, a new
Speaking Sport section which deals with Sport and languages is interesting and has something going for it. I've always thought that if you want to get boys to learn languages, then showing them that Bradley Wiggins speaks French, or Gary Lineker speaks Spanish, is not a bad way to go!
Ciao.
Posts
Hello friend! ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry, I like your Blog but I disagree with this phrase
"Someone should tell Boris Johnson that Classics is worthless..."
What Classics? Surely not Latin and Ancient Greek...
I greet you with this famous phrase written in a "dead language" but whose thinking is always current!
"Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto", or "I am a human being, I consider nothing that is human alien to me." (Terenzio)
Conozco cinco idiomas, pero habiendo estudiado latín y griego antiguo por 5 años lo considero un inmenso privilegio!
J'ai oublié de te dire que j'aime vraiment l'image
que tu as choisi. ;)
Bellissima!
Güle, güle"! (in turkish, Ciao)
Gabriele
Hey, thanks for the comment and welcome to my blog, glad you like it - I'm trying to improve it all the time. I must say that I said that comment about Boris Johnson in jest! Of course it is useful to study Classics, and I was being ironic when I said you should tell him that it wasn't. But it is interesting that in Spain where Classics are taught more widely in the curriculum that they have no wider valuation beyond school. i.e. in Britain Classics is looked at as a proper historical subject, whereas in Spain it's just an antiquated area, which is a real shame.
ReplyDeleteY debo aclarar que yo nunca tuve la oportunidad de estudiar latín y griego (pero si Galés y Francés) y si tuviera tiempo lo haría de inmediato!
Grazie.
Be patient Alex!
ReplyDeleteI'll not write anymore after midnight!!! ;)
You speak Welsh...interesting!
I'm curious, why don't you teach it a bit?
Güle, güle!
Gabriele
I'd love to teach it, but I'm not fluent enough!
ReplyDelete