Latin Returns to Classroom


11/13/2015

Kathryn Brown '14 was excited when, in her third week at the DePaul University College of Law, she heard a professor ask for a translation of the Latin phrase expresso unius est exclusio alterius.

Thanks to two semesters of Latin studies at St. Ambrose, Brown readily could declare the answer: "the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other."

Exclusio alterius does not apply to the four courses of Latin taught with earnest enthusiasm by Ethan Gannaway, PhD. Although Latin rarely is spoken anywhere in the world, Gannaway said learning the world's original romance language can help students better learn English grammar while yielding a variety of other practical uses. Plus, it's fun.

"They start by appreciating other languages and then they start appreciating the world in general a little bit more," Gannaway suggested. "Everything tastes just a little bit better. Everything sounds a little sharper."

Hyperbolica? (Hyberbolic?) A bit. But Brown said Gannaway's extreme love of Latin certainly translates in the classroom.

"I've never had a teacher like Ethan-he is just so excited everyday," she said. "I was never like ‘Oh, I have to go to Latin.'"

An early and longtime staple of a St. Ambrose education, Latin disappeared for a few years but returned about a decade ago-at the request of students.

Latin's not for everybody, of course. Gannaway said classes tend to number between 10 and 20. They generally consist of motivated juniors and seniors, some enrolled due to an interest in language and history, others for reasons more practical.

Brown took two semesters her senior year because she anticipated encountering more than a little Latin in law school. And she has. "It just pops up all the time," she said. "And it's useful to know it."

Likewise for Joseph Norris '12. He suspected knowledge of Latin would be quite useful in preparation for the Graduate Record Examination he would be taking after earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology and Philosophy.

Erat rectus. (He was right.)

Understanding the Latin roots of English words and those of other languages helped Norris excel on that exam. He subsequently won full scholarships to the Aquinas Institute of Theology, where he last year earned his master's degree, and St. Louis University, where he currently is pursuing a Doctor of Healthcare Ethics degree.

Lisa (Wiggers) Haverhamp '10, '12 DPT sees medical terms rooted in Latin in her work but isn't sure that makes her a better therapist than co-workers without a background in the language. It's more like being in on a secret, she said.

Sometimes, in fact, too secret. She will occasionally insert a little Latin-a language she refers to as the romance language-into notes for her husband, Dan Haverkamp '10.

Consider him sadly immotus. (Unmoved.)

"I don't think he thinks it's as creative as I do," she said with a laugh.

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