Please Sign My Petition

[Zephyrus]

Hey guys. I've started a petition to save the teaching of Latin and Greek at the University of Maine (my school). Please sign it.

You do NOT have to put as much personal information as it looks.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/save-the-classics-at-umaine-orono/

Thank you!

 

[waif]

Why the cunting fuck does that want my street address? Sorry, but the last thing I need is more spam.

 

[Addo_Of_Nex]

Done.

 

[Zephyrus]

Why the cunting fuck does that want my street address? Sorry, but the last thing I need is more spam.

That's not required. Calm down.

 

[Episteme]

Signed!

 

[Master_Yoda77]

Signed. Half of the colleges I want to apply to don't even offer Classics as a major anymore, which sucks ass.

 

[waif]

That's not required. Calm down.

It won't accept it without address and email.

 

[Pessimism]

I refuse to sign it as I feel those are languages that shouldn't be taught.

 

[Kara-Shehr]

Both are dead languages why teach them? Because it looks good on a resume? I refuse to sign unless you answer my question.

 

[Einherjar86]

Not only is this a practical argument, but it's a philosophical one as well. Why should we be concerned if ancient languages become obsolete? Is there some moral wrong in letting a language die out? It can't really be argued that we need Latin and Greek; we've moved on to other forms of communication that serve our purposes. As Americans, should we be concerned if, for some reason, our children's generation is universally taught Chinese and begins to speak it regularly; and if we should, why? Is English "better" than Chinese? Unless someone can provide a concrete argument on why a language should be preserved (other than "because it's history") there can really be no logical reason to wish to preserve it.

That said, I'm signing this. I love the study of languages and linguistics (and know practically nothing about it), and I'm willing to give people the benefit of the doubt until they come up with a good reason.

EDIT: WAIF, just don't select the two boxes on the next page. Or give fake information, if it makes you feel better.

 

[The Emptier]

jesus fuck if we didn't preserve our world history that'd be stupid IMO. and latin is extremely surprising since a shit ton of things have latin roots/traces.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

.... signed.

 

[Addo_Of_Nex]

It's important because an exorbitant amount of intricacies are buried in the classics when read in their native tongues compared to modern translations; and (to the best of my knowledge, I know nothing of either language despite my ironic screen name) it's just as crucial to continually revisit and scrutinize them as it is any other field of study. You can't do that if there isn't an active group of experts on the languages.

 

[skeptik]

Considering that I'm thoroughly uni-lingual I may not be the most credible source, but studying ancient languages, as the roots of our own modern languages, enlightens our understanding of the words that we use everyday and shows us just what it is that we're actually saying, which provides insights into the very way that we produce and process our own thoughts, given that we think verbally. That's just one reason off the top of my head that validates the preservation of linguistic 'relics', another being having a more intimate understanding of ancient works of wisdom that continue to prove valuable well into the 21st century.

I'm too lazy to sign the petition though.

 

[The Ozzman]

Signed. Half of the colleges I want to apply to don't even offer Classics as a major anymore, which sucks ass.

Xavier University does

 

[Einherjar86]

jesus fuck if we didn't preserve our world history that'd be stupid IMO. and latin is extremely surprising since a shit ton of things have latin roots/traces.

Okay, but "it's stupid not to" isn't really a valid argument.

It's important because an exorbitant amount of intricacies are buried in the classics when read in their native tongues compared to modern translations; and (to the best of my knowledge, I know nothing of either language despite my ironic screen name) it's just as crucial to continually revisit and scrutinize them as it is any other field of study. You can't do that if there isn't an active group of experts on the languages.

But there have also been innumerable texts written on the intricacies of ancient languages, and there are also a variety of translations of ancient texts. Granted, that doesn't mean there is such a thing as a "perfect" translation; but at this point, we have a vast knowledge of the workings of the languages that have helped us decipher Latin/Greek texts.

Considering that I'm thoroughly uni-lingual I may not be the most credible source, but studying ancient languages, as the roots of our own modern languages, enlightens our understanding of the words that we use everyday and shows us just what it is that we're actually saying, which provides insights into the very way that we produce and process our own thoughts, given that we think verbally. That's just one reason off the top of my head that validates the preservation of linguistic 'relics', another being having a more intimate understanding of ancient works of wisdom that continue to prove valuable well into the 21st century.

How does it enlighten our use of the words we use if we're the ones who give meaning to the words we use? We can trace etymological roots, but all that really does is show us what language our word came from. As long as the word means something for us is all that matters. I would argue that it doesn't show us what we're "really saying." We're only really saying... what we're saying. Sorry to be tautological. We do think verbally, but we think in our own language. Unless ancient languages can somehow help us unlock avenues to purer representation of thought that current world languages inhibit, there doesn't seem to be a logical reason to preserve them.

However, one reason that I'll posit for preserving the study of ancient languages would be the possibility of discovering previously unknown ancient texts.

 

[Vimana]

Ancient languages are not useful for everyone (or even the vast majority of people, for that matter). However, for someone pursuing a career in things that require the more complex words (in English), learning Latin and Ancient Greek pretty much gives you the foundation for every intricacy of the most complex and precise words of the English language. For someone who would wish to communicate across the entire Indo-European region, learning six of the most ubiquitous dialects of the ancient languages would become a quick foundation to speaking dozens of languages.

The thing is, though, that there are ancient writings that still influence our everyday life. If we forgot ancient Greek, we could end up with a writing of Luke's that says "lol, Revelation is an allegory. I wonder if it'll be revered as the word of God worldwide?" and be unable to discredit a book that many people use to say the end of the world is near. If we were ignorant of the ancient Afro-Asiatic languages, we would be unaware of the fact that stories that many consider to be given to someone by divine inspiration and written down were actually adaptations of older stories.

 

[skeptik]

How does it enlighten our use of the words we use if we're the ones who give meaning to the words we use? We can trace etymological roots, but all that really does is show us what language our word came from. As long as the word means something for us is all that matters. I would argue that it doesn't show us what we're "really saying." We're only really saying... what we're saying. Sorry to be tautological. We do think verbally, but we think in our own language. Unless ancient languages can somehow help us unlock avenues to purer representation of thought that current world languages inhibit, there doesn't seem to be a logical reason to preserve them.

However, one reason that I'll posit for preserving the study of ancient languages would be the possibility of discovering previously unknown ancient texts.

I'm honestly not interested enough in the discussion to really feel like elaborating on it that much, but I think that the fact that people who are multilingual report having different thought processes based on which language that they're thinking in indicates that there is in fact something to be revealed about the way that we interpret, process, and communicate things in the study of languages old and new.

 

[Pessimism]

Spanish shouldn't be taught either.

 

[Einherjar86]

I'm honestly not interested enough in the discussion to really feel like elaborating on it that much, but I think that the fact that people who are multilingual report having different thought processes based on which language that they're thinking in indicates that there is in fact something to be revealed about the way that we interpret, process, and communicate things in the study of languages old and new.

Okay, but these "thought processes" are likely more influenced by current languages than by dead ones. Most multilingual individuals probably speak active languages.