True, I would never use Latin phrases to make an argument in a brief or before a judge. I would be seriously concerned that they wouldn’t know what I was saying.

There are phases that we still use because they mean more than their literal translation, like res ipsa, but it’s sometimes hard to even get those typed properly. A motion I did to have a lawyer from another state admitted Pro Hac Vice came back as “pro hawk Vichy”

Hello Ryan,

I know some high schools offer it in the NE Ohio area (like my alma mater, Padua Franciscan, along with I believe St. Ignatius and St. Edward), but there are others that don’t or offer it as an “elective” that you can take without it counting for credit toward graduation.

I know when I was at Padua (1992-1996), Latin did count toward credit for graduation, but Greek did not (it was offered something like Tuesday and Thursday at 7:15 A.M., 45 minutes before the official start of the school day at 8 A.M.). I don’t know if that has changed now or not (regarding Greek counting as credit toward graduation).

Latin was advocated as helping one learn to use the English language better, as well as expanding one’s English vocabulary, being that many English words have their roots in Latin. As a result, you learn Latin, you learn more English words that you may not have known, which may be a reason why Latin is making a comeback in HSs today – to expand one’s ability to use the English language better.

Another likely reason is because it can help a person in such fields as medicine and law where Latin words are still used for medical terminology and legal definitions, even if most doctors and lawyers don’t speak the language much anymore. Latin is known more as a “written” language, unlike Spanish, French, and German, which are known more as “oral” languages. Sure, those languages also have written qualities as well (such as translating texts), but unlike Latin, those three languages and many others are spoken regularly and classes focus greatly on learning how to enunciate the words correctly and having conversations in those languages. That’s not the case with Latin, instead focusing more on translating texts into modern-day English.