Latin

===Education===
[[File:Latin dictionary.jpg|thumb|A multivolume Latin dictionary in the [[University of Graz Library]] in Austria]]

Throughout European history, an education in the classics was considered crucial for those who wished to join literate circles. This also was true in the United States where many of the nation's founders obtained a classically based education in grammar schools or from tutors.<ref>Of the eighty-nine men who signed the Declaration of Independence and attended the Constitutional Convention, thirty-six went to a Colonial college, all of which offered only the classical curriculum. Richard M. Gummere, The American Colonial Mind and the Classical Tradition, p.66 (1963).</ref> Admission to Harvard in the Colonial era required that the applicant "Can readily make and speak or write true Latin prose and has skill in making verse . . ."<ref>Meyer Reinhold, Classica Americana: The Greek and Roman Heritage in the United States, p.27 (1984). Harvard's curriculum was patterned after those of Oxford and Cambridge, and the curricula of other Colonial colleges followed Harvard's. Lawrence A. Cremin, American Education: The Colonial Experience, 1607–1783, pp. 128–129 (1970), and Frederick Rudolph, Curriculum: A History of the American Undergraduate Course of Study Since 1636, pp.31–32 (1978).</ref> Latin Study and the classics were emphasized in American secondary schools and colleges well into the Antebellum era.<ref>Id. at 104.</ref>

[[Instruction in Latin]] is an essential aspect. In today's world, a large number of Latin students in the US learn from ''Wheelock's Latin: The Classic Introductory Latin Course, Based on Ancient Authors''. This book, first published in 1956,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wheelockslatin.com/ | title=The Official Wheelock's Latin Series Website | first=Richard A. | last=LaFleur | year=2011 | publisher=The Official Wheelock's Latin Series Website | access-date=17 February 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208122304/https://www.wheelockslatin.com/ | archive-date=8 February 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> was written by [[Frederic M. Wheelock]], who received a PhD from Harvard University. ''Wheelock's Latin'' has become the standard text for many American introductory Latin courses.

The numbers of people studying Latin varies significantly by country. In the United Kingdom, Latin is available in around 2.3% of state primary schools, representing a significant increase in availability.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Woolcock |first1=Nicola |title=Latin is now fourth most-taught language in primary schools |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/latin-language-lessons-uk-primary-schools-2023-wrqrtfj0s |access-date=20 August 2023 |work=The Times |date=29 June 2023}}</ref> In Germany, over 500,000 students study Latin each year, representing a decrease from over 800,000 in 2008. Latin is still required for some University courses, but this has become less frequent.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Breitenbach |first1=Dagmar |title=Why Latin should not become extinct in school |url=https://www.dw.com/en/why-latin-should-not-become-extinct-in-school/a-66373904 |access-date=20 August 2023 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=27 July 2023}}</ref>

The [[Living Latin]] movement attempts to teach Latin in the same way that living languages are taught, as a means of both spoken and written communication. It is available in Vatican City and at some institutions in the US, such as the [[University of Kentucky]] and [[Iowa State University]]. The British [[Cambridge University Press]] is a major supplier of Latin textbooks for all levels, such as the [[Cambridge Latin Course]] series. It has also published a subseries of children's texts in Latin by Bell & Forte, which recounts the adventures of a mouse called [[Minimus]].

In the United Kingdom, the [[Classical Association]] encourages the study of antiquity through various means, such as publications and grants. The [[University of Cambridge]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cambridgescp.com/ |title=University of Cambridge School Classics Project – Latin Course |publisher=Cambridgescp.com |access-date=2014-04-23}}</ref> the [[Open University]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/a297.htm |title=Open University Undergraduate Course – Reading classical Latin |publisher=.open.ac.uk |access-date=2014-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427094907/https://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/A297.htm |archive-date=27 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> a number of independent schools, for example [[Eton College|Eton]], [[Harrow School|Harrow]], [[Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School]], [[Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood|Merchant Taylors' School]], and [[Rugby School|Rugby]], and The Latin Programme/Via Facilis,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelatinprogramme.co.uk/ |title=The Latin Programme – Via Facilis |publisher=Thelatinprogramme.co.uk |access-date=2014-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429163517/https://www.thelatinprogramme.co.uk/ |archive-date=29 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> a London-based charity, run Latin courses. In the United States and in Canada, the [[American Classical League]] supports every effort to further the study of classics. Its subsidiaries include the [[National Junior Classical League]] (with more than 50,000 members), which encourages high school students to pursue the study of Latin, and the [[National Senior Classical League]], which encourages students to continue their study of the classics into college. The league also sponsors the [[National Latin Exam]]. Classicist [[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]] wrote in ''[[The Times Literary Supplement]]'' in 2006 that the reason for learning Latin is because of what was written in it.<ref name="timesonline train the brain">{{cite web | url=https://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2006/07/does_latin_trai.html | title=Does Latin "train the brain"? | work=[[The Times Literary Supplement]] | date=10 July 2006| author=Beard, Mary | quote=No, you learn Latin because of what was written in it – and because of the sexual side of life direct access that Latin gives you to a literary tradition that lies at the very heart (not just at the root) of Western culture. | author-link=Mary Beard (classicist) | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114185439/https://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2006/07/does_latin_trai.html | archive-date=14 January 2012}}</ref>