Award-Winning Latin Courses & Classes in Boston, MA

A Boston Latin course offered by Varsity Tutors could be an excellent way to learn this incredible language. As you learn about Latin, you'll discover that the language is filled with all kinds of interesting insights. Although the people who spoke Latin are long gone, the language itself provides a unique glimpse into cultures that are thousands of years old. Languages aren't just a set of words and phrases, but ways of thinking. Latin and all its distinct features heavily influenced much of modern society today. We still use a Latin alphabet in the English language, albeit with three additional letters. We use many Latin phrases in our everyday speech that are largely unchanged from their original forms spoken thousands of years ago. We use Latin in the medical world, the scientific community, in law, and in theology. We classify animal and plant species with Latin names. Of course, this is all thanks to the massive influence of the Roman Empire during its heyday. As the armies of Rome marched across Europe and most of the known world, they brought their culture with them. They built roads, monuments, and temples across their empire. But perhaps the strongest foundations laid by this empire were linguistic ones.

There are many reasons why one might want to study Latin. If you're considering an academic career in history, then Latin could be a major asset. After the fall of Rome, Latin was still used to write most documents and manuscripts throughout the Middle Ages. From the birth of Rome and up until relatively recently, Latin was seen as the language of scholars, and many important texts were written in Latin by the literate classes. Because of this, a strong knowledge of Latin is an amazing tool for anyone studying history or related subjects. Perhaps you're a student at Harvard University and you'd like to study historical documents yourself, by reading and translating the Latin firsthand. Or maybe you're a high school student at Match Charter Public School or East Boston High School, and you'd like to learn Latin from a young age. Perhaps you're simply interested in learning new languages for purely personal reasons. Latin could be an immensely useful starting point if you plan to learn Romance languages in the future. Whatever your reasons might be for studying Latin, a Latin course can help you study in a highly effective manner.

As Rome diminished, their colonies continued to speak Latin. But the language they spoke wasn't quite the same as the Latin spoken by intellectuals and nobles in the capital city of Rome. The colonists, soldiers, and slaves of Rome all spoke something called Vulgar Latin. In contrast, Roman nobles and educated classes in the capital spoke something called Classical Latin, and this was the language used to create the majority of texts and inscriptions we find from Ancient Rome. Vulgar Latin was highly varied based on geographical location, which would explain why French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese are all slightly different variations and evolutions of this Vulgar Latin dialect. Most of the written evidence of Vulgar Latin comes from informal writing such as graffiti and extremely rare documents.

What Might A Boston Latin Course Cover?

Of all the Germanic languages, Latin clearly had the strongest influence on the formation of modern English. Because of this, you'll see many similarities between Latin and your own language as you work through your course. This could make learning Latin easier in some respects, although there are also plenty of challenging aspects that are completely distinct from English. One example is Latin's gendered system, which is unique in its use of three separate genders instead of two. In addition to masculine and feminine forms, there's also a third gender called neuter. Another challenging aspect is Latin's complex system of inflections. While English places a strong emphasis on the order of words in a sentence to communicate what is happening and to whom, Latin relies almost completely on inflections to convey that information. You'll learn that memorizing these inflections and understanding how they work is essential to mastering the Latin language. While establishing a strong Latin vocabulary is definitely important, understanding inflections is arguably more important. You'll also learn about many other important topics, including common phrases, pronunciation, grammar, and much more.

How Does A Boston Latin Course Help You Learn?

When you sign up for a Boston Latin Course, you'll enter a virtual classroom filled with other like-minded students. You'll learn alongside these students in a highly collaborative, group-based learning environment with proven benefits. Just like a normal classroom, you'll have plenty of opportunities to ask questions, voice your opinion, and interact with your fellow students. Group-based learning is very beneficial when learning new languages, because speaking Latin with other people is the best way to practice and hone your conversational skills. Courses are taught by highly qualified, expert instructors. These instructors go through a rigorous vetting and interview process, which ensures that they have top class communication skills. If you ever feel like you need extra help from your instructors, you can always talk with them on a one-on-one basis.

How Do You Sign Up For A Boston Latin Class?

One of the best things about these classes is that they're fully online, and you can access them from anywhere around the world. Scheduling options are also highly flexible, and you can choose from many different options. There are two-week classes and four-week classes, and they start up every single month. You can also take classes at almost any time during the day. Weekend classes, night classes, and many other options are available. If you're seriously busy, you can even take a class during your lunch break. These classes were designed to fit in with most busy schedules, whether you're a working professional or a student.

Learning Latin is an amazing experience filled with historical discoveries, amazing insights and an understanding of many aspects of modern society. To get the most out of this experience, consider investing in a Boston Latin Class. Contact Varsity Tutors today, and we'll provide you with all the information you need to book your first Boston Latin class.