<![CDATA[Latin language in Singapore?]]>Hello everyone,


I've been reading this forum for some time, because I've been wanting to gather ideas to see what's best for my children. Anyway, I came across this article the other day, and I thought it was interesting. So, I'm jumping in and joining the community!

Anyway, the article is titled http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/6669953/forget-mandarin-latin-is-the-key-to-success.thtml.

Well, obviously we're not going to forget Mandarin here in Singapore, but I found the following paragraph very interesting.
[quote] “In 1971, more than 4,000 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade pupils of all backgrounds and abilities received 15 to 20 minutes of daily Latin instruction. The performance of the fifth-grade Latin pupils on the vocabulary test of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills was one full year higher than the performance of control pupils who had not studied Latin. Both the Latin group and the control group had been matched for similar backgrounds and abilities.”[/quote]This sounds like a fantastic advantage to give children. I might even learn it myself so as to motivate my children too.

So, does anyone know if there's anywhere in Singapore where we can learn Latin?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/19100/latin-language-in-singaporeRSS for NodeThu, 30 Apr 2026 05:44:16 GMTFri, 11 Feb 2011 04:38:10 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Thu, 13 Apr 2023 02:32:36 GMT]]>The only public place I know of in Singapore which offers Latin lessons is NTU (the university), but its only for enrolled students - https://www.ntu.edu.sg/cml/languages/latin


Having said that, there are a handful of private Latin tutors in Singapore if you dig or ask around enough. I managed to find one searching \"Latin tutor singapore linkedin\" on Google.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/2105238https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/2105238Thu, 13 Apr 2023 02:32:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Wed, 25 Jan 2017 08:49:43 GMT]]>

phtthp:
What are the advantages of learning Latin, in Singapore ?

Why you should learn a dead language
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/sep/16/why-learn-a-dead-language

French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian and Portuguese are considered the Romance languages and evolved from Latin. 90% of their vocabulary comes from Latin. In addition, the concepts of agreement, inflected nouns, conjugated verbs, and grammatical gender learned in Latin can help you learn non-Latinate languages as well.
http://www.rosettastone.com/homeschool/articles/study-latin

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1750200https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1750200Wed, 25 Jan 2017 08:49:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 12:32:04 GMT]]>

jetsetter:
...BIL told me more people speak Portuguese in South America than Spanish.

Portuguese is spoken in Brazil, the largest South American country. I believe all other South American people speak Spanish.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749941https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749941Tue, 24 Jan 2017 12:32:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 09:15:10 GMT]]>

floppy:
jetsetter:

No significant advantages prior to entering Uni. Don't waste your dc's time and $. You probably can buy the Oxford Latin dictionary or basic lang course books (or google!) to self-teach whenever you come across any ad hoc Latin words or phrases in future, e.g. when you eventually read law, major in linguistics or philosophy, go for your higher calling to study theology!


Actually, no significant advantage after entering U also (unless you intend to impress girls... but French works better).

Only advantage I can think of is when you intend to migrate to South America, you will be able to fit in.

agree with slmkhoo. French isn't spoken widely in Latin America but in Northern and Central Africa and parts of Canada.

My BIL speaks fluent Spanish as he covers the South American market. He tried to explain to me the diff between espanol (std Spanish spoken by the King of Spain!) and castellano (Latin American variety that evolved from 15th - 16th century Old Spanish!) but I was quite lost after his crash course! In any case, BIL told me more people speak Portuguese in South America than Spanish. Latin America's Portuguese variety is also different from Std Portuguese spoken in Portugal.


+++

There are many bio and medical terms that originated from Greek, followed by Latin. Many Eng suffixes, prefixes and roots came from Greek and Latin too.

There're not many Latin terms in Music Theory. More Italian imports though... I acquired many Italian words when I studied for my ABRSM theory exams years ago! :rotflmao:

I had both the Latin and Greek dictionaries at home. I checked them as and when I encountered any foreign borrowings. These days, I just use my Google Translation app.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749898https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749898Tue, 24 Jan 2017 09:15:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 08:50:56 GMT]]>

floppy:
Actually, no significant advantage after entering U also (unless you intend to impress girls... but French works better).


Only advantage I can think of is when you intend to migrate to South America, you will be able to fit in.
For South America, won't Spanish be more useful? For university (academic usefulness, not girl-impressing), I found that my English helped me understand the Latin and also some Greek, so I don't see that learning Latin to improve English is worth the effort. Because English is such a mongrel language, knowing English helped me understand enough basic words in most European languages (enough to follow basic signs and select food from menus!) to get around. Just focus on English unless the person is really interested.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749890https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749890Tue, 24 Jan 2017 08:50:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 07:09:47 GMT]]>

jetsetter:
No significant advantages prior to entering Uni. Don't waste your dc's time and $. You probably can buy the Oxford Latin dictionary or basic lang course books (or google!) to self-teach whenever you come across any ad hoc Latin words or phrases in future, e.g. when you eventually read law, major in linguistics or philosophy, go for your higher calling to study theology!

Actually, no significant advantage after entering U also (unless you intend to impress girls... but French works better).

Only advantage I can think of is when you intend to migrate to South America, you will be able to fit in.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749872https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749872Tue, 24 Jan 2017 07:09:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 07:09:38 GMT]]>

jetsetter:
No significant advantages prior to entering Uni. Don't waste your dc's time and $. You probably can buy the Oxford Latin dictionary or basic lang course books (or google!) to self-teach whenever you come across any ad hoc Latin words or phrases in future, e.g. when you eventually read law, major in linguistics or philosophy, go for your higher calling to study theology!

Actually, no significant advantage after entering U also (unless you intend to impress girls... but French works better).

Only advantage I can think of is when you intend to migrate to South America, you will be able to fit in.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749871https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749871Tue, 24 Jan 2017 07:09:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 06:13:19 GMT]]>Unless you plan to be a Catholic priest.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749845https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749845Tue, 24 Jan 2017 06:13:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 05:56:56 GMT]]>No significant advantages prior to entering Uni. Don’t waste your dc’s time and $. You probably can buy the Oxford Latin dictionary or basic lang course books (or google!) to self-teach whenever you come across any ad hoc Latin words or phrases in future, e.g. when you eventually read law, major in linguistics or philosophy, go for your higher calling to study theology!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749841https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749841Tue, 24 Jan 2017 05:56:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 04:36:00 GMT]]>What are the advantages of learning Latin, in Singapore ?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749819https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749819Tue, 24 Jan 2017 04:36:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Tue, 24 Jan 2017 02:33:36 GMT]]>If better English vocabulary is the main goal, it is not efficient to spend years learning the Latin language. The same objective can be achieved by learning French or Spanish, both of which are derived from Latin. Or, if learning a whole new language is not possible, you can learn the Greek and Latin roots from which 70% of English words are formed.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greek_and_Latin_roots_in_English

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749793https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749793Tue, 24 Jan 2017 02:33:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Fri, 20 Jan 2017 05:51:34 GMT]]>Straits Times article about Latin language

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/dead-language-singaporeans-still-keep-the-faith-with-latin-singapore-talking

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749061https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1749061Fri, 20 Jan 2017 05:51:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Fri, 08 Jul 2016 22:51:30 GMT]]>Globibo Language School has latin courses

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1696967https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1696967Fri, 08 Jul 2016 22:51:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Sat, 13 Dec 2014 14:27:13 GMT]]>You could probably find a tutor who would be able to teach Latin. Although, as a caveat, I think that if a child is already struggling with English and whatever other language they might speak (Chinese, Malay, etc.) then Latin might just make things worse. If you can't cope with 1 or 2 languages, adding another won't make it easier! But if they speak both languages well and want to be extended in their understanding of English, then I say go for it!


I personally like the Cambridge Latin Course textbooks, and the Orberg Lingua Latina ones. Another popular one is called Wheelock's, but it's very grammar heavy, so maybe only for older students, as it would probably demotivate the younger ones.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1431197https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1431197Sat, 13 Dec 2014 14:27:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Sat, 13 Dec 2014 12:25:35 GMT]]>University of Cambridge has online courses too -

http://www.cambridgescp.com/Upage.php?p=il%5Ec%5Eintro

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1431166https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1431166Sat, 13 Dec 2014 12:25:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Fri, 07 Nov 2014 09:51:24 GMT]]>

ocmk:
So, does anyone know if there's anywhere in Singapore where we can learn Latin?

I'm a strong advocate for Greek and Latin as starting points for a deeper mastery of modern English and the Romance languages. I've just PM'd you on where a good classical education may be obtained. Cheers!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1411967https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1411967Fri, 07 Nov 2014 09:51:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Latin language in Singapore? on Mon, 06 Oct 2014 15:41:13 GMT]]>Latin and Greek course at Reading Attic:

http://anakoinosis.com/readingattic/?page_id=178

Students' Reviews of Reading Attic:
http://yago.sg/courses/detail/156

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1394972https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1394972Mon, 06 Oct 2014 15:41:13 GMT