Here is modern Latin. This is the best recording of it. The singers have perfect diction and trill their r’s beautifully, as professional singers are trained to do. Here they are singing the Passion. Every Sunday I get to listen to Latin, which is the most beautiful sounding language. Two reasons are rhyme and stateliness.
It differs from English in that English has adopted many foreign words. The only language from which the Romans borrowed was Greek. About 80 percent of the entries in any English dictionary are borrowed, mainly from Latin. Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots, and in the sciences and technology the figure rises to over 90 percent. Some test prep books for national exams list the roots, which is why I ask the students I tutor to memorize them. As of 2016, English vocabulary is 29% French, 29% Latin, 26% Germanic, 6% Greek, and the remaining 10% is either other languages or proper names. All together then, French and Latin account for 58% of the vocabulary used in today's English.
You will hear two Latin words frequently in this recording: dixit means, “he said,” and respondit means, “he responded.”
It differs from English in that English has adopted many foreign words. The only language from which the Romans borrowed was Greek. About 80 percent of the entries in any English dictionary are borrowed, mainly from Latin. Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots, and in the sciences and technology the figure rises to over 90 percent. Some test prep books for national exams list the roots, which is why I ask the students I tutor to memorize them. As of 2016, English vocabulary is 29% French, 29% Latin, 26% Germanic, 6% Greek, and the remaining 10% is either other languages or proper names. All together then, French and Latin account for 58% of the vocabulary used in today's English.
You will hear two Latin words frequently in this recording: dixit means, “he said,” and respondit means, “he responded.”
RSS Feed