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26 The Linguist Vol/63 No/4
ciol.org.uk/thelinguist
Why Amy Lawson's 'baffling' joint honours degree is actually
the perfect synthesis of the ancient and the modern
W
hen I mention that I study Classics and
German at university, I am often met with a
surprised and sometimes baffled reaction (the
course is, after all, five years long due to the year abroad).
What could possibly link the two and why would I want
to take on Latin and German at the same time?
I genuinely enjoy my (somewhat niche) degree, and
think the merging of the ancient and the modern,
particularly when it comes to languages, is a significant
advantage. Moreover, the combination of Classics – a
subject which easily encompasses all the Humanities –
with a modern language allows me to thoroughly
analyse and attempt to understand what has made
European civilisation what it is – from literature to
religion – and, often, why we think the way we do.
There is also the surprising fact that Classics and
German are linked much more than people realise.
Classics is a truly international subject. We have ancient
Greek and Latin to thank for our modern-day Romance
languages, and archaeological evidence of Greco-Roman
societies is still being unearthed in places as far afield as
Egypt and Algeria. The subject has also had a firm hold on
the educational systems of many countries for centuries.
In the German Gymnasium (a type of secondary school),
Latin is a popular choice for the compulsory second
language. A Latin certificate, known as Latinum, is still a
requirement for many university courses in Germany,
partly due to the strong tradition of teaching Classics in
German universities. Some of the leading research in the
field takes place in Germany. In 1795, Friedrich August
Wolf published his Prolegomena ad Homerum, a
seminal work which raised topics that are still being
debated today in the study of the Homeric epics.
For hundreds of years, the Church provided the main
form of education in Germany, with Latin as its lingua
franca. Goethe believed that the art, architecture,
A Classics combination
INSPIRED BY ROME
The Radcliffe Camera,
part of the Bodleian
Libraries at the
University of Oxford,
where Amy is studying
Latin and German
©
SHUTTERSTOCK
PHOTO
BY
DAVID
ILIFF
(CC
BY-SA
3.0)
