Why More Travelers Are Learning Latin To Help Them With Their Travels

Imagine you are part of a group conversation with your friends; everyone is enjoying the talk and chiming into the discussion. Except you can’t help but keep nodding and smiling to everything that is being said, unable to contribute since you know nothing about the topic. As a traveler, learning a new language, such as the Latin language will save you from such experiences during travel.

It is arguably, a hassle starting to learn a new language, and even more, being a polyglot overnight is no magic wand. As a traveler, you need to get a hinge on the Latin language as one of the most famous languages in human history and the root of many romance languages, especially in Europe. There is an upsurge in numbers of travelers currently learning Latin online to help them during their travel with important reasons as described below:

Understanding Basic Phrases

The Latin language provides solid roots for most romance languages used in Europe. These groups of specialized languages including Spanish, French, Romanian, Portuguese, and Italian are closely related to Latin. Latin helps you, therefore, in understanding some of the basic phrases that you might encounter in any of these romance speaking countries.

Travelers don’t want to appear as foreigners as if they are moving about with a “Tourist” tag. Understanding basic phrases can keep you out of trouble from lurking local scammers, targeting tourists or when negotiating for purchase at a local market.

If you are traveling, it’s also essential to keep abreast of news, especially in the visiting country. The stumbling block will be your inability to decipher the information from media outlets; it is crucial to be prepared by learning the basic phrases of Latin that might turn out to be quite useful during your voyage. Alternatively, carry a pocket-sized dictionary translator or purchase an application that can easily translate the information for you, saving you the legwork during such times.      

Creating Connections With Locals

While traveling, you want to leave cold-turkey by breaking the language barrier beyond the confines and comforts of your language to be able to build rapport with new people and meet new friends. The Latin language offers an essential incentive as it will help you be a better communicator with locals. Sometimes the locals might not precisely match their dialect with the Latin language. Still, it provides you with the flexibility of being able to juggle different languages or even complement each other’s language gaps.

Understanding of  Different Cultures

Learning Latin or any other language precedes the mere memorizing of phrases and delves deep into the knowledge of their social context as well as their humane side. Language and culture are intertwined; learning a specific language provides snippets of details about the local’s culture, and there’s no better way to achieve such an understanding without the most influential language in human history.

Ease of Mobility 

Learning a new language such as Latin is a fundamental part of the travel preparation, often forgotten. It is advisable that as a traveler, you orient yourself with the entire itinerary of your trip. Sometimes the tour, in addition to the places you need to explore, maybe put up in local languages. Other imminent challenges that might be overcome by knowing the Latin languages is finding your way when you happen to get lost. In an attempt to have fruitful conversations with your local drivers and the community is often prudent that you have at least an understanding of their language.

Developing the Mind

Ever wondered why children from bilingual families have better cognitive abilities? They tend to be more conscious and creative; even more, they often have higher attention spans and are well poised to perform better at school.

Learning a new language stimulates your brain intensively, and Latin effectively develops and trains your mindset to a more efficient person reducing the risks of age-related cognitive disorders.

Conclusion

Learning a new language might be a challenging task, with a considerable investment of time and resources. However, the advantages far supersede the disadvantages. Learning languages such as Latin is a fundamental prerequisite for your travel preparations, providing an easy avenue to learn, and even appreciate foreign cultures.

Importantly, learning a new culture can be extremely difficult without prior knowledge of that particular language. Additionally, you don’t want to appear an idiot due to the language barrier, and the process of learning a new language also helps in improving your memory. Ultimately, Latin being a root for many languages provides a pivot point to an understanding of broader languages and different cultures and hence will make you have fulfilling travel experience.