Latin Words in English Today

A Roman tablet, written in original Latin.

They say Latin's a "dead language," but is it really dead? No, because, in a way, it's not dead. It's very much alive. We use Latin everyday, without even knowing it! The roots in many of our words come from Latin, and we still use certain Latin phrases.

Latin is part of our everyday lives, even if we don't know it. Take the word canis for example. In Latin, canis means dog. The more "mature" name for dog, in English, is "canine." See the connection?

Another example is vulneratus, which means wounded. In English, there's a simple clue: in what condition is someone able to be wounded? "Vulnerable." Exactly.

Scientists and doctors use Latin literally all the time. Scientific names such as Turdus migratorius (American Robin) and Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah) are used to describe animals, and other living things, by their characteristics and type. What are these names written in? Latin.

We also use phrases from Latin, such as et cetera (etc.), nota bene (N.B.), and exempli gratia (e.g.) are all used in English today, especially in more professional settings. In school, children are taught these things, and there are still even Latin classes. (They say Latin also makes it easier to define words on the SAT!)

So you see, the "dead language" is not actually dead. It lives on in science and in our language. They say it's dead because we don't say things like "gratias tibi ago" in place of "thank you," but that isn't what a dead language is. A "dead language" is when it ceases to exist, and the Latin language will live on forever.

Words Make Suspense/Horror

In every story, there is always some type of element. One element is the element of surprise, or even suspense. How are we able to feel the suspense that we're supposed to feel when reading a story? It's all about the diction.

Diction is extremely important, for it is the word choice when writing a piece. The things that go bump in the night may scare you in movies because you can eat it, but seeing the words may not seem as suspenseful. If certain words are used, however, the suspense may be felt. 

Words such as "crept" and "stalked" put forth an image in our minds that someone is being pursued by someone else, or maybe they just feel like they are. "He was being followed" sounds a more relative to the audience than "He was being stalked" though, so it depends on the style and the reader. The protagonist could be going down the street to learn that he was being followed. 

Said protagonist may get home to find an unnerving letter, and the face of the stalker may be the last thing he sees before he dies. The audience, if the story has the right diction, could be on board with the story and put themselves into the character's shoes. When the character is killed, the author may be able to say they scared someone. There is a reason some people don't read suspense/horror stories!