Latin or Spanish: Which Language Should You Learn?

Choosing a language to learn can be difficult. This post will help you to decide whether you should learn Latin or Spanish.

I feel uniquely qualified to discuss the pros and cons of learning Latin vs. learning Spanish. Why? Well, to begin with, I studied Latin and Spanish on my own, in high school, and at university.

Both languages play a major role in my life today. I have a PhD in Classics from Harvard, so Latin is literally my job. As for Spanish – I minored in Spanish at university and I tutored Spanish for years. And my husband is Peruvian, so I spend a lot of my time speaking Spanish.

But you didn’t come here to learn about me. This post is about you and which language is the best option for you.

Learning languages takes dedication and determination, so let’s make sure you are satisfied with your choice.

This post may contain affiliate links and I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. See my disclosures for more details.

Latin vs. Spanish: Setting the Scene

The Languages Themselves

First of all, let’s make sure there is no confusion over the relationship between Latin and Spanish.

Latin is an ancient language that developed thousands of years ago in Latium, a region of Italy. The first Latin inscription dates to the 7th century B.C.E. Thanks to the rise of Rome, Latin had spread all over the Mediterranean world by the 1st century C.E. Latin ceased to be a living language centuries ago.

Spanish, on the other hand, is a modern language that developed from a dialect of Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal). As a result of colonization, Spanish is now the primary language of most of Central and South America.

Spanish came from Latin, but the two languages are very different. A Spanish speaker can’t understand Latin, nor can someone who knows Latin understand Spanish.

It’s sort of like if you – a speaker of modern English – look at the opening lines of Beowulf, written in Old English between 700 and 1000 C.E.

Hwæt wē Gār-Dena in geār-dagum,
þēod-cyninga þrym gefrūnon,
hū ðā æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Beowulf, opening lines

Do you have any idea what that says? Probably not. English has changed a lot in the last 1000 years, and so has Latin.

(If you’re wondering what Beowulf is about, go read Seamus Heaney’s translation. The opening lines deal with the courage and greatness of past kings.)

Now let’s get back to the point of this post. Latin and Spanish are not the same. In fact, they are two very different languages, but – perhaps even more importantly – they involve completely different learning experiences.

The Language Classrooms

There’s a meme that circulates on social media in language-learning groups. It compares the material that you learn in first-year Latin to what you learn in a first-year modern language classroom.

The comparison goes something like this:

First-year modern language student: Hello, how are you? My name is Livia and I am 27 years old. I live in the United States and I like books and pizza.

First-year Latin student: The enemy of our fathers has pitched camp two miles from the city and attacks the city with swords. It is good to fight bravely and with great eagerness on behalf of our homeland!

It’s a joke, but it is a highly accurate one. Spanish and other modern languages are typically taught with an active, immersive approach.

Students are encouraged to practice easy everyday dialogues and carry out simple conversations from the beginning. The focus is on communication – spoken and written.

Latin and other ancient languages have traditionally been taught with the grammar-translation method. This means that the teacher (or textbook) will introduce a new grammatical concept and then students will translate sentences from Latin into English and vice versa.

So the average Latin class has different goals than the average Spanish class. The goal with Latin is to be able to read ancient texts. The goal with Spanish is to be able to carry on conversations and survive basic everyday interactions.

Some Latin teachers are starting to introduce more communicative and comprehension-focused strategies in the classroom. For instance, my students read excerpts from reading-intensive textbooks like Lingua Latina per se illustrata and play fun games in addition to learning about grammar.

But there is, overall, still a heavier emphasis on grammar and translation in Latin classrooms vs. Spanish ones. Different students may thrive in these different contexts. And now that I have presented the basic scenario, let’s really dive into why you might learn one language rather than the other.

Is Latin or Spanish easier?

Ease is relative. But Spanish is generally easier than Latin for an English speaker.

Why? Because Spanish grammar is, for the most part, closer to English grammar. Latin, on the other hand, has grammatical cases. This feature tends to confuse students unless they have prior knowledge of an inflected language.

Latin cases in and of themselves ensure that Latin is harder than Spanish. But beyond this, the overall emphasis on grammatical analysis in Latin classrooms may prove off-putting to some students.

But other students may view grammar like a puzzle and enjoy pulling the pieces together into a complete picture of the language. I know I love grammar – but I’m an absolute language nerd.

As I said above, some Latin teachers are now trying to de-emphasize grammar and use more active approaches, like those used for modern languages. But chances are you will still meet more intense grammatical content in your Latin studies.

Before we move on to the relative usefulness of Latin vs. Spanish, I want to make something crystal clear. No language is easy. Trust me, I’ve studied over 10 of them.

Some languages are easier. But sitting in a classroom or reading a textbook is never going to be enough to master a language.

You have to put in the extra time. If it’s Spanish you choose, you need to be watching TV in Spanish, reading children’s books, and chatting in Spanish whenever you can.

If it’s Latin, you need to read and reread your practice sentences out loud and maybe invest in some Latin novellas. Don’t think that you can avoid learning proper pronunciation just because Latin is a “dead” language – hearing the sounds of the language is important for the language acquisition process.

Languages are hard, and that’s why motivation is so crucial.

Is Latin or Spanish more useful?

Both Latin and Spanish are useful. Period. Both languages have enriched my life in their own way. But depending on your life situation, one or the other might be more practical.

I can’t answer the question definitively without knowing your specific circumstances. But I will address the question from a few different angles, to help you be able to answer for yourself.

Reasons to learn Spanish

There are many different reasons that you might find Spanish useful. Here are just a few possibilities.

• You live in an area with a large Spanish-speaking population
• Your job (or future job) involves serving the Hispanic community
• You want to travel extensively in a Spanish-speaking country
• You love Spanish or Latin-American literature, TV, or music and you want to experience it in the original
• Spanish is the native language of someone you love

Do any of those scenarios apply to you? If so, then you already have a good reason to learn Spanish.

But even if Spanish isn’t useful to you now, there is an excellent chance it will be in the future. Let’s look at some data.

Spanish is a globally significant language, and you won’t regret any time you spend learning it.

Reasons to learn Latin

Now let’s turn to Latin. On first inspection, it might seem to lose out. After all, no one really speaks Latin anymore, and it retains official status in Vatican City alone.

But European history has ensured that Latin will play an influential role for years to come. For centuries, Latin was the language of literature, science, education, and government. All of that does not vanish overnight.

Today we see Latin everywhere – in common phrases used in English, in mottos and quotes, and especially in legal and medical contexts. Learning Latin will give you a better understanding of English vocabulary and etymology.

There are many careers in which Latin will prove helpful. Law and medicine are two obvious ones, given the high percentage of legal and medical terminology derived from Latin. Scientists may also find Latin roots popping up unexpectedly.

Most areas of the humanities also draw on Latin from time to time. At Harvard I personally have taught Latin to students in fields as diverse as history, philosophy, religion, Slavic languages, and Celtic languages. Latin was the common language of Europe for so long that you can find important texts written in Latin almost anywhere.

But even if Latin has no bearing on your career goals, it still has worth. Learning Latin and mastering its unfamiliar grammar helps you to think analytically. And – for better or for worse – Latin looks good on high school and college transcripts.

This is why learning Latin is worth it for many people.

Should I learn Latin before Spanish?

Often people think that they need to learn Latin before Spanish, since Latin is the ancestor of Spanish. Honestly, it doesn’t matter either way.

Latin and Spanish are two different languages, as I emphasized up above. They do, however, have a lot of shared vocabulary roots and grammatical forms. This means that someone who is familiar with either language will have an advantage learning the other.

I learned Spanish and Latin at the same time. Occasionally something in one language helped me out with the other, but for the most part my learning experiences were separate.

Spanish isn’t easy if you know Latin, just like Latin isn’t easy if you know Spanish. Things are easier, but – to return again to what I said above – no language is easy.

So, when it comes to deciding between Latin and Spanish . . . you should learn whichever language you want to learn more. I never advocate learning one language just to make another one easier.

Comparison of Latin vs. Spanish

I have stressed a few times that Latin and Spanish are not the same language, even though Spanish is derived from Latin. It’s time for some solid proof.

I will show you how to say some basic phrases in Spanish vs. Latin so you can compare the two languages yourself. Let’s start with birthday wishes – because yes, they did celebrate birthdays in ancient Rome.

In Latin, “happy birthday” is fēlīcem diem nātālem. In Spanish, you say feliz cumpleaños. The two phrases look quite different, although Spanish feliz (happy) comes from the Latin adjective fēlīcem.

Most Spanish vocabulary is derived from Latin, but often substantial changes have occurred. For instance, the first three months in Latin are iānuārius, februārius, and martius, whereas in Spanish they are enero, febrero, and marzo.

Here is a table comparing the Latin vs. Spanish versions of some short phrases.

English	Latin	Spanish
Happy birthday!	Fēlīcem diem nātālem!	Feliz cumpleaños!
Hello, my name is Livia.	Salvē, mihi nōmen est Liviae.	Hola, mi nombre es Livia. / Hola, me llamo Livia.
When did you see my brother?	Quandō frātrem meum vīdistī?	Cuándo viste a mi hermano?
Four men were in the field.	Quattuor hominēs in agrō erant.	Cuatro hombres estaban en el campo.

As you can see, the two languages differ quite a bit.

Final Assessment: Should I learn Latin or Spanish?

So far in this post we have covered the respective learning strategies, ease, and usefulness of Latin vs. Spanish. We have also looked at some concrete sentences in the two languages.

Hopefully this discussion has helped to clear things up in your mind a bit. Now I want to address a final topic that I have mentioned in passing a few times: motivation.

Learning a language is hard, whether it is an ancient language or a modern one. It takes time and consistency. It takes years of work.

In order to truly master a language, you need to maintain determination long-term. There aren’t quick hacks to learn a language in a few weeks or even a few months. All the salespeople who say so are lying.

What this means is that, ultimately, you should choose a language that you feel passionate about. Or at least a language that you feel committed to.

For some people, that language may be Latin. For others, it may be Spanish.

So, should you learn Latin or Spanish? I don’t know. But you know. You just need to think it through and make a decision.

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