Time for the final battle for Latin and Greek

Not enough students want to learn Latin and classical Greek.

Now two of the oldest subjects at the university are at risk.

– Sweden feels like a very uncivilised country, says student of Latin Ellen Fröh.

It is not the first time the future of the classical languages hangs by a thread. In 2001, the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education came close to revoking the right to examine researchers of Latin at Lund University because there were not enough teachers of the subject.

But this time the threat is more serious.

“It would be a mistake”

The core of the problem is that not enough students want to study Latin or Greek. No students – no money from the government.

The Centre for Languages and Literature now demands that the university or the area of humanities and theology should contribute the money needed to save the languages.

Unless this happens it is proposed that the subjects should be dropped from the curriculum by 2008.

Students Stina Damberg and Ellen Fröh both say that would be a big mistake.

– Sometimes when people ask why I study Latin it feels as if I have to come up with an answer that it pays off financially or politically. But Latin spans over such a long time, it has influenced us for thousands of years. Our history looks the way it does greatly because of how the Romans and the Greeks lived. The point is to understand it, says Ellen Fröh in the coffee-break between two grammar lectures at the Centre for Languages and Literature.

In England a degree in Latin gives you a job

She is one of about 20 students taking the a-course in Latin this autumn.

In England a degree in Latin makes you interesting in the labour market because employers assume that you are smart and easy to teach, says Stina Damberg and Ellen Fröh and compare it to Sweden.

Here they ask: Latin – why? says Stina Damberg. Ellen Fröh adds:

– In that way Sweden feels like a very uncivilised country. It is sad that there is a politics that says that you should get in, learn something fast and then get back out again. The university is not the meeting place that I believe it once was.

“Latin makes me happy”

Stina Damberg and Ellen Fröh have chosen to study Latin because of their interest in the language and its history.

Someone has to take care of the legacy of Europe’s cultural history. There are so many documents in Latin – and they are not all translated yet, says Ellen Fröh.

– I think it is beautiful, says Stina Damberg. Studying Latin makes me happy.

High costs

However, the management of the area of humanities and theology has a more pragmatic attitude towards the future of the classical languages than the students have.

Next year the area has to cut 10 million Swedish kronor from the basic education. The number of students has dropped drastically and we have to adapt to the new situation.

– Of course we want to keep these subjects, but on the other hand the costs are relatively high if you count the number of staff relative to the number of students. Also, the number of students has dropped. Only a few students apply to Greek, for example, and that is a very complicated situation, says the Dean Jan Svensson.

“Terrible without the languages”

Vice-Chancellor Göran Bexell is torn about the problems that the languages face.

– I think it would be terrible with a classical university without Latin and Greek. But we have no students, so what can we do?

The final decision will be made by the board of the area of humanities and theology on December 13th.