Latin Lovers

It seems like an ordinary Thursday nighta bunch of people gobbling down Bertuccis pizza in between all the latest gossip. But when it comes to naming their food of choice, they are all at a loss for words. So they crack open the dictionary to find the word laganum, loosely translated long flat bread covered in cheese. Its not such an ordinary Thursday night when the conversation is in Latin.

Tomatoes are not native to Rome, explains Leah J. Whittington 02, founder of Harvards Latin Table. Inspired by a trip to the Eternal City, Whittington first tried to start the table in the spring of 1999. She is convinced that the current mode of teaching Latin as a purely written language is a somewhat backwards system that deprives us of a fundamental language capability, which is the spoken word. After several failed attempts to hold the Latin Table in dining halls, Whittington petitioned the Classics Department to help fund her labor of love at a more appropriate venueBertuccis. With the departments consent, the Latin Table has become a Thursday at 6 p.m. fixture at the Italian restaurantso much so that many of the staff recognize the Latin aficionados.

The group, comprised of 15 students, usually hosts between 10 and 13 people on any given week. Classics concentrators are not the only ones waxing philosophical in the language of the philosophers. The table is open to all Latin-loving souls, whether they come to speak or just to soak up the hyper-intellectual aura. Adam S. Levine 05, a potential math concentrator and new table member, was surprised at the proficiency of the speakers. My first reaction was complete amazement at how well some of the people speak a language that has been dead for many centuries, he says. Sometimes the students accidentally place their order in Latin, much to the confusion of waiters and fellow patrons.

Though Latin is the language on the plate, discussions do not revolve solely around lofty classical themes and poets but spill out like any mealtime conversation. It was sort of fun discussing the election last yearBush as a frutex and that sort of thing, explains grad student Noah Dauber. More recently, Latin ruminations on the war in Afghanistan lapsed into a What would the Greeks/Romans do? hypothetical. But most often, explains Whittington, the students talk about their personal lives. Weve developed into a community of friends, Leah says. And that is the ideal of learning.

Whoever said Latin is dead apparently doesnt go out on Thursdays. Or eat Laganum.