Writes Ifan B.E (3rds)
It felt rather daunting speaking in front of several Lower Sixth students, but completely worth the time and stress! I had previously listened to several boys who had chosen Classics as an A-level, who would continue to invest their school time into Classics. I was so inspired by them that I decided to present on my favourite topic of the Classical world: language. My presentation was about the five most influential literature systems of the Classical world. The languages stretched from Western language (Latin) all the way to the foundations of the East Sanskrit, covering information about modern branches and why they are important, alongside explaining a bit about Greek philosophy and Sumerian development.
First, I began with Latin, which I explained was the mother of the majority of Western languages, allowing us to tap into not only the age of the Roman empire, but also the later periods where this language was used in religion and poetry. Secondly, I covered Greek, where I focused more on the philosophical side and explained how accessing Greek was vital to understand the ancient thinkers. Then Sumerian, where I zoomed into the ancient language of the Middle East, with the first receipts and writing. After this, I moved onto Egyptian hieroglyphs, a recognisable language that now is only shown on the walls of tombs. I concluded with Sanskrit, the East’s original language, which was about how the world has used this tongue in all languages from English to Hindi.
