Latin / Levels 9 and 10 / Understanding / Role of language and culture
Content description
Identify how cultural values, attitudes and beliefs of the Romans are embedded in their language
Elaborations
discussing Roman values that are embedded in language, such as pietas, virtus, hospitium, fides
understanding how language and cultural practices are interconnected, for example, by explaining religious origins or connotations associated with words and expressions such as the polite command in the English RIP (‘rest in peace’) and the use of the more prayerful subjunctive in the Latin requiescat in pace
investigating the importance of Latin to personal status in the Roman world, as a means to social, economic and political advancement
examining language that reveals information about Roman government and administration, such as res publica, senatus, comitia,consul, dictator, princeps, census, and references in texts to public service, justice and the court system
discussing language that reveals the importance of public spaces and buildings in ancient Rome, for example, forum, temples, theatres
explaining references in texts to amphitheatres, gladiatorial combat, Circus Maximus, ‘bread and circuses’ and understanding the important place of entertainment in the Roman world
explaining the importance of religion to the Romans, with reference to concepts such as Lares et Penates, household genius, the worship of local gods at shrines, vestal virgins, cult of the Emperor
researching and discussing political and cultural influences in and on the works of leading writers, such as Cicero, Horace, Virgil, Livy, for example, mos maiorum; paxRomana
exploring the formal language that Romans used for greetings, or responding to the challenges of public life, such as ave, plurimasgratias, di immortales, and making comparisons with own language use in formal contexts
reflecting on how language, texts and artefacts provide a means of understanding the social and cultural practices of the Romans and how they conceptualised their world
