Latin novel - Seattle

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16   The Journal

January 3, 2012

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‘Latin lover’ revives dead language By Katherine Luck When Stephen Berard of Wenatchee set out to write a novel, he decided to go for a classical flavor. A classical Latin flavor, that is. The result, Capti, is reported to be the first poetic novel written in Latin since the 1700s. According to Google Translate, the opening line of Capti reads, “Howl by centuries, the fugitives — Turn! — Disney earth girl.� It’s a mistranslation that evoked a chuckle from Berard. The real opening line, he explained, is, “Hundreds of children ran screaming from Disneyland.� The book does not involve togas, gladiators or Julius Caesar. The unexpectedly modern flair found between the covers of Capti is part of a worldwide effort to revive Latin as both a read and spoken language, known as the Living Latin movement. According to Berard, the ability to speak Latin fluently was the norm for centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire. Up until the 19th century, students and professors not only read the Latin classics, but also spoke

the language at universities throughout the Western world. “My father spoke Latin in school, but he was in seminary,� recalled Berard. Indeed, one of the citadels of the Living Latin movement is the Vatican, where everyday interactions are often conducted in Latin — even the ATMs have readouts in Latin. Still, in the one-time bastions of Latin learning — high schools and universities — the language can be hard to find today. “It’s still being taught, but it’s definitely on the wane. This [movement] is a way to start a new renaissance,� he said. Though Berard’s father spoke Latin, he didn’t teach his son the language. Nevertheless, Berard found his way to it. “I’ve always liked the way Latin works.� It’s very logical, he said. “It’s almost like a computer programming language. That doesn’t mean it’s dry. It’s efficient.� In college, Berard enrolled as a classics major, or “classicist,� and went on to become a teacher. He eventually became disillusioned with the way students were being taught the language. “It seemed as though the classicists at the time weren’t interested in Latin as a

real language,� he said. He preferred having his students write about what they were interested in, instead of just translating old works. In that spirit, Berard published his first novel in 2011. Set in present day Seattle, Capti follows the adventures of a male ballet dancer named Woody, who meets a University of Washington student outside Woodland Park Zoo when he is arrested for breaking into the place at night. The novel is set in the summer, and “you go through all the festivals — Bumbershoot and Folklife and Bite of Seattle,� Berard explained. He based the style of his book on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1820 novella, “Prinzessin Brambilla� (“Princess Brambilla�). Though the story is surreal and very modern, Berard feels that it plays to the aspect of Latin he finds most valuable: its sense of continuity. A person who is fluent in the language can read a text written 1,000 years ago as easily as they can read Capti. “It’s more creative than any other language I can think of,� he said. “I’ve never seen anything like I’m writing. I wanted to write in Latin so it will be there forever.� Berard, who is a multilinguist, was introduced to the Living Latin movement in 1998, when he was teaching German and Spanish in Wenatchee. “I went on the Internet and saw that people were using [Latin] as it should have been all along — as a real language,� he said. Today, Berard serves as leader of the conversation group Circulus Latinus Seattlensis. “We have Latin days in Seattle,� he said. He also runs annual Living Latin conferences along the West Coast. Here in Seattle, there are hints that the dead language may merely be comatose. There are two churches in Seattle that celebrate mass in Latin. Roosevelt High School still offers classes in Latin, and there are nine local chapters in the nearly 46,000-member National Junior Classical League, which encourages middle and

high school students to study the Greek and Latin classics. Even Wikipedia has a section written in Latin. According to Berard, Latin is surprisingly easy to adapt to today’s high-tech world. “Computer,â€? for example, derives from a Latin word, as do a staggering number of technological, medical and scientific terms. Given the ease with which the ancient language can be applied to modern situations, Capti is only the beginning for Berard. The novel is the first of a seven-part series, or “septology.â€? He is planning to self-publish a Latin conversation book as well. For Berard, Latin will never die. “I think any culture that wants to be eternal needs a perennial language,â€? he said. “We just have these vernacular languages. ‌ They’re flowers. They grow and die.â€? Want to read Capti? “You’ve just got to put in four or five years of study, and you’ll be able to read it!â€? Berard said.

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