Foreign Language Acquisition

Edward Hobbs EHOBBS at WELLESLEY.EDU
Mon Jan 24 17:20:54 EST 2000


Steven Miller wrote:

"I was once told, in all seriousness, by one of my Jesuit professors at 
St.Louis University, that one of his professors had once given a lecture, 
where half way through he quoted from some ancient Greek source, only to 
accidently finish the lecture in ancient Greek. Although I have no doubt 
that my professor actually believed the story he told, I've always 
suspected that his anecdote was apocryphal. I have been told another 
anecdote by a person (I've forgotten the source) who claimed that he had 
dinner with two priests who conducted most of the dinner conversation in 
ecclesiastical Latin. This anecdote I found somewhat more believable."


While the first anecdote strikes me as apocryphal, too, the second is not 
only "more believable" to me, it sounds highly probable.  It was not very 
long ago that theological higher education for Roman Catholic orders was 
done entirely in Latin: All lectures were presented in Latin, the students 
raised questions in Latin, answers were in Latin, exams were in Latin, and 
the exam answers were to be in Latin.  This only changed a few years after 
Vatian II (1962-65).

When I was invited to lecture to Jesuits studying at Alma College (i.e., 
seminary) in Los Gatos, California, about 1962, my lecture (on the Gospel 
of Mark) had to be delivered in Latin.  The Dean, Harry Corcoran SJ, gave 
special permission for the students to question me In English, and for me 
to reply in English.  (Ben Meyer was my host-professor.)  The luncheon 
conversations at all tables but mine were in Latin.

Ben and Harry have both gone to a well-deserved reward, alas for us.  Harry 
was the first Jesuit to bring an entire theologate into a previously non-
Catholic faculty (the GTU, at Berkeley--secular, Anglican, and Protestant); 
he even persuaded the General of the Order, Pedro Arrupe, to fly over from 
Rome, then land in a helocopter on Holy Hill in Berkeley, to bless the 
Union!


Edward Hobbs




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