Would my daughter get confused?

[Anonymous]

I was just looking at the sample pages and realized how similar Latin and Spanish are. My daughter is completely bilingual (thinks English in English and Spanish in Spanish) and I thought how confusing it could get.

For example:
aquila = aguila (Spanish)
tua = tu (or in the context used, actually Usted)
etc.

I thought of how confusing it could possibly get relating some Latin words in English and others in Spanish, because it may be simpler in one language than the other.

Ok, I just confused myself. Maybe someone can untangle this mystery.

I figure, it will either strengthen her grammar in both languages, or completely ***** her up.

I have a long time before considering the program (she's 4.5yo on Spanish phonics, hasn't started English yet - this was done purposely since she's fluent in both).

I appreciate any comments on the matter. Thanks.

[Michelle]

I'll give this question my best shot, but I am by no means a language "expert."

We are in our second year of Latin at home with our older two children, and my youngest will start Prima Latina in the fall. I am absolutely convinced that Latin is a tremendous language to start with children, because children have a great capacity for memorizing the forms of Latin. Latin is so precise, and the grammar is so precise, that it is a complete "thinking skills" course in and of itself. So, I would highly recommend the study of Latin.

I am not familiar with Spanish, but I majored in German and also studied French. This was in college, and although I was much older than your daughter, some of the confusion was sorted out over time. There were a few times the grammar got mixed up, but not often. Of course, German is a Germanic language, and French is a Romance language, with word roots in Latin---although German is actually quite heavily influenced by Latin, somewhat in the vocabulary but more so in the grammar. German has retained four of the cases that you would learn about in Latin.

I'll offer an anecdote that might possibly help in your situation. One of my French teachers had a French father and an Italian mother, and she was raised in France. Her parents were bilingual in French and Italian, and spoke both around the home constantly. She related in class one day that she spoke NOT A WORD until she was around 4 years old---but when she did, she spoke French and Italian fluently and did not confuse the two. I'm sure each different child might have a unique reaction to a situation like this, but I believe---again, my inexpert opinion---that children learn to sort through the different vocabulary and grammar and are eventually able to keep them straight.

If you decided to start your child on Latin and found that there was confusion, you could always back off for a while and postpone until a later date. :)