Cover Letter

This paper addresses the world’s need for a universal medical language and the steps

necessary to create one. I suggest Latin, with supplemental Greek, as that language and support

my claim with reasoning from other sources who feel the same way. I have been asking

questions about this topic for months now and trying to find answers. I started with asking how

Latin and Greek are still relevant today and found it was mostly in science and medicine, making

me lean towards connecting Latin and medicine. As I tried to find a way to tie philosophy into

my project, I realized I could write about a universal medical language. My questions became:

What would make this possible? Why don’t we already have one? How can one revive a dead

language? What culture would a universal medical language have?

The first draft is just to get all of my findings on paper and hopefully begin to answer

some of those questions. Sometimes I struggled to find a way to transition between arguments,

but I hope to fix that in the next draft. As I was writing, new arguments appeared to me that I had

not thought of before, so I will need to further incorporate those as well. My main goal for this

draft was to get my idea across and then use the feedback from peer review to make my idea into

an argument. I also needed my peer editor to help me decide what I need to expand on, so I could

get to at least the minimum word count.

In the second draft, I expanded on ideas that I felt needed more explanation or detail. In

the in-class peer review, my reviewer said she liked when I wrote about the history of language

and Latin and Greek. She felt I needed to work on the part about medical students, so I did and

made a stronger argument in that section. In my out-of-class peer review, my reviewer thought I

had a very strong thesis statement and liked the section I wrote about how geography can’t

control human communication anymore. She helped to find places where my wording was
unclear or more explanation was necessary. I also added some Latin into this draft, so I would

like my next peer review to let me know how well those fit in addition to any other comments.

In my final peer review, my reviewer helped me to fix the small errors that remained, like

typos and such. From her feedback, I made sure to further integrate the Latin quotes into my

paper to make them fit better. I didn’t change much in my organization of the paper. The tone

words she used to describe my paper fit what I was going for, and what she found to be the

central topic of my paper based on first paragraph was my main focus for the rest of the paper as

well.
Foster Solomon

Dr. Holt

Sci-Phi 12

12 April 2018

Saving Lives with a Dead Language

There are nearly seven thousand living languages in the world today. Each living

language creates an omnipresent barrier between scientists, doctors, and researchers from

different countries. The best minds in a field may never collaborate because of the language

barrier, depriving the world of the genius that their collaboration could have brought. In the

medical field, that collaboration could save thousands of lives; as long as the language barrier

remains, people’s lives are being sacrificed in exchange for the ease of the majority. A new

medical language needs to be created that does not belong to any country, is simple to learn, and

can be easily adapted to modern life; Latin fits those characteristics. The people of the world are

capable of, and therefore should, create an international medical language utilizing Latin with

supplemental Greek words.

The creation of this language would need to be an international effort. As Lucretius states

in De Rerum Natura, no one man was able to create language, “nam cur hic posset cuncta notare

vocibus et varios sonitus emittere linguae, tempore eodem allii facere id non quisse putentur …

cogere item pluris unus victosque domare non poterat, rerum ut perdiscere nomin vellent.” (“For

why should one man have been able to designate everything with words and produce the various

sounds of speech, but others be thought unable to do so … again, one man could not coerce

many or overpower and subdue them, so as to make them willing to learn all the names of

things.”) This still holds true two thousand years later. There will be no international language
unless the world can see the benefits of collaborating in medicine and will put differences aside.

It is not up to the government, a bureaucracy, or any organization to create this language. The

people of the world need to support it and all the benefits it will bring in order to make this a

possibility. (Lucretius)

People once created the languages spoken today, so people can also change them and

create new ones. It all started with a few words and grew into the complex system of

communication that exists today. Language takes a lot of mental capacity, so when humans

began to create it, there must have been a major evolutionary benefit from it, most likely that

they were able to live in larger, more complex social groups. As the population grew and people

spread out, they started pronouncing words differently and created new words for their new

discoveries, so languages began to differentiate. However, all those different languages began

from the same place.

When the early human race started to spread out, they developed their own versions of

the language they had known. In the same way accents exist today, regional groups would

develop their own ways to pronounce things. Their language changed further when they started

to name new things that other groups hadn’t seen. There are many theories as to how those

names came about. One states that the “involuntary cries of pain, or pleasure, or surprise, or

astonishment” that the object causes a person to make then becomes its name (Kellogg). For

example, if person stubs their toe on a rock and then screams, “Ouch!”, they would call the rock

“ouch.” Another theory suggests that people would imitate the sounds they heard and that would

become the name of whatever made the sound. An additional theory asserts that humans had an

instinct for naming things that has now been lost since it is no longer necessary. When words

were originally created, they had a meaning connected to them that made sense to the people
who used them. The connection people have to their language today is purely emotional and the

words only have meaning because people are taught that they do. It is easier now to create a

language and teach it to people than it was when the first languages were created because the

connection is more emotional than logical now.

The language barrier observed today came from geography and how far apart people

were. As time passed and groups advanced independently of each other, people couldn’t share

the new words they created with the people they had left hundreds of miles away. Now,

however, with the technology the human race has created – phones, the Internet, email, etc. –

people can communicate not only with people hundreds of miles away, but also with people on

the other side of the world. Geography cannot contain people anymore, and the world has begun

to make advancements together. When Steve Jobs created the iPhone, he was in the United

States, but there are iPhones all over the world. If the advancements made in each country are

then shared with people in the rest of the world, it should also be possible to share the process of

creating those advancements with people from all over the world. Nothing is stopping people on

opposite ends of the Earth from consulting with each other besides artificial obstacles created by

people.

The universal language needed to remove those obstacles has been blocked by the

inability to choose a language. The biggest challenges to this feat are human pride and laziness.

Everyone wants their language to be the international language to prove that theirs is the best and

so that they don’t have to commit time and energy to learning a new language. However, both

pride and laziness are things people can overcome if they are willing–if they can realize that

doing so could allow the human race to progress further and faster. Pride and laziness are not

worth sacrificing all that could be gained by establishing a gateway for international
collaboration in medicine. The people of the world need to care more about what the people

around them could gain rather than what they would have to sacrifice. After all, amor vincit

omnia (love conquers all), including the language barrier.

In addition, not everyone would have to learn a new language, only those going into

medicine or closely related fields, all of whom are certainly capable of doing so. Everyone in the

field has to go through years of school and excel there, and the aptitude required to more easily

learn a language is very similar to the one required for school; both require hard work,

memorization, and application of what has been memorized. The years of education and training

required to work in the medical field make sure that only the dedicated enter the field, so they are

invested enough in their career that they would be willing to learn a new language for it. Some

might argue that medical school is already very difficult and learning a new language should not

be added to it. However, Latin is taught in many secondary schools already, and it would be

taught in more if it became the universal medical language, so students interested in careers in

medicine could learn the language prior to medical school, the same way students interested in

international relations learn French in secondary school to prepare for their career. The type of

people in the medical community make an international language of medicine more possible than

people think.

Even those who did not have the opportunity to take Latin in secondary school or who

struggle to learn a new language should still be willing to learn the universal medical language

because it will assist them in reaching their goals, making it utile dulci (“the useful with the

agreeable”). (“Latin”) The top reasons to be in the medical discipline are a strong desire to help

people, to leave an impact on the world through their discoveries, and to have an occupation with

great job security and a big paycheck. A universal medical language would help a person
accomplish all three of those goals. After learning a universal language, a person will have the

resources and information of the entire world’s medicine to better help people. Stronger research

teams that draw the best in the field from all over the world will be able to make more important

discoveries. Doctors, nurses, researcher, lab technicians, etc. will have more job opportunities

available to them around the world so they can choose the best one. The people who work in

medicine will directly benefit from learning a universal medical language.

Latin is the ideal choice for a medical language because it is already so widely used in

medicine. Most Romance languages (languages derived from Latin) already have some form of

Latin in place to use for medical terms. In addition, many of the most medically advanced

countries speak a Latin-based language and would be less resistant to turning it into the medical

language for all because it is similar to their own language. Therefore, this would create reason

for medical professionals from other countries that may not have been so inclined to Latin to

learn it in order not to be left out of their medical advancements. By choosing a language that is

already established in so many languages and the medical terminology for those languages, those

countries will influence the rest of the world enough to convince people to use it.

Latin also fits the characteristics that intellectuals believed were necessary for a universal

language. At the end of the 19th century, a committee was appointed to study the question of an

international language, and they discussed the possibility of a universal scientific language. The

committee there decided what they believed an international language of science would require.

They felt it needed to have straightforward sounds, be facile to speak and understand, express

precise meanings, and be “easily adapted to the uses of everyday life, to commerce, and to all

scientific and philosophical discussion.” (Pike) Outside of the logistics of the language, they also

believed that it should be considered a secondary language, not the language to end all other
language, and “should not to be one of the present national languages.” (Pike) Very few

languages fit all of their requirements, and those that do are usually artificial languages that have

already failed in the past–with the exception of Latin. Latin is different from artificial languages

because it is an established international language; however, it still fits the criteria that it does not

belong to any nation, making it an ideal choice.

For a language to be successful, there needs to be a culture surrounding it, which is part

of why artificial languages have not gained as many followers. Latin has been around for

centuries, aere perennius (more lasting than bronze), and its culture has developed over time.

Currently, it is seen as the language of scholars, whether it be historians trying to learn more

about Roman times or scientists using it to name and categorize the world. Medicine can easily

be incorporated into that culture and is actually already a part of it in some ways. The culture of

Latin makes it a strong choice for a universal medical language.

The only limitation of Latin is that it is an ancient language that has not been adapted to

the current times because it is a dead language. However, Greek can be used to add new

vocabulary where Latin lacks it. Greek is already in use in medical terminology the same way

Latin is, sometimes even combined with it. The Greek language has a seemingly limitless

number of words to choose from that can be used to supplement Latin to complete the medical

language.

In a world where technology has made international communication easier than ever,

there needs to be a universal language to allow medical collaboration between individuals of

different countries. Reaching out to someone across the world isn’t much harder than reaching

out to someone less 100 miles away anymore; the only difficulty is not knowing their language.

Creating a universal medical language will foster communication and connections between
doctors and medical researchers all over the world to allow them to advance medicine better and

faster. Latin’s current involvement in medical terminology and current absence in national

languages make it a perfect choice that people will be able to learn and understand. People need

to put aside their lesser human traits and focus on what really matters: saving lives. Having a

universal medical language will allow too many new advancements to let anything stop the

world from creating one. Today is the day to bring a dead language back to life and save lives.

Carpe diem! (Pluck the day)

 Works Cited

Alexander, Jessica, Dr. Interview. 26 Feb. 2018.

Campbell, Gordon Lindsay. Lucretius on Creation and Evolution: A Commentary on ‘De

Rerum Natura’, Book Five, Lines 772-1104. Oxford, Oxford UP, 2008.

Jastrow, Joseph. “The Evolution of Language.” Science, vol. 7, no. 176, 1886, pp. 555–

557. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1761264.

KELLOGG, B. “THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE.” The College Courant, vol. 6, no. 21,

1870, pp. 344–346. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44108215. We know that the

extensive languages we have today came from a simpler one when we first started

speaking. However, we are not sure how that first language began. There are three

theories that explain how the first words could have come about. The first is based off of

involuntary responses, like shouting in pain, and then whatever caused the sound would

be named that. The second is that whatever sound the thing made would become its

name. The third is that we consciously assigned names to things based on our instincts,

which we have lost now because it is no longer necessary.

This source explores many possibilities to how the first language was created, so it gives

me a wider view. It is more objective; it doesn’t argue for one of the theories like other

sources do, so it allows me to consider each possibility equally.

Kent, Roland G. “Latin as the International Auxiliary Language.” The Classical Journal,

vol. 18, no. 1, 1922, pp. 38–44. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3289002. The

author makes the argument that Latin should be the international secondary language.

One is necessary for trade and communication between scholars to make it possible to
exchange ideas and better understand each other. Latin has easy pronunciation, is easy to

speak and understand, and is precise in expression. It is already close to an international

language between its modern forms and its importance in science.

This source brings unique arguments to why Latin would make a good international

language. It provides me with new reasoning for my argument that it should be the

international medical language and builds on some of my own thoughts. I can also

expand some of the arguments made to further my opinion.

“Latin Words to Live By (’Love Conquers All’ & More).” Merriam-Webster,

www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/top-10-latin-words-to-live-by. Accessed 17

Apr. 2018.

Lucretius Carus, Titus. Lucretius: De Rerum Natura v. Translated by Monica Gale,

Warminster, Aris & Phillips, 2009. Lucretius based his understanding of how our

language developed on how other animals behave. Animals know when they are born

how to use their powers – claws, teeth, wings – so humans should have

known how to use their vocals. Also, if animals can create sounds that they understand to

mean danger, pain, joy, etc., then humans could definitely do that and further develop it.

He also believed that there could not have been one person assigning names to things

because if one person could do it, then other people could as well ,and without language,

no one could have demanded enough authority to be in charge of language.

This source gave me a different perspective on the origin of language since it came from

a different time period than the rest of my sources. It was also written before many

modern languages existed, in the language that many of them are based on, which makes

it even more unique.

Paetow, Louis John. “Latin as a Universal Language.” The Classical Journal, vol. 15, no.

6, 1920, pp. 340–349. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3288246.

Pike, Joseph B. “Can Latin Be Revived as an International Scientific Language?” The

Classical Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, 1918, pp. 48–55. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/3288192. This source explains how Latin would be a good choice

for an international language. The requirements for an international language, as defined

by the Paris Exhibition, are as follows: easily adapted for daily life, commerce, science,

and philosophy; easy to learn; and not a current international language. Only artificial

languages can meet those criteria, but they have failed. Latin fits all but easy to learn. The

author argues that Greek can be used to create new words to update it to modern times

and that it is already in scientific use, so it would be a good choice for an international

scientific language.

Since the main argument is that Latin should be used as an international scientific

language, it is very close to the topic of my project. Therefore, it provides more specific

information. Some of the arguments made could also be used in my project or be changed

slightly to relate closer to my topic.

TUPPER, FREDERIC ALLISON. “LATIN AS THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.” The

Journal of Education, vol. 38, no. 16 (941), 1893, pp. 267–268. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/44039003. Latin would be a good universal language for many

reasons. First, many people have already been studying it, and it is currently being taught

in many schools. Second, it is already the language of science, so it is already universal in

one aspect. In addition, it is the building blocks for many modern languages. Latin is a

“smart” language; it has lots of patterns and is more unambiguous.

An important part of my project will be convincing my audience that it is possible to get

the world to use Latin for medicine. The information this source supplies on all the

different countries that have a Latin-based language will help me make the argument

those countries would be willing to accept Latin as the medical language, and if that

many large countries are doing it, then the rest will have to join as well.

Ullman, Berthold L. “Our Latin-English Language.” The Classical Journal, vol. 18, no.

2, 1922, pp. 82–90. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3289139.

Vieron, Matt, Dr. Interview.