Aretas
The Project
As latin students, our team often struggles in hearing the same words everyday: "Why is it that we choose to learn Latin, a 'dead' language?" In understanding why Latin language matters, it helps recognize the historical impacts and linguistic influences on modern society. Understanding Latin is particularly valuable as it illuminates the historical impacts and linguistic influences that continue to shape modern society, fostering a deeper awareness of contemporary life's cultural and intellectual foundations. Even today, ancient Roman roads are utilized, architecture is studied, and its mythology is wondered at. Why is it that such an influential civilization is being undermined? Its most important form of culture, its language, forgotten? Without understanding the foundations of the civilizations that built up the bricks of the Western world, it will be difficult for the new ages to come. These concerns are why Aretas was made. The name Aretas comes from the Ancient Greek word for “excellence,” presenting the hopes that Aretas can bring excellence to the new generations. Aretas focuses on accessibility, community and engagement, making the acronym A.C.E., so students of all ages and backgrounds could ace the ancient Roman and Greek studies. These traits allow Aretas to both appeal to a younger audience but also promote the content to individuals who may not have had opportunities to learn the language before. Unlike other existing alternatives, such as Duolingo, Aretas is completely free and has no limitation for the availability ranges on devices. In the beginning, it was difficult to find a way to come up with an idea on how to incorporate engagement within our website. However, with the development of games later on (there are more in process at the moment), that quickly became solved. The multiple choice questions that came along with the lectures helped with that too. Aretas is our vision, and our hope to change perspectives on what the society views as a “dead language.”
