If English had been a dead language for fifteen hundred years and was only used by people who talk about things only a tiny subset of the population understands?

Yeah, it would seem pretty mystical.

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

But that's my point, it hasn't been, and it wasn't.

Again, Latin was mandatory in my high school for a year, optional for two more. In the 1990s. It's still optional, I believe. My parents went to church in Latin as kids.

So no, it doesn't sound mystical outside the anglosphere, it sounds like crusy old priests, lawyers and boring lessons. Today.

[–] spauldo@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You are very much in the minority as someone who has studied Latin. Very few non-Catholic high schools even offer it, much less make it mandatory.

And sure, Catholic mass was held in Latin back in the day. Personally, I suspect that's a reason it's associated with rituals and magic. What is a priest doing, if not invoking mystical powers beyond the understanding of man? What language would someone use to invoke the powers of Satan?

Outside the anglosphere, I have no idea.

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Well, it took a minute, but you got to the point there in that last sentence.