• Question: Hi why are scientific names and diseases mostly in Latin

    Asked by zgstar19 to Amy, Sarah, Will on 21 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Will Reynolds

      Will Reynolds answered on 21 Jun 2012:

      Hi zgstar19! Thats an interesting question. Latin is the language that most people in europe and western parts of asia spoke in Ye Olden days, thanks to the Roman empire. It was also the language that most people were taught to write in. So all of the early scientific discoveries and the naming of plants, animals and medical conditions were all written in Latin and only relatively recently translated into other languages. Because there are so many specific terms and words in science that need to be understood by everyone they kept the latin names the same so people dont get confused. Although these days we tend get condused because very few people understand latin anymore! Hope this helps.

    • Photo: Sarah Martin

      Sarah Martin answered on 21 Jun 2012:

      Hi zgstar19!

      I think it’s tradition – the ancient Greek and Roman scientists wrote the first science books in Greek and Latin, and in medieval times many scientists in medieval times all over Europe worked in monasteries, and they wrote their books in Latin, and a lot of that stuck. It is a useful international language to have to describe diseases, then everyone knows which disease you’re on about! But it does make things sound more complicated than they are!

      🙂 Sarah

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