Does Latin have any usefulness nowadays?

And yet I'm the only one who states the obvious reason who one should stury dead languages: the philology.

<<The grammar of PIE was far too complex to have been spoken by ordinary people. >>

Back when PIE was spoken (way before civilization), EVERYBODY was "ordinary people".

>>What you could also do is to take all that time and energy in your Latin endeavor and apply it to learning Chinese instead.

Cultural enrichment is an admirable reason to learn a language, but not the only one.


>>If you're a native english speaker, and wish to study an old dead language, by all means, study OLD ENGLISH and not Latin.

Except that this "deeper understanding" of grammar does not really translate into any noticeable practical benefit. In terms of English vocabulary, the benefit gained from studying Latin FAR outweigh those from studying Old English, the latter being miniscule.

And as I said before, Latin is worth studying in itself, being an integral part of the Western liberal arts tradition, and having a rich literature (both of which Old English is unfortunately bereft). These are the reasons that it is studied in modern academic institutions -- NOT for the purpose of improving the students' English, which is just an added benefit, as I also have mentioned.

benefits* gained