Latin

[The Nameless One]

Well, if you speak a Latin language, it makes you realize the real meaning of words. If you don't, it still makes you realize the meaning of some words. Quick example, the words you used in your last post:

- during: from "durare", "to last"
- class: from "classis", "fleet", or sometimes "army"
- have: from "habere", "to have"
- question: from "questio", which comes from "querere", "to ask"
- concrete: from "concretum", which comes from "concrescere", "to get dry and solid" (like cement)

I speak the closest language to Latin, so take the above and multiply it x100.
It also teaches you to understand the logical meaning of words in phrases in a fraction of second.
Other than that, the answer I got is that it makes you develop certain mental schemes, it makes you a little smarter in certain aspects.

[Fadem]

But I could still make such a link from English -> French, English -> Dutch, German -> Dutch, French -> Spanish etc.

Well, guess Latin would be the easy way for all these links ^^"

Quite stupid though, at school we only learn grammar, but no words... We're like always allowed to use a dictionary... even when there are exams, dictionaries are allowed >_>

[The Nameless One]

The same happens here. Maybe they emphasize grammar because of its vastity and difficulty. Roman kids learned how to speak at about 7, they were "infantes" ("non-speaking") until that age.

[Ignorance]

"servi plus vini ferre, bibere volo." - true wisdom, the cure to all lifes problems

"scis ignia incendere, sed aquam non semper lenivit" - piece of advice about how things are sometimes how they appear and sometimes not

i can translate those if anyone wants but they're pretty simple