This is clearly demonstrated when you say you find the English pronunciation of Latin words barbaric.
Oops! It was not meant so seriously! The last statement was to soften the barbarity but somehow didn't manage...
I'd be the last to claim that OUR Latin is more Latin than THEIRS/YOURS. And I can agree on our ignorance of whether today's spoken Latin is correct or not. Just wanted to say: it was possible to preserve Romans' language 'as-it-was', back then, when its soon extinction was becoming clear. Our ancestors, however, didn't think of it much just as we don't about our tongues now.
I currently live, work and study in Gdansk - a city of great history, great architecture (most of it re-built, though) and many, many other virtues. It is placed in the vicinity of a Polish region called 'Kaszuby' (the Kashubes is the correct translation, I think). The Kashubians have their own language (almost unintelligible even to us, Poles), but they're just not using it in everyday life! Only a couple of years ago they suddenly realized that even their children had less and less understanding of it, and started to teach it in schools, print books, etc. Sadly, after its re-introduction I've heard an interview on the topic with an elderly Kashubian, who stated: 'Even now, I have doubts if our grandchildren will speak our tongue the way we are'. Kashubian is of course not as popular as Latin was, but let's hope they will!
