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The Times & The Sunday Times
The Times & The Sunday Times
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Lingua franca

The Linnaean system taught me more Latin and Greek than any schoolteacher could
The Times
The Times

Sir, Sea purslane is an engaging plant. Or rather, two: Honkenya peploides and Halimone portulacoides, from different families. The Linnaean system aids conversation with foreign speakers, for I don’t know the Hungarian for ragwort or the Spanish for hawthorn (“Plants lose Latin as lingua franca”, Sept 2). Both systems offer descriptive cues, lore and romance. The Linnaean taught me more Latin and Greek than any poor teacher could drum into my cranium.

Peter Blathwayt

Southsea, Hants