> I could not agree more about Vatican II. Yet, I've never heard anyone
> attribute the decline in SAT scores to the lack of exposure to Latin, despite
> the fact that Latin-based words are the whole stromboli of the
verbal SAT. >
 
Let's just say that Vatican II is one of several contributing factors
that include others that we are only too familiar with (decline of
reading, increase of electronic media, unavailability of parents, a
larger and more diverse student population, etc. etc.).
 
In response to the request for sources.  A recent article in "The
Classical Journal" (91.2, 1995, 165-84) offers an extensive
bibliography.  The article itself, as the title indicates, takes a
somewhat specialized view: "An exploratory study on the effects of
Latin on the native language skills and foreign language aptitude of
students with and without learning disabilities".
 
The cognitive and linguistic (and other) effects of bilingualism have
been studied extensively.  A classic text is "Bilinguality and
Bilingualism" by Josiane Hamers & Michel Blanc (Cambridge University
Press, 1987).
 
But I think Vygotsky in his "Thought and Language" said it best:  "The
bilingual child learns to see [her or] his language as one particular
system among many, to view its phenomena under more general
categories, and this leads to awareness of [her or] his linguistic
operations."
 
 
Mieke
 
 
Mieke Koppen Tucker
Bishop's University
Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada