List of Active-Language Classicists

This page lists classicists who have devoted significant professional effort into speaking Classical languages in an active way, for conversation, teaching, and other spontaneous verbal communication. Note: See "External links" section for link to full text

Many of these individuals have careers in academia, but not all of them. They work as scholars, instructors, organizers, authors, or academic researchers.

The listed individuals are distinctive because the majority of Classics scholars in modern times devote little effort to speaking Classical languages. In fact they frequently discourage this activity as mostly a waste of time. The individuals listed here are notable exceptions.

For the purpose of this list, we use the same definition of "Classical languages" as is used at Classics departments major European and North American universities, and indeed the same definition used at the Wikipedia Classics page: Latin and Ancient Greek.

However, specialists in other classical languages can also be listed here, provided that their professional activity is the same: The active use of one or several ancient and probably dead classical languages as spoken, conversational languages.

Individuals Name Lifespan Professional description Institutional affiliation(s) Location(s) Language(s) Arcadius Avellanus 1851-1935 scholar, teacher, editor, organizer Professor at St. John's College in Brooklyn Hungary; U.S. Latin John Stuart Blackie 1809-1895 classical scholar and man of letters Prof. of Greek at Edinburgh U; Prof. of Humanities at U. of Aberdeen Scotland Ancient Greek, Latin 1909-1983 politician First international congress for living Latin (Avignon, 1956); French Ministry of National Education France Latin 1914-2003 Catholic abbott; classicist Latinitas Foundation; Vatican Secretariat of State South Tyrol, Italy; Rome, Italy Latin Reginald Foster 1939-2020 Catholic priest; renowned teacher of spoken Latin Vatican Secretariat of State; Gregorian University Rome, Italy; Wisconsin, U.S. Latin Alexis Hellmer 1984- classicist Founder of ; ; Mexico Latin Stephen Hill classicist, teacher Wyoming Catholic College; Polis Institute U.S. Ancient Greek, Latin Eduard Johnson 1840-1903 classicist, teacher, author, journalist and local historian Plauen Gymnasium; Chemnitz Gymnasium; (local German newspaper) Saxony, Germany Ancient Greek, Latin John Byron Kuhner writer, classicist Editor of ; Former president of SALVI; owner of Bookmarx Books in Ohio Ohio, U.S. Latin Leni Ribeiro Leite classicist Federal University of Espírito Santo; U. of Kentucky; Kentucky, U.S.; Brazil Latin Tatiana Marvina teacher Polis Institute Jerusalem, Israel Ancient Greek Milena Minkova classicist, author Pontifical Gregorian University; Pontifical Salesian University; U. of Kentucky; (ALF); Note: List of members of the (ALF) Kentucky, U.S.; Rome, Italy Latin Luigi Miraglia 1965- teacher, classicist Founder of the ; (ALF); Pontifical Academy for Latin Rome, Italy Latin Luke Amadeus Ranieri teacher, author, prolific YouTuber Ancient Language Institute; Paideia Institute; Note: This is a lecture delivered in Latin by Ranieri, and posted to the "Paideia Media" YouTube channel managed by the Paideia Institute. Polis Institute U.S. Latin, Ancient Greek Christophe Rico classicist, author, dean Dean of the Polis Institute; University of Strasbourg Jerusalem, Israel Ancient Greek, Latin (and others) Pietro Romanelli 1889-1991 archaeologist Founder and leader of (ALF) Rome, Italy Latin W. H. D. Rouse 1863-1950 teacher, translator, author, headmaster Cambridge University; Association for the Reform of Latin Teaching; Loeb Classical Library editor; Rugby School; The Perse School (headmaster) U.K. Latin 1939-2025 philologist, academic LMU Munich; (ALF) Munich, Germany Latin Jenny Teichmann teacher, organizer, YouTuber Argos Didaskei; Paideia Institute; Germany Ancient Greek John Traupman 1923-2019 classicist, author Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, U.S. Latin Terence Tunberg 1950- classicist, author U. of Kentucky; (ALF); Kentucky, U.S. Latin Karl Heinrich Ulrichs 1825-1895 lawyer, jurist, journalist, writer, early gay rights activist district court of Hildesheim; (Naples, Italy) Germany; Italy Latin

List of Active-Language Classicists

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