There is a difference between “following” and “understanding”.
First, I apologize for being snippy, I’m just tired of this criticism. :)
As a historical note. Everybody spoke Latin once upon a time so the Mass was in Latin. Then the Latin began to fragment into Italian, Spanish, et. al. No one really thought to translate the Mass into these “dialects”—as they were considered—because it would have struck them as silly as translating your hymnal into Brooklynese or hillbilly. The Mass stayed in Latin even after the use of Latin faded because (surprise) people tend to be conservative when it comes to religion. That’s why all these people like using the King James today. No one talks that way anymore, but people are used to it, it’s poetic, and it gives the text a certain gravity it wouldn’t have in modern slang.
Things are somewhat different now. I grew up on the Mass in English, yet I think going to a Mass in Latin helps me in some way—makes the divine service less common, more mystical. I’m not an obscurantist—I understand everything that’s being done, I just prefer this mode of expression. Latin is symbolic to me of a divine language and one that befits the majesty of God.
Well, I guess you 'got' me. I used 'follow' in the vein of 'know what is going on' (ie if one should be late for Mass), implying that a basic understanding of the Mass was already inherent, whether English or Latin. Or Spanish. Or Vietnamese. Or French. Or Church Slavonic as in Eastern rites. Many of us who attend Mass already possess an understanding of Mass, so we can understand what is happening regardless the language, as I mentioned I myself have attending a tri-language Mass in Montreal. And we are happy to field questions or assist with someone who is obviously unfamiliar, such as when Evangelical friends attended with me on an occasion.
And why the big push for Latin, you may then wonder. Is it merely the language alone? Yes and no. Yes, because the translations from Latin in the years following Vat II have been sooooo varied and scattered and, in some dioceses with their own agendas that vary from the Holy Father, contentious. And no, because it isn't just about the Latin language. It's about the entire way the Mass in Latin is celebrated, with attendant mystery and reverence not always seen in Novus Ordu celebrations, which can vary widely from Church to Church.