Latin Language Article
Source: latinlanguage.org
History of the Latin Language
Latin is the language that was originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great
importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Latin
evolved into the various Romance languages. These were for many centuries only spoken languages,
Latin being still used for writing. (For example, Latin was the official language of Portugal until 1296
when it was replaced by Portuguese.) All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many
words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. It is said that 80% of
scholarly English words are derived from Latin (in a large number of cases by way of French). Moreover,
in the Western world, Latin was a lingua franca, the learned language for scientific and political affairs,
for more than a thousand years, being eventually replaced by French in the 18th century and English in
the late 19th. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the formal language of the Roman Catholic Church to this day,
which makes it the official national language of the Vatican. The Church used Latin as its primary
liturgical language until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Latin is also still used (drawing heavily
on Greek roots) to furnish the names used in the scientific classification of living things. The Roman
Empire essentially became the source of the Latin influence on countries of Europe and America.
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Latin Literature
Latin literature defines the literature of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire and is
conventionally divided into two time periods. "Golden" Latin, or Golden Age, covers approximately the
period from the start of the first century B.C. up to the mid-first century A.D. “Silver” Latin covers the
remainder of the Classical period. These two periods are so full of skillful writers and of masterpieces
that their works are still studied in schools and have become the symbol of culture and erudition.
Anything after the mid-second century comes under the blanket description of "late" Latin literature,
and tends to be studied for the light it sheds on the development of Latin into the Romance languages.
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Ancient literature and learning, along with Christian texts, were preserved in manuscript (i.e.,
handwritten) books that initially were produced in much the way books had been made in earlier
centuries. The lettering followed the letter forms and the conventions of Roman writing.
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Golden Age
The Golden Age is perfectly represented by Lucretius' most famous work, "On the Nature of Things",
which aims at freeing men's minds of superstition and fear of death. It achieves this through the
principles of the philosophical system of Epicurus, whom Lucretius immortalizes. The work has several
allusions to the tumultuous state of political affairs in Rome and its civil strife. Other masterpiece of this
period is Virgil's Aeneid, which narrates the journey of the Trojan hero Aeneas from Troy to Italy. But
maybe the most popular poem based on mythology is the Metamorphoses by Ovid which describes the
creation and history of the world in terms of Greek and Roman mythology. The Metamorphosis has
become the work best known to medieval writers and thus has had a great deal of influence on
medieval poetry. As for prose, it is compulsory to mention Julius Caesar's narration of the "Gallic Wars"
and Cicero's Catilline Orations. Nepos, Sallust and Livy where three of the most popular historians and it
is thanks to them that we have detailed descriptions of important facts about the past.
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Silver Latin
The Silver Age in mainly characterized by prose and theatre. In the first category falls Petronius'
Satyricon. Written around 60 C.E., the tale is a mixture of prose and poetry detailing the misadventures
of the narrator, Encolpius, his friend Ascyltus, and Giton, their attendant. As for theatre, mention should
be made of Seneca and of his tragedies, which probably were closet drama, writing in a dramatic form
but intended to be read rather than performed. He adapted plays from the classical Greek theatre by
the tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Seneca's plays were widely read in medieval
European universities, so they strongly influenced Renaissance tragic drama, particularly the literature
of Elizabethan England.
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Latin and English
English grammar is independent of Latin grammar, though prescriptive grammarians in English have
been influenced by Latin. Attempts to make English grammar follow Latin rules-such as the prohibition
against the split infinitive-have not worked successfully in regular usage. However, as many as half the
words in English were derived from Latin, including many words of Greek origin first adopted by the
Romans, not to mention the thousands of French, Spanish, and Italian words of Latin origin that have
also enriched English.
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During the 16th century, and on through the 18th, English writers created huge numbers of new words
from Latin and Greek roots. These words, dubbed "inkhorn" or "inkpot" words (as if they had spilled
from a pot of ink), were rich in flavor and meaning. Many of these words were used once by the author
and then forgotten, but some remain. Imbibe, extrapolate, and inebriation are all inkhorn terms carved
from Latin and Greek words.
Latin today
As there are no native speakers of the Latin language, it is spoken only as a second language. The Latin
language is officially adopted in only one country: Vatican. Latin courses offered in high schools and
universities are primarily geared toward translating Latin texts into modern languages rather than
teaching it as a tool of communication. As such, the skill of reading is heavily emphasized, whereas
speaking and listening skills are barely touched upon. Nevertheless, there is a growing Living Latin
movement, whose supporters believe that Latin can, or should, be taught in the same way that modern
"living" languages are taught i.e. as a means of both spoken and written communication. One of the
most interesting aspects of such an approach is that it allows for speculative insight into how many of
the ancient authors spoke and incorporated sounds of the language stylistically. Without understanding
how the language is meant to be heard it is very difficult to identify patterns normally distinguished in
Latin poetry. Institutions offering Living Latin instruction include the Vatican and the University of
Kentucky. In addition, in the United States there is a thriving competitive organization for high school
Latin students, the National Junior Classical League. Those that learn Latin are able to understand many
other languages, such as the Latin derived languages like Spanish, French or Portuguese. Also, many
words from Latin exist in English, German and other.
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Questions
1. Read the article the first time to become familiar with it. Are there any difficult words? Make a list of
words that are strange to you, unfamiliar, unknown, or difficult to pronounce.
2. What is the Latin language? Choose the paragraphs that help you answer. Write the number of the
paragraphs that are used as a source in parentheses after your answer.
3. How could the Roman Latin language be a form of strength for the Roman people and their empire?
Choose a paragraph or paragraphs that help you answer and write the number of the paragraphs in
parentheses after your answer.
4. Can you show how the Roman Latin language became a lasting contribution in some way? Choose a
paragraph or paragraphs that help you answer and write the number of the paragraphs in parentheses
after your answer.
5. Using the attachment of examples of the Latin language that goes with this article, can you make a
visual representation of these examples? Make your own graphic organizer that shows five examples
from each example topic?