The wealthy and educated
classes of the empire often
spoke Latin, but the majority
of people continued to speak
local languages such as
Celtic, Coptic, and Aramaic.
Roman Empire c. 100
GREEK
Thracian
C E LT I C
Atlantic Ocean
In some areas, public
monuments had bilingual
inscriptions in Latin and the
local language so that
everybody could read them.
Celtic
BASQUE
Black Sea
Some local languages died
out completely during the
Roman period and were
replaced by Latin. An example
is the Punic language of
North Africa.
Latin had a lasting effect on
the languages of Europe.
Some modern European
languages, such as French
and Spanish, are very similar
to Latin. English contains
many words that come from
Latin.
Local language surviving
the Roman period
Local language displaced
by Latin or Greek
Thracian
Iberian
ARMENIAN
Celtic
L AT I N
Ly c a o n i a n
Phrygian
GREEK
L I B YA N
BERBER
Cilician
Isaurian
ARAMAIC
Punic
Syriac
Mediterranean Sea
HEBREW
N A B ATA E A N
L I B YA N
COPTIC
250
0
0
250
500
500 miles
750
1000 km
Languages of the Roman Empire 100 CE
Latin was the official language
of the Roman Empire.
Financial administrators, legal
officers, and leading men of
local communities used it
throughout the area under
Roman government.