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'''Latin''' is an [[classical language|ancient]] [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] originally spoken in the region around [[Rome]] called [[Latium]]. It gained wide usage as the formal language of the [[Roman Republic]] and [[Roman Empire]]. An [[inflection]]al and [[synthetic language]], Latin relies little on [[word order in Latin|word order]], conveying meaning through a system of [[affix]]es attached to [[word stem]]s. The [[Latin alphabet]], derived from the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], remains the most widely used [[alphabet]] in the world.

Although now widely considered an [[extinct language]] with very few fluent speakers, Latin has had a major influence on many languages that are still thriving, and continues to see wide use in areas such as [[academia]].  All [[Romance language]]s are descended from [[Vulgar Latin]], and many words adapted from Latin are found in other [[modern language]]s, such as [[English language|English]]. Moreover, in the [[Western world]], Latin was the ''[[lingua franca]]'', the learned language for scientific and political affairs, for more than a thousand years, eventually being replaced by French in the [[18th century]] and English in the late [[19th century|19th]]. [[Ecclesiastical Latin]] remains the formal language of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] to this day, and thus the official language of the [[Vatican City|Vatican]]. The Church used Latin as its primary [[liturgical language]] until the [[Second Vatican Council]] in the [[1960s]]. Latin is also still used&mdash;drawing heavily on [[Greek language|Greek]] roots&mdash;to furnish the names used in the [[scientific classification]] of living things. The modern study of Latin, along with [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], is known as [[Classics]].

==History==
{{main|History of the Latin Language}}
[[Image:Duenos inscription.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Duenos inscription]], from the 6th century BC, is the second-earliest known [[Old Latin|Latin]] text.]]

Latin is a member of the family of [[Italic languages]], and its alphabet, the [[Latin alphabet]], is based on the [[Old Italic alphabet]], which is in turn derived from the [[Greek alphabet]]. Latin was first brought to the [[Italy|Italian]] peninsula in the 9th or 8th century BC by migrants from the north, who settled in the [[Latium]] region, specifically around the River [[Tiber]], where the [[ancient Rome|Roman civilization]] first developed. Latin was influenced by the [[Italo-Celtic|Celtic dialects]] and the non-[[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] [[Etruscan language]] in northern Italy, and by [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] in southern Italy.

Although surviving [[Latin literature]] consists almost entirely of [[Classical Latin]], an artificial and highly stylized and polished [[literary language]] from the 1st century BC, the actual spoken language of the Roman Empire was [[Vulgar Latin]], which significantly differed from Classical Latin in grammar, vocabulary, and eventually pronunciation. Also, although Latin remained the main written language of the Roman Empire, [[Greek language|Greek]] came to be the language spoken by the well-educated elite, as most of the literature studied by Romans was written in Greek. In the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which became the [[Byzantine Empire]], Greek eventually supplanted Latin as both the written and spoken language.

===Legacy===
[[Image:Calligraphy.malmesbury.bible.arp.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The language of [[ancient Rome|Rome]] has had a profound impact on later cultures, as demonstrated by this [[Ecclesiastical Latin|Latin]] [[Bible]] from AD 1407.]]

The expansion of the Roman Empire spread Latin throughout Europe, and over time Vulgar Latin evolved and [[dialect]]ized in different locations, gradually shifting into a number of distinct [[Romance language]]s beginning around the 9th century. These were for many centuries only spoken languages, Latin still being used for writing. For example, Latin was the official language of [[Portugal]] until 1296, when it was replaced by [[Portuguese]]. Many of these languages, including Portuguese, [[Spanish]], [[French]], [[Italian]], and [[Romanian]], flourished, the differences between them growing greater over time.

Classical Latin and the Romance languages differ in a number of ways, and some of these differences have been used in attempts to reconstruct Vulgar Latin. For example, the Romance languages have distinctive stress, whereas Latin had distinctive length of vowels. In Italian and [[Sardo logudorese]], there is distinctive length of consonants and stress, in Spanish only distinctive stress, and in French even stress is no longer distinctive. Another major distinction between Romance and Latin is that all Romance languages, excluding Romanian, have lost their case endings in most words, except for some pronouns. Romanian retains a direct case (nominative/accusative), an indirect case (dative/genitive), and a vocative.

There has also been a major [[Latin influence in English]]. Although [[English language|English]] is [[Germanic language|Germanic]] rather than Romanic in origin&mdash;[[Britannia]] was a [[Roman province]], but the Roman presence in Britain had effectively disappeared by the time of the [[Anglo-Saxon]] invasions&mdash;English borrows heavily from Latin and Latin-derived words, drawing from ecclesiastical usage and from Romance languages like French. In fact, after the [[Battle of Hastings]], the new King of England, [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]], spoke [[French]], and French became the accepted language of the court and nobility, drastically changing the pre-invasion English language ([[Old English]]). However, [[English grammar]] is independent of [[Latin grammar]], though [[prescription and description|prescriptive grammarians]] in English have been heavily influenced by Latin. Attempts to make English grammar follow Latin rules&mdash;such as the prohibition against the [[split infinitive]]&mdash;have not worked successfully in regular usage.

From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers created huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek roots. These words were dubbed "[[inkhorn]]" or "inkpot" words, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, but some remain. ''Imbibe'', ''extrapolate'', ''dormant'' and ''inebriation'' are all inkhorn terms carved from Latin words. In fact, the word ''etymology'' is derived from the Greek word ''etymologia'', meaning "true sense of the word". It is said that 80% of all scholarly English words are derived from Latin, in a large number of cases by way of French.

===Grammar===
{{main|Latin grammar}}

Latin is a [[Synthetic language|synthetic]] [[inflection]]al language: [[affix]]es (which usually encode more than one grammatical category) are attached to fixed [[stem (linguistics)|stem]]s to express [[grammatical gender|gender]], number, and [[grammatical case|case]] in [[adjective]]s, [[noun]]s, and [[pronoun]]s, which is called [[declension]]; and [[person]], number, [[tense]], [[voice]], [[mood]], and [[aspect]] in [[verb]]s, which is called [[Latin conjugation|conjugation]]. There are five declensions (''declinationes'') of nouns and four conjugations of verbs.

There are seven noun cases:

# [[Nominative case | Nominative]] (used as the subject of the verb or the predicate nominative), 
# [[Genitive case | Genitive]] (used to indicate relation or possession, often represented by the English ''of'' or the addition of '''s'' to a noun), 
# [[Dative case | Dative]] (used of the indirect object of the verb, often represented by the English ''to'' or  ''for''.  Common verbs used with this case include giving, showing, helping, trusting, and telling.)
# [[Accusative case | Accusative]] (used of the direct object of the verb, or object of the preposition in some cases), 
# [[Ablative]] (separation, source, cause, or [[instrumental case|instrument]], often represented by the English ''by'', ''with'', ''from''),
# [[Vocative]] (used of the person or thing being addressed),
# [[Locative case ]] (used for certain words such as "house", "ground", and "countryside". The locative case also applies to city names such as "Rome", "Venice" or "Naples".)

Latin itself, being a very old language, is far closer to Proto-Indo-European than are most modern Western European languages; it has, in fact, about the same relationship with PIE as modern Italian or French has to Latin.

There are six general [[tense]]s in Latin (technically they are tense/aspect/mood complexes). The indicative mood can be used with all of them.  The subjunctive [[mood]], however, has only present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect tenses.  These tenses in the subjunctive mood do not completely correlate in meaning to the tenses in the indicative.  The following examples are of the first conjugation verb ''laudare'' ("to praise") in the indicative mood and the active [[voice]]: 

;Present system tenses
# [[Present tense | Present]] (''laudo'', "I praise," "I am praising")
# [[Imperfect tense | Imperfect]] (''laudabam'', "I was praising"; ''laudabat'', "he was praising")
# [[Future tense | Future]] (''laudabo'', "I shall praise," "I will praise")

;Perfect system tenses
# [[Perfect aspect | Perfect]] (''laudavi'', "I praised," "I have praised")
# [[Pluperfect tense | Pluperfect]] (''laudaveram'', "I had praised")
# [[Perfect aspect | Future perfect]] (''laudavero'', "I shall have praised," "I will have praised")

The future perfect tense can also imply a normal future idea (like in "When I will have run...").

== Education ==
[[Image:Latin_dictionary.jpg|thumb|250px|A multi-volume Latin dictionary in the University Library of Graz.]]

Although Latin was once the universal academic language in Europe, in recent years it has been supplanted by the study of many other languages; it is a requirement in relatively few places, and in some schools is not even offered. However, in Italy, Latin is still compulsory in secondary schools such as the ''Liceo Classico'' and ''Liceo Scientifico'', which are usually attended by people who aim to the highest level of education. In ''Liceo Classico'', [[ancient Greek]] is also a compulsory subject. In France, Latin is found in the Lycée Classique, and in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands at the highest level of high schools called Gymnasium. Latin was once taught in many of the schools in Britain with academic leanings&mdash;perhaps 25% of the total.[http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/teachem2/thennow/] However, the requirement for it was gradually abandoned in the professions such as law and medicine, and then, from around the late 1960s, for admission to university.  After the introduction of the Modern Language [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] in the 1980s, it was gradually replaced by other languages, although it is now being taught by more schools along with other classical languages.

The linguistic element of Latin courses offered in high schools or secondary schools, and in universities, is primarily geared toward an ability to translate Latin texts into modern languages, rather than using it in oral communication. As such, the skill of reading is heavily emphasized, whereas speaking and listening skills are barely touched upon. However, there is a growing movement, sometimes known as the [[Living Latin]] movement, whose supporters believe that Latin can, or should, be taught in the same way that modern "living" languages are taught, that is, as a means of both spoken and written communication. One of the most interesting aspects of such an approach is that it assists 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 in Latin poetry. Institutions offering Living Latin instruction include the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] and the University of Kentucky. In [[Great_Britain|Britain]], the [[Classical Association]] encourages this approach, and there has been something of a vogue for books describing the adventures of a mouse called Minimus. In the [[United States]], there is a thriving competitive organization for high school Latin students, the National Junior Classical League (the second-largest youth organization in the world after the Boy Scouts), backed up by the Senior Classical League for college students.

Many would-be [[international auxiliary language]]s have been heavily influenced by Latin, and the moderately successful [[Interlingua]] considers itself to be the modernized and simplified version of the language (''le latino moderne international e simplificate'').

Latin translations of modern literature such as Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Le Petit Prince, Max und Moritz, and The Cat in the Hat have also helped boost interest in the language.

== See also ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}<!--related to Latin as a language-->
* [[Latin grammar]]
** [[Ablative absolute]]
** [[Latin declension]]
** [[Latin conjugation]]
** [[Word order in Latin]]
* [[Latin spelling and pronunciation]]
* [[Latin alphabet]]
** [[ISO/IEC 8859-1|Latin-1]]
* [[List of Latin phrases]]
* [[Greek and Latin roots]]
* [[List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names]]
* [[List of Latin words with English derivatives]]
** [[Latin verbs]] with English derivatives
** [[Latin nouns]] with English derivatives
{{col-2}}<!--other less language-specific topics-->
* [[Ancient Rome]]
* [[Romance languages]]
* [[Simlish]]

{{col-end}}

== References ==
* Bennett, Charles E. ''Latin Grammar'' (Allyn and Bacon, Chicago, 1908)
* N. Vincent: "Latin", in ''The Romance Languages'', M. Harris and N. Vincent, eds., (Oxford Univ. Press. 1990), ISBN 0195208293
* Waquet, Françoise, ''Latin, or the Empire of a Sign: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries'' (Verso, 2003) ISBN 1859844022; translated from the French by John Howe.
* Wheelock, Frederic. ''Latin: An Introduction'' (Collins, 6th ed., 2005) ISBN 0060784237

== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=la}}
{{Wikibookspar||Latin}}
* [http://www.poetaexmachina.net/ Latin Poetry Text-to-Speech] Listen to a synthetic voice chant any poem in Latin.  Non-emotive but accurate.
* [http://latinforum.org/ Latin forum] Board for Latin learners. 
* [http://www.special-dictionary.com/latin/ Latin Phrases and Abbreviations] Large Collection of Latin phrases with search function. Special Dictionary.
* [http://latinquotes.net/ Latin quotes] Various topics.
* [http://latin-phrases.co.uk/dictionary/ Latin phrases dictionary] Alphabetical collection.
* [http://www.wheelockslatin.com/chapters/introduction/introduction.html Introduction to Latin Pronunciation] A page with spoken examples of pronunciation
* [http://www.jambell.com/latin.html Latin Phrases for after dinner conversation (Thanks to Elaine Poole)]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lat Ethnologue report for Latin]
* [http://ephemeris.alcuinus.net Ephemeris] International news in latin and much more.
* [http://forumromanum.org/literature/index.html Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum] is a comprehensive webography of Latin texts and their translations.
* [http://www.alcuinus.net/GLL/index.htm Grex Latine Loquentium] mailing list IN Latin
* [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ The Perseus Project] has many useful pages for the study of classical languages and literatures, including [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/resolveform?lang=Latin an interactive Latin dictionary].
* [http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe words by William whitaker] is a dictionary program online capable of looking up various word forms.
* [http://retiarius.org/ Retiarius.Org] includes a Latin text search engine.
* [http://www.nd.edu/~archives/latgramm.htm Latin-English dictionary and Latin grammar from U of Notre Dame]
* [http://latin-language.co.uk/ Latin language] History of Latin language, Latin texts with English translation and a collection of dictionaries.
* [http://avitus.alcuinus.net/scl/ Societas Circulorum Latinorum] gathers together Latin Circles all over the world.
* [http://www.mentalcode.com/latin Mentalcode Latin] - Interactive grammar and vocabulary exercises (free)
* [http://www.sprachprofi.de.vu/latin LearnLatin.tk] - Free online course in Latin (learnlatin.tk appears to be unavailable, the link directs to a mirror site)
* [http://www.latintests.net/ LatinTests.net] - Lets Latin learners test their grammar and vocabulary with self-checking quizzes.
* [http://thelatinlibrary.com/ The Latin Library] contains many Latin etexts
* [http://www.textkit.com/ Textkit] has Latin textbooks and etexts.
* [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Latin-english/ Latin&ndash;English Dictionary]: from Webster's Rosetta Edition.
* [http://www.language-reference.com/ Language reference] Cross-foreign-language lexicon powered by its own search engine. All cross combinations between Latin and French, German, Italian, Spanish.
* [http://comp.uark.edu/~mreynold/rhetor.html Rhetor by Gabriel Harvey] was originally published in 1577 and never again reprinted.
* [http://freewebs.com/omniamundamundis omniamundamundis] Latin hypertexts from fourteen ancient Roman authors.
* [http://www.saltspring.com/capewest/pron.htm Pronunciation of Biological Latin, Including Taxonomic Names of Plants and Animals]
* [http://www.yleradio1.fi/nuntii Nuntii Latini (News in Latin)], written and spoken (RealAudio) news in latin. Weekly review of world news in Classical Latin, the only international broadcast of its kind in the world, produced by [[Yleisradio|YLE]], the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
* [http://www.tranexp.com:2000/InterTran?url=http%3A%2F%2F&type=text&text=Replace%20Me&from=eng&to=ltt InterTran Latin], Translate from Latin to ENGLISH or vice versa.
* [http://avitus.alcuinus.net/schola_latina/ Schola Latina Universalis] is a school where you can learn to speak Latin.
* [http://www.latinvulgate.com Latin Vulgate] The Latin and English of the Old & New Testaments in parallel, along with the Complete Sayings of Jesus in parallel Latin and English. 

{{wikipedia}} [[Wikipedia:Latin]]
{{Natlangs}}
[[Category:Italic natlangs]]