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Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. It was originally spoken only in the region immediately surrounding Rome, called Latium. It gained wide currency as the formal language of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, as well as, later, of medieval scholars and the Catholic Church militant. An inflectional and synthetic language, Latin relies little on word order, conveying meaning through a system of affixes attached to word stems. The Latin alphabet, derived from that of the Etruscans, remains the most widely-used alphabet in the world.
Although now widely considered to be an extinct language, with very few fluent speakers and almost no native ones (though Ecclesiastical Latin remains the official, 'national' language of Vatican City), Latin has exerted a major influence on many other languages that are still thriving, and continues to see limited use in academia, medicine, scientific classification and law. Six out of every ten commonly-used English words are derived, directly or indirectly, from Latin. All of the so-called Romance languages are descended from Vulgar Latin, and many words adapted from Latin are found in other modern languages -- all part of its legacy as the lingua franca of the Western world for over a thousand years (it was only replaced in this capacity by French during the 18th century, and even then continued to be used in certain intellectual and political circles).
The Catholic Church used Latin as its primary liturgical language until the advent of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, after which it was largely replaced by the various vernacular languages of the parishioners. Before that time, it was common to find Latin taught in many primary, grammar and secondary schools throughout the world -- there are still quite a few people who remember when Latin was a living language.
More on [ Latin ]
Roman :: Classical Studies
Romance :: Italic
Rome :: Ancient
Lingua Latina :: World
Mercadolibre: E-Commerce Sales Soar as Latin America's Households ... http://bit.ly/8xRRC5
ann_foster (Ann Foster) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:33:07 -0000
Mercadolibre: E-Commerce Sales Soar as Latin America's Households ... http://bit.ly/8xRRC5
A strong contender for my fav Christmas carol: In Dulci Jubilo. Love the mix of English and Latin (technical term: "macaronic").
johnhalton (John Halton) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:28:54 -0000
A strong contender for my fav Christmas carol: In Dulci Jubilo. Love the mix of English and Latin (technical term: "macaronic").
Mercadolibre: E-Commerce Sales Soar as Latin America's Households ...: Original Article from Seeking Alpha Long Inv... http:/
Appendix Probi - Reproduction of a list of erroneous Vulgar (Late) Latin words and their correct equivalents.
Chicago Public Schools Latin Olympics - An annual competition for elementary and high school students of Latin and Roman history and culture.
Meta Description: [ The Chicago Public Schools Latin Olympics
is an annual event for elementary and high school students studying
the Latin Language. These pages are mainly aimed at students who are interested
in taking part. ]
Christine's Latin Web Page - Latin language information: history of Latin, Latin names, Latin links, map of the empire, and gallery of images.
Classical and Medieval History - Alcove 9 - An annotated list of reference websites, some in Latin (The Library of Congress).
Meta Description: [ Alcove 9: An Annotated List of Reference Websites - Collection of reference links to Internet resources in the humanities and social sciences (Main Reading Room, Library of Congress) ]
Greek and Latin Roots - A table of common Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes in English.
Ius Romanum - A Latin page on Roman law, with translations in German, Italian, and English.
Latin and Vernacular Languages - Discussion of the history and development of the medieval Latin language.
Latin Language - Classical texts with English translations, a dictionary list, and a newsgroup.
Meta Description: [ History of Latin language ]
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Latin Resources - Phrases, Roman numeral and date converters, recommended books, an online dictionary, and related links.
Latin Sayings - An alphabetized list of proverbs and wisdom in Latin (with translations).
Meta Description: [ Enigman's Favourite Latin Sayings. ]
Latin Wordstock - Latin vocabuary, derivatives, a test-game, and related Latin links.
Meta Description: [ Latin Wordstock - A comprehensive listing of Latin words and their English translations, and English words derived from their Latin roots. ]
Pomoerium - Classics resources: an online magazine and an extensive list of Classics links.
Meta Description: [ Classics Web Site of Pomoerium ]
Scansion of Latin Poetry - Guide to the rules of syllable quantity, types of poetic feet and meters in Latin.
White Trash Scriptorium - Latin resources: software programs (Windows), dictionary, glossaries of first and last names, place names, Latin texts, and recommended links.
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