Latin

Latin (i/ˈlætən/; Latin: lingua latīna; IPA: [ˈlɪŋɡʷa laˈtiːna]) is an Italic language[2] originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Along with most European languages, it is a descendant of theancient Proto-Indo-European language. It originated in the Italian peninsula. Although it is considered a dead language, many students, scholars, and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently,and it is still taught in some primary and secondary and many post-secondary educational institutions around the world.[3] Latin is still used in the creation of new words in modern languages of manydifferent families, including English, and in biological taxonomy. Latin and its daughter Romance languages are the only surviving languages of the Italic language family. Other languages of theItalic branch are attested in the inscriptions of early Italy, but were assimilated to Latin during the Roman Republic.
The extensive use of elements from vernacular speech by the earliest authors andinscriptions of the Roman Republic make it clear that the original, unwritten language of the Roman Monarchy was an only partially deducible colloquial form, the predecessor to Vulgar Latin. By the lateRoman Republic, a standard, literate form had arisen from the speech of the educated, now referred to as Classical Latin. Vulgar Latin, by contrast, is the name given to the more rapidly changingcolloquial language spoken throughout the empire.[4] With the Roman conquest, Latin spread to many Mediterranean regions, and the dialects spoken in these areas, mixed to various degrees with theautochthonous languages, developed into the modern Romance tongues.[5] Classical Latin slowly changed with the Decline of the Roman Empire, as education and wealth became ever scarcer. The consequent MedievalLatin, influenced by various Germanic and proto-Romance languages until expurgated by Renaissance scholars, was used as the language of international communication, scholarship and science until...