How Did Latin Become a Dead Language?
Although Latin is currently used in science, it is unlikely that we will find anyone who speaks this language. So did Latin really disappear, or did it lose its first form?
The history of this language used in ancient Rome turned into Romance languages with the collapse of the Roman Empire and was divided into branches. People who are interested in etymology, those who want to read Virgil’s Aeneid in its original language, continue to take Latin classes, and scientists are still studying this language. Although we cannot say that it is a completely extinct language in this context, since there is no specific community that speaks it (although the Vatican declares it as the second language) we can say that it is disappearing as a colloquial language.
In fact, it is almost impossible to find out exactly when this language died out. Since it is difficult to say when this language used in Europe died out, according to historians, even when the Roman Empire fell, historians agree that this language evolved.
Darmouth University, senior lecturer in linguistics, Tim Pulju;
“In fact, Latin has never stopped being spoken. It continued to be spoken by people in Italy, Gaul, Spain, and elsewhere, but like all living languages, it has changed over time.”
French Italian Portuguese Spanish, Romanian, and French, including the inclusion of these languages, can actually be grouped under the name of Roman languages; we can understand that the origin is Latin.
For example, just as we understand Shakespeare written in the first forms of modern literature when we read it,we cannot clearly understand the Beawulf epics, or if we need philologists to read and understand the Orkhon Monuments, even though they are in Turkish. This case is explained in the same way.
We can say that what makes people think that the Latin language is dying is also directly related to this part. English Latinized into Middle English as Middle English evolved into modern English, becoming a broad concept that accommodates many languages under Latin.
Although we are talking about thousands of years ago, there are many languages that are in danger today, and the death of languages has ceased to be an ancient phenomenon. In fact, this is what happens to many local languages.
According to Tim Pulju, the Middle East is a hot spot for this phenomenon. Locals who do not speak the language spoken by a large part of society are stigmatized, and over time, local languages are no longer taught, and their languages are being forgotten by the brutal measures of ethnic cleansing applied to minorities.
According to UNESCO’s data, at least half of the world’s 7,000 spoken languages will die before the end of this century. But when it comes to the Latin language, it seems it has started to lose its phonological dimension.
According to Timothy J. Pulju, “Between 600 and 750 A.D, few people in the west outside of monasteries can read Latin. The spoken languages of Italy, France and Spain change rapidly. Monks, particularly in Ireland, read and write classical Latin and preserve ancient texts as well as church documents. The Roman Catholic church continues to use Late Latin in the liturgy, though they eventually decide to deliver homilies in the local popular language. The Byzantines still call themselves Romans but have given up on the Latin language.”
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