1. Latin was originally the language of the ancient Romans. It probably dates to the
middle of the 8th
century B.C.
The traditional date for the founding
of Rome is 753 B.C.
Romulus and Remus, a pair of twins who
had been abandoned and then suckled by a
wolf, began to build a small town on a hill
top. Their town was given the name Roma,
and their language was an early form of
Latin.
WHAT IS LATIN?
2. Early Latin developed by borrowing from the languages of more advanced
neighbors like the Etruscans and Greeks.
BORROWINGS
3. The Romans developed an alphabet that was close to the
Etruscan alphabet in this chart.
English uses the Roman alphabet, with a few minor changes and additions.
ALPHABET
Archaic Latin alphabet
A B C D E F Z H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X
4. The Latin language evolved to fill the needs of the Roman people. War,
agriculture and political struggle kept most Romans busy, leaving little time
for writing literature.
EVOLUTION
5. During the last century before the birth of Christ, Romans became increasingly
interested in writing literature of various types. They wrote comedy and drama
for the stage, epic adventures, histories and speeches.
Much of what they produced was influenced by or an imitation of the superior
Greek civilization they had encountered and conquered.
THE LATE REPUBLIC
6. It was during the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor (31 B.C. – 14
A.D.), that Latin literature reached its highest point, culminating in the poetry of
Vergil, Horace and Ovid.
There were, of course, many other remarkable writers both before and after this
period, most notably Cicero, whose prose is considered by many to have been
the model of Latin style.
THE GOLDEN AGE
7. After the collapse of the Roman empire in A.D. 410,
Latin continued to play a central role in western
Europe, particularly in the Catholic church, where
it was the official language, and in the universities,
where it continued for a long time to be the language
for teaching, learning, science and scholarship.
THE MIDDLE AGES
8. The Latin language was central to the movement known as the Renaissance
(rebirth). Beginning in the 14th
century in Italy, European intellectuals began to
rediscover and apply the knowledge of ancient Greece and Rome.
The process of finding and making sense
of the manuscripts that lay undiscovered
or ignored for so long was a terribly
difficult process. Once again, however, the
Latin language became the vehicle for
bringing a new vitality and intellectual
energy to the civilization of western
Europe.
REBIRTH
9. The debate continues to this day.
Is LATIN alive or dead?
You decide.
ALIVE OR DEAD?
10. The debate continues to this day.
Is LATIN alive or dead?
You decide.
ALIVE OR DEAD?
