Latin

For other uses, seeLatin (disambiguation).

Not to be confused withLadin.

Latin(lingua Latina,pronounced[ˈlɪŋɡʷaɫaˈtiːna],orLatinum[ɫaˈtiːnʊ̃]) is aclassical languagebelonging to theItalic branchof theIndo-European languages.Classical Latin is considered a dead language as it is no longer used to produce major texts, whileVulgar Latinevolved into theRomance Languages.Latin was originally spoken by theLatinsinLatium(now known asLazio), the lowerTiberarea aroundRome,Italy.Through the expansion of theRoman Republicit became the dominant language in theItalian Peninsulaand subsequently throughout theRoman Empire.Even after thefall of Western Rome,Latin remained thecommon languageofinternational communication,science, scholarship andacademiain Europe until well into the early 19th century, when regional vernaculars supplanted it in common academic and political usage—including its own descendants, the Romance languages.

Latin
Latin inscription on a stone inside theColosseuminRome,Italy
Native to	Latium Ancient Rome
Ethnicity	Latins Romans
Era	As a native language, from the 7th century BC toc.AD 700
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Latin
Early form	Old Latin
Writing system	Latin alphabet(Latin script)
Official status
Regulated by	Pontifical Academy for Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-1	la
ISO 639-2	lat
ISO 639-3	lat
Linguist List	lat
Glottolog	impe1234 lati1261
Linguasphere	-ab, -ac 51-AAB-aa, -ab, -ac
Greatest extent of the Roman Empire under EmperorTrajan(c. 117 AD) and the area governed by Latin speakers. Many languages other than Latin were spoken within the empire.

Latin grammaris highlyfusional,with classes of inflections forcase,number,person,gender,tense,mood,voice,andaspect.TheLatin alphabetis directly derived from theEtruscanandGreek alphabets.

By the lateRoman Republic,Old Latinhad evolved into standardizedClassical Latin.Vulgar Latin was thecolloquial registerwith less prestigious variations attested in inscriptions and some literary works such as those of the comic playwrightsPlautusandTerenceand the authorPetronius.Late Latinis the literary language from the 3rd century AD onward, and Vulgar Latin's various regional dialects had developed by the 6th to 9th centuries into the ancestors of the modern Romance languages.

In Latin's usage beyond the early medieval period, it lacked native speakers.Medieval Latinwas used across Western and Catholic Europe during theMiddle Agesas a working and literary language from the 9th century to theRenaissance,which then developed a classicizing form, calledRenaissance Latin.This was the basis forNeo-Latinwhich evolved during theearly modern period.In these periods Latin was used productively and generally taught to be written and spoken, at least until the late seventeenth century, when spoken skills began to erode. It then became increasingly taught only to be read.

Latin remains theofficial languageof theHoly Seeand theRoman Riteof theCatholic Churchat theVatican City.The church continues to adapt concepts from modern languages toEcclesiastical Latinof the Latin language.Contemporary Latinis more often studied to be read rather than spoken or actively used.

Latin hasgreatly influencedtheEnglish language,along with a large number of others, and historically contributedmany wordsto the Englishlexicon,particularly after theChristianization of the Anglo-Saxonsand theNorman Conquest.Latin andAncient Greekrootsare heavily used in English vocabulary intheology,the sciences,medicine,andlaw.

History

Main article:History of Latin

The linguistic landscape of central Italy at the beginning of Roman expansion

A number of phases of the language have been recognized, each distinguished by subtle differences in vocabulary, usage, spelling, and syntax. There are no hard and fast rules of classification; different scholars emphasize different features. As a result, the list has variants, as well as alternative names.

In addition to the historical phases,Ecclesiastical Latinrefers to the styles used by the writers of theRoman Catholic Churchfromlate antiquityonward, as well as byProtestantscholars.

Old Latin

Main article:Old Latin

TheLapis Niger,probably the oldest extant Latin inscription, from Rome,c. 600 BCduring the semi-legendaryRoman Kingdom

The earliest known form of Latin is Old Latin, also called Archaic or Early Latin, which was spoken from theRoman Kingdom,traditionally founded in 753 BC, through the later part of theRoman Republic,up to 75 BC, i.e. before the age ofClassical Latin.It is attested both in inscriptions and in some of the earliest extant Latin literary works, such as the comedies ofPlautusandTerence.TheLatin alphabetwas devised from theEtruscan alphabet.The writing later changed from what was initially either aright-to-leftor aboustrophedonscript to what ultimately became a strictly left-to-right script.

Classical Latin

Main article:Classical Latin

During the late republic and into the first years of the empire, from about 75 BC to AD 200, a newClassical Latinarose, a conscious creation of the orators, poets, historians and otherliteratemen, who wrote the great works ofclassical literature,which were taught ingrammarandrhetoricschools. Today's instructional grammars trace their roots to suchschools,which served as a sort of informal language academy dedicated to maintaining and perpetuating educated speech.

Vulgar Latin

Main article:Vulgar Latin

Philological analysis of Archaic Latin works, such as those ofPlautus,which contain fragments of everyday speech, gives evidence of an informal register of the language, Vulgar Latin (termedsermo vulgi,"the speech of the masses", byCicero). Some linguists, particularly in the nineteenth century, believed this to be a separate language, existing more or less in parallel with the literary or educated Latin, but this is now widely dismissed.

The term 'Vulgar Latin' remains difficult to define, referring both to informal speech at any time within the history of Latin, and the kind of informal Latin that had begun to move away from the written language significantly in the post-Imperial period, that led ultimately to theRomance languages.

During the Classical period, informal language was rarely written, so philologists have been left with only individual words and phrases cited by classical authors, inscriptions such asCurse tabletsand those found asgraffiti.In theLate Latinperiod, language changes reflecting spoken (non-classical) norms tend to be found in greater quantities in texts. As it was free to develop on its own, there is no reason to suppose that the speech was uniform either diachronically or geographically. On the contrary, Romanised European populations developed their own dialects of the language, which eventually led to the differentiation ofRomance languages.

Late Latin

Main article:Late Latin

Late Latin is a kind of written Latin used in the 3rd to 6th centuries. This began to diverge from Classical forms at a faster pace. It is characterised by greater use of prepositions, and word order that is closer to modern Romance languages, for example, while grammatically retaining more or less the same formal rules as Classical Latin.

Ultimately, Latin diverged into a distinct written form, where the commonly spoken form was perceived as a separate language, for instance early French or Italian dialects, that could be transcribed differently. It took some time for these to be viewed as wholly different from Latin however.

After theWestern Roman Empirefell in 476 andGermanic kingdomstook its place, theGermanic peopleadopted Latin as a language more suitable for legal and other, more formal uses.

Romance languages

Main article:Romance languages

See also:Lexical changes from Classical Latin to Proto-Romance

While the written form of Latin was increasingly standardized into a fixed form, the spoken forms began to diverge more greatly. Currently, the five most widely spoken Romance languages by number of native speakers areSpanish,Portuguese,French,Italian,andRomanian.Despite dialectal variation, which is found in any widespread language, the languages of Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy have retained a remarkable unity in phonological forms and developments, bolstered by the stabilising influence of their commonChristian(Roman Catholic) culture.

It was not until theMuslim conquest of Spainin 711, cutting off communications between the major Romance regions, that the languages began to diverge seriously.The spoken Latin that would later become Romanian diverged somewhat more from the other varieties, as it was largely separated from the unifying influences in the western part of the Empire.

Spoken Latin began to diverge into distinct languages by the 9th century at the latest, when the earliest extant Romance writings begin to appear. They were, throughout the period, confined to everyday speech, as Medieval Latin was used for writing.

For many Italians using Latin, though, there was no complete separation between Italian and Latin, even into the beginning of theRenaissance.Petrarchfor example saw Latin as a literary version of the spoken language.

Medieval Latin

Main article:Medieval Latin

The Latin Malmesbury Bible from 1407

Medieval Latin is the written Latin in use during that portion of the post-classical period when no corresponding Latinvernacularexisted, that is from around 700 to 1500 AD. The spoken language had developed into the various Romance languages; however, in the educated and official world, Latin continued without its natural spoken base. Moreover, this Latin spread into lands that had never spoken Latin, such as the Germanic and Slavic nations. It became useful for international communication between the member states of theHoly Roman Empireand its allies.

Without the institutions of the Roman Empire that had supported its uniformity, Medieval Latin was much more liberal in its linguistic cohesion: for example, in classical Latinsumanderamare used as auxiliary verbs in the perfect and pluperfect passive, which are compound tenses. Medieval Latin might usefuiandfueraminstead.Furthermore, the meanings of many words were changed and new words were introduced, often under influence from the vernacular. Identifiable individual styles of classically incorrect Latin prevail.

Renaissance and Neo-Latin

Main articles:Renaissance LatinandNeo-Latin

Most 15th-century printed books (incunabula) were in Latin, with thevernacular languagesplaying only a secondary role.

Renaissance Latin, 1300 to 1500, and the classicised Latin that followed through to the present are often grouped together asNeo-Latin,or New Latin, which have in recent decades become a focus ofrenewed study,given their importance for the development of European culture, religion and science.The vast majority of written Latin belongs to this period, but its full extent is unknown.

TheRenaissancereinforced the position of Latin as a spoken and written language by the scholarship by theRenaissance humanists.Petrarchand others began to change their usage of Latin as they explored the texts of the Classical Latin world. Skills of textual criticism evolved to create much more accurate versions of extant texts through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and some important texts were rediscovered. Comprehensive versions of authors' works were published byIsaac Casaubon,Joseph Scaligerand others.Nevertheless, despite the careful work of Petrarch,Politianand others, first the demand for manuscripts, and then the rush to bring works into print, led to the circulation of inaccurate copies for several centuries following.

Neo-Latin literature was extensive and prolific, but less well known or understood today. Works covered poetry, prose stories and early novels, occasional pieces and collections of letters, to name a few. Famous and well regarded writers included Petrarch, Erasmus,Salutati,Celtis,George BuchananandThomas More.Non fiction works were long produced in many subjects, including the sciences, law, philosophy, historiography and theology. Famous examples includeIsaac Newton'sPrincipia.Latin was also used as a convenient medium for translations of important works first written in a vernacular, such as those ofDescartes.

Latin education underwent a process of reform to classicise written and spoken Latin. Schooling remained largely Latin medium until approximately 1700. Until the end of the 17th century, the majority of books and almost all diplomatic documents were written in Latin.Afterwards, most diplomatic documents were written in French (aRomance language) and later native or other languages.Education methods gradually shifted towards written Latin, and eventually concentrating solely on reading skills. The decline of Latin education took several centuries and proceeded much more slowly than the decline in written Latin output.

Contemporary Latin

Main articles:Contemporary LatinandEcclesiastical Latin

Despite having no native speakers, Latin is still used for a variety of purposes in the contemporary world.

Religious use

The signs atWallsend Metro stationare in English and Latin, as a tribute toWallsend's role as one of the outposts of theRoman Empire,as the eastern end ofHadrian's Wall(hence the name) atSegedunum.

The largest organisation that retains Latin in official and quasi-official contexts is theCatholic Church.The Catholic Church required that Mass be carried out in Latin until theSecond Vatican Council of 1962–1965,which permitted the use of thevernacular.Latin remains the language of theRoman Rite.TheTridentine Mass(also known as the Extraordinary Form or Traditional Latin Mass) is celebrated in Latin. Although theMass of Paul VI(also known as the Ordinary Form or the Novus Ordo) is usually celebrated in the local vernacular language, it can be and often is said in Latin, in part or in whole, especially at multilingual gatherings. It is the official language of theHoly See,the primary language of itspublic journal,theActa Apostolicae Sedis,and the working language of theRoman Rota.Vatican Cityis also home to the world's onlyautomatic teller machinethat gives instructions in Latin.In thepontifical universitiespostgraduate courses ofCanon laware taught in Latin, and papers are written in the same language.

There are a small number of Latin services held in the Anglican church. These include an annual service in Oxford, delivered with a Latin sermon; a relic from the period when Latin was the normal spoken language of the university.

The polyglotEuropean Unionhas adopted Latin names in the logos of some of its institutions for the sake of linguistic compromise, an "ecumenical nationalism" common to most of the continent and as a sign of the continent's heritage (such as theEU Council:Consilium).

Use of Latin for mottos

In the Western world, many organizations, governments and schools use Latin for their mottos due to its association with formality, tradition, and the roots ofWestern culture.

Canada's mottoA mari usque ad mare( "from sea to sea" ) and mostprovincial mottosare also in Latin. TheCanadian Victoria Crossis modelled after the BritishVictoria Crosswhich has the inscription "For Valour". Because Canada is officially bilingual, the Canadian medal has replaced the English inscription with the LatinPro Valore.

Spain's mottoPlus ultra,meaning "even further", or figuratively "Further!", is also Latin in origin.It is taken from the personal motto ofCharles V,Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain (as Charles I), and is a reversal of the original phraseNon terrae plus ultra( "No land further beyond", "No further!" ). According tolegend,this phrase was inscribed as a warning on thePillars of Hercules,the rocks on both sides of theStrait of Gibraltarand the western end of the known, Mediterranean world. Charles adopted the motto following the discovery of the New World by Columbus, and it also has metaphorical suggestions of taking risks and striving for excellence.

In the United States the unofficial national motto until 1956 wasE pluribus unummeaning "Out of many, one". The motto continues to be featured on theGreat Seal.It also appears on the flags and seals of both houses of congress and the flags of the states of Michigan, North Dakota, New York, and Wisconsin. The motto's 13 letters symbolically represent the original Thirteen Colonies which revolted from the British Crown. The motto is featured on all presently minted coinage and has been featured in most coinage throughout the nation's history.

Several states of the United Stateshave Latin mottos,such as:

• Arizona'sDitat deus( "God enriches" );
• Connecticut'sQui transtulit sustinet( "He who transplanted sustains" );
• Kansas'sAd astra per aspera( "Through hardships, to the stars" );
• Colorado'sNil sine numine( "Nothing without providence" );
• Michigan'sSi quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice( "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you" ), is based on that of SirChristopher Wren,inSt. Paul's Cathedral;
• Missouri'sSalus populi suprema lex esto( "The health of the people should be the highest law" );
• New York'sExcelsior( "Ever upward" );
• North Carolina'sEsse Quam Videri( "To be rather than to seem" );
• South Carolina'sDum spiro spero( "While I breathe, I hope" );
• Virginia'sSic semper tyrannis( "Thus always totyrants"); and
• West Virginia'sMontani Semper Liberi( "Mountaineers [are] always free" ).

Many military organizations today have Latin mottos, such as:

• Semper Paratus( "always ready" ), the motto of theUnited States Coast Guard;
• Semper Fidelis( "always faithful" ), the motto of theUnited States Marine Corps;
• Semper Supra( "always above" ), the motto of theUnited States Space Force;
• Per ardua ad astra( "Through adversity/struggle to the stars" ), the motto of theRoyal Air Force(RAF); and
• Vigilamus pro te( "We stand on guard for thee" ), the motto of theCanadian Armed Forces.

Some law governing bodies in the Philippines have Latin mottos, such as:

• Justitiae Pax Opus( "Justice, peace, work" ), the motto of theDepartment of Justice (Philippines);

Some colleges and universities have adopted Latin mottos, for exampleHarvard University's motto isVeritas( "truth" ). Veritas was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn, and the mother of Virtue.

Other modern uses

Switzerland has adopted the country's Latin short nameHelvetiaon coins and stamps, since there is no room to use all of the nation'sfour official languages.For a similar reason, it adopted the international vehicle and internet codeCH,which stands forConfoederatio Helvetica,the country's full Latin name.

Some film and television in ancient settings, such asSebastiane,The Passion of the ChristandBarbarians (2020 TV series),have been made with dialogue in Latin. Occasionally, Latin dialogue is used because of its association with religion or philosophy, in such film/television series asThe ExorcistandLost( "Jughead"). Subtitles are usually shown for the benefit of those who do not understand Latin. There are alsosongs written with Latin lyrics.The libretto for the opera-oratorioOedipus rexbyIgor Stravinskyis in Latin.

The continued instruction of Latin is seen by some as a highly valuable component of a liberal arts education. Latin is taught at many high schools, especially in Europe and the Americas. It is most common in Britishpublic schoolsand grammar schools, the Italianliceo classicoandliceo scientifico,the GermanHumanistischesGymnasiumand the Dutchgymnasium.

QDP Ep 84 – De Ludo "Mysterium": A Latin-language podcast from the US

Occasionally, some media outlets, targeting enthusiasts, broadcast in Latin. Notable examples includeRadio Bremenin Germany,YLEradio in Finland (theNuntii Latinibroadcast from 1989 until it was shut down in June 2019),and Vatican Radio & Television, all of which broadcast news segments and other material in Latin.

A variety of organisations, as well as informal Latin 'circuli' ('circles'), have been founded in more recent times to support the use of spoken Latin.Moreover, a number of university classics departments have begun incorporating communicative pedagogies in their Latin courses. These include the University of Kentucky, the University of Oxford and also Princeton University.

There are many websites and forums maintained in Latin by enthusiasts. TheLatin Wikipediahas more than 130,000 articles.

Legacy

Italian,French,Portuguese,Spanish,Romanian,Catalan,Romansh,Sardinianand otherRomance languagesare direct descendants of Latin. There are also many Latinborrowingsin English andAlbanian,as well as a few inGerman,Dutch,Norwegian,DanishandSwedish.Latin is still spoken in Vatican City, a city-state situated in Rome that is the seat of theCatholic Church.

Literature

Julius Caesar'sCommentarii de Bello Gallicois one of the most famous classical Latin texts of the Golden Age of Latin. The unvarnished, journalistic style of thispatriciangeneral has long been taught as a model of the urbane Latin officially spoken and written in thefloruitof theRoman Republic.

The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part, in substantial works or in fragments to be analyzed inphilology.They are in part the subject matter of the field ofclassics.Their works were published in manuscript form before the invention of printing and are now published in carefully annotated printed editions, such as theLoeb Classical Library,published byHarvard University Press,or theOxford Classical Texts,published byOxford University Press.

Latin translations of modern literaturesuch as:The Hobbit,Treasure Island,Robinson Crusoe,Paddington Bear,Winnie the Pooh,The Adventures of Tintin,Asterix,Harry Potter,Le Petit Prince,Max and Moritz,How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,The Cat in the Hat,and a book of fairy tales, "fabulae mirabiles",are intended to garner popular interest in the language. Additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such asMeissner's Latin Phrasebook.

Inscriptions

Some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, theCorpus Inscriptionum Latinarum(CIL). Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same: volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating theprovenanceand relevant information. The reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field ofepigraphy.About 270,000 inscriptions are known.

Influence on present-day languages

TheLatin influence in Englishhas been significant at all stages of its insular development. In theMiddle Ages,borrowing from Latin occurred from ecclesiastical usage established by SaintAugustine of Canterburyin the 6th century or indirectly after theNorman Conquest,through theAnglo-Norman language.From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed "inkhorn terms",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 useful ones survived, such as 'imbibe' and 'extrapolate'. Many of the most commonpolysyllabicEnglish words are of Latin origin through the medium ofOld French.Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and Dutch vocabularies.Those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included.

Range of the Romance languages, the modern descendants of Latin, in Europe

The influence of Roman governance andRoman technologyon the less-developed nations under Roman dominion led to the adoption of Latin phraseology in some specialized areas, such as science, technology, medicine, and law. For example,the Linnaean systemof plant and animal classification was heavily influenced byHistoria Naturalis,an encyclopedia of people, places, plants, animals, and things published byPliny the Elder.Roman medicine, recorded in the works of such physicians asGalen,established that today'smedical terminologywould be primarily derived from Latin and Greek words, the Greek being filtered through the Latin. Roman engineering had the same effect onscientific terminologyas a whole. Latin law principles have survived partly in a longlist of Latin legal terms.

A fewinternational auxiliary languageshave been heavily influenced by Latin.Interlinguais sometimes considered a simplified, modern version of the language.Latino sine Flexione,popular in the early 20th century, is Latin with its inflections stripped away, among other grammatical changes.

TheLogudoresedialect of theSardinian languageandStandard Italianare the two closest contemporary languages to Latin.

Education

A multivolume Latin dictionary in theUniversity of Graz Libraryin Austria

Throughout European history, an education in the classics was considered crucial for those who wished to join literate circles. This also was true in the United States where many of the nation's founders obtained a classically based education in grammar schools or from tutors.Admission to Harvard in the Colonial era required that the applicant "Can readily make and speak or write true Latin prose and has skill in making verse..."Latin Study and the classics were emphasized in American secondary schools and colleges well into the Antebellum era.

Instruction in Latinis an essential aspect. In today's world, a large number of Latin students in the US learn fromWheelock's Latin: The Classic Introductory Latin Course, Based on Ancient Authors.This book, first published in 1956,was written byFrederic M. Wheelock,who received a PhD from Harvard University.Wheelock's Latinhas become the standard text for many American introductory Latin courses.

The numbers of people studying Latin varies significantly by country. In the United Kingdom, Latin is available in around 2.3% of state primary schools, representing a significant increase in availability.In Germany, over 500,000 students study Latin each year, representing a decrease from over 800,000 in 2008. Latin is still required for some University courses, but this has become less frequent.

TheLiving Latinmovement attempts to teach Latin in the same way that living languages are taught, as a means of both spoken and written communication. It is available in Vatican City and at some institutions in the US, such as theUniversity of KentuckyandIowa State University.The BritishCambridge University Pressis a major supplier of Latin textbooks for all levels, such as theCambridge Latin Courseseries. It has also published a subseries of children's texts in Latin by Bell & Forte, which recounts the adventures of a mouse calledMinimus.

In the United Kingdom, theClassical Associationencourages the study of antiquity through various means, such as publications and grants. TheUniversity of Cambridge,theOpen University,a number of independent schools, for exampleEton,Harrow,Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School,Merchant Taylors' School,andRugby,and The Latin Programme/Via Facilis,a London-based charity, run Latin courses. In the United States and in Canada, theAmerican Classical Leaguesupports every effort to further the study of classics. Its subsidiaries include theNational Junior Classical League(with more than 50,000 members), which encourages high school students to pursue the study of Latin, and theNational Senior Classical League,which encourages students to continue their study of the classics into college. The league also sponsors theNational Latin Exam.ClassicistMary Beardwrote inThe Times Literary Supplementin 2006 that the reason for learning Latin is because of what was written in it.

Official status

Latin was or is the official language of European states:

• Hungary– Latin was an official language in theKingdom of Hungaryfrom the 11th century to the mid 19th century, whenHungarianbecame the exclusive official language in 1844.The best known Latin language poet of Croatian-Hungarian origin wasJanus Pannonius.
• Croatia– Latin was the official language ofCroatian Parliament(Sabor) from the 13th to the 19th century (1847).The oldest preserved records of the parliamentary sessions (Congregatio Regni totius Sclavonie generalis) – held in Zagreb (Zagabria), Croatia – date from 19 April 1273. An extensiveCroatian Latin literatureexists. Latin was used on Croatian coins on even years until 1 January 2023, when Croatia adopted the Euro as its official currency.
• Poland,Kingdom of Poland– officially recognised and widely usedbetween the 10th and 18th centuries, commonly used in foreign relations and popular as a second language among some of thenobility.

Phonology

Main article:Latin phonology and orthography

A person with an American accent speaking in Latin

Audio of a person with a German accent reading in Latin

Ave Mariaread in Ecclesiastical Latin

The ancient pronunciation of Latin has been reconstructed; among the data used for reconstruction are explicit statements about pronunciation by ancient authors, misspellings, puns, ancient etymologies, the spelling of Latin loanwords in other languages, and the historical development of Romance languages.

Consonants

The consonantphonemesof Classical Latin are as follows:

		Labial	Dental	Palatal	Velar		Glottal
					plain	labial
Plosive	voiced	b	d		ɡ	ɡʷ
	voiceless	p	t		k	kʷ
Fricative	voiced		(z)
	voiceless	f	s				h
Nasal		m	n		(ŋ)
Rhotic			r
Approximant			l	j		w

/z/was not native to Classical Latin. It appeared in Greek loanwords starting around the first century BC, when it was probably pronounced (at least by educated speakers)[z]initially anddoubled[zz]between vowels, in accordance with its pronunciation inKoine Greek.In Classical Latin poetry, the letter⟨z⟩between vowels always counts as two consonants for metrical purposes.The consonant ⟨b⟩ usually sounds as [b]; however, when ⟨t⟩ or ⟨s⟩ follows ⟨b⟩ then it is pronounced as in [pt] or [ps]. In Latin, ⟨q⟩ is always followed by thevowel⟨u⟩. Together they make a [kʷ] sound.

In Old and Classical Latin, the Latin alphabet had no distinction betweenuppercase and lowercase,and the letters⟨J U W⟩did not exist. In place of⟨J U⟩,⟨I V⟩were used, respectively;⟨I V⟩represented both vowels and consonants. Most of the letter forms were similar to modern uppercase, as can be seen in the inscription from the Colosseum shown at the top of the article.

The spelling systems used in Latin dictionaries and modern editions of Latin texts, however, normally use⟨j u⟩in place of Classical-era⟨i v⟩.Some systems use⟨j v⟩for the consonant sounds/jw/except in the combinations⟨gu su qu⟩for which⟨v⟩is never used.

Some notes concerning the mapping of Latin phonemes to English graphemes are given below:

Notes

Latin grapheme	Latin phoneme	English examples
⟨c⟩,⟨k⟩	[k]	Always askinsky(/skaɪ/)
⟨t⟩	[t]	Astinstay(/steɪ/)
⟨s⟩	[s]	Assinsay(/seɪ/)
⟨g⟩	[ɡ]	Always asgingood(/ɡʊd/)
	[ŋ]	Before⟨n⟩,asnginsing(/sɪŋ/)
⟨n⟩	[n]	Asninman(/mæn/)
	[ŋ]	Before⟨c⟩,⟨x⟩,and⟨g⟩,asnginsing(/sɪŋ/)
⟨l⟩	[l]	When doubled⟨ll⟩and before⟨i⟩,as"light L",[l̥]inlink([l̥ɪnk]) (l exilis)
	[ɫ]	In all other positions, as"dark L",[ɫ]inbowl([boʊɫ]) (l pinguis)
⟨qu⟩	[kʷ]	Similar toquinsquint(/skwɪnt/)
⟨u⟩	[w]	Sometimes at the beginning of a syllable, or after⟨g⟩and⟨s⟩,as/w/inwine(/waɪn/)
⟨i⟩	[j]	Sometimes at the beginning of a syllable, asy(/j/) inyard(/jɑɹd/)
	[ij]	"y" (/j/), in between vowels, becomes "i-y", being pronounced as parts of two separate syllables, as incapiō(/kapiˈjo:/)
⟨x⟩	[ks]	A letter representing⟨c⟩+⟨s⟩:asxin Englishaxe(/æks/)

In Classical Latin, as in modern Italian, double consonant letters were pronounced aslongconsonant sounds distinct from short versions of the same consonants. Thus thennin Classical Latinannus"year" (and in Italiananno) is pronounced as a doubled/nn/as in Englishunnamed.(In English, distinctive consonant length or doubling occurs only at the boundary between two words ormorphemes,as in that example.)

Vowels

Simple vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	iːɪ		ʊuː
Mid	eːɛ		ɔoː
Open		aaː

In Classical Latin,⟨U⟩did not exist as a letter distinct from V; the written form⟨V⟩was used to represent both a vowel and a consonant.⟨Y⟩was adopted to representupsilonin loanwords fromGreek,but it was pronounced like⟨u⟩and⟨i⟩by some speakers. It was also used in native Latin words by confusion with Greek words of similar meaning, such assylvaandὕλη.

Classical Latin distinguished betweenlong and short vowels.Then, long vowels, except for⟨i⟩,were frequently marked using theapex,which was sometimes similar to anacute accent⟨Á É Ó V́ Ý⟩.Long/iː/was written using a taller version of⟨I⟩,calledi longa"long I":⟨ꟾ⟩.In modern texts, long vowels are often indicated by amacron⟨ā ē ī ō ū⟩,and short vowels are usually unmarked except when it is necessary to distinguish between words, when they are marked with abreve⟨ă ĕ ĭ ŏ ŭ⟩.However, they would also signify a long vowel by writing the vowel larger than other letters in a word or by repeating the vowel twice in a row.The acute accent, when it is used in modern Latin texts, indicates stress, as in Spanish, rather than length.

Although called long vowels, their exact quality in Classical Latin is different from short vowels. The difference is described in the table below:

Pronunciation of Latin vowels

Latin grapheme	Latin phone	modern examples
⟨a⟩	[a]	similar to theainpart(/paɹt/)
	[aː]	similar to theainfather(/fɑːðəɹ/)
⟨e⟩	[ɛ]	aseinpet(/pɛt/)
	[eː]	similar toeinhey(/heɪ/)
⟨i⟩	[ɪ]	asiinpit(/pɪt/)
	[iː]	similar toiinmachine(/məʃiːn/)
⟨o⟩	[ɔ]	asoinport(/pɔɹt/)
	[oː]	similar tooinpost(/poʊst/)
⟨u⟩	[ʊ]	asuin put (/pʊt/)
	[uː]	similar toueintrue(/tɹuː/)
⟨y⟩	[ʏ]	does not exist in English, closest approximation is theuinmule
	[yː]	does not exist in English, closest approximation is theuincute

This difference in quality is posited byW. Sidney Allenin his bookVox Latina.However,Andrea Calabresehas disputed this assertion, based in part upon the observation that in Sardinian and some Lucanian dialects, each long and short vowel pair merged, as opposed to in Italo-Western languages in which short /i/ and /u/ merged with long /eː/ and /o:/ (c.f. Latin 'siccus', Italian 'secco', and Sardinian 'siccu').

A vowel letter followed by⟨m⟩at the end of a word, or a vowel letter followed by⟨n⟩before⟨s⟩or⟨f⟩,represented a shortnasal vowel,as inmonstrum[mõːstrũ].

Diphthongs

Classical Latin had severaldiphthongs.The two most common were⟨ae au⟩.The former pronounced like the 'i' in mine, and the latter like the 'ow' in power.⟨oe⟩was fairly rare, and⟨ui eu ei⟩were very rare, at least in native Latin words.There has also been debate over whether⟨ui⟩is truly a diphthong in Classical Latin, due to its rarity, absence in works of Roman grammarians, and the roots of Classical Latin words (i.e.hui cetohuic,quoitocui,etc.) not matching or being similar to the pronunciation of classical words if⟨ui⟩were to be considered a diphthong.

The sequences sometimes did not represent diphthongs.⟨ae⟩and⟨oe⟩also represented a sequence of two vowels in different syllables inaēnus[aˈeː.nʊs]"bronze" andcoēpit[kɔˈeː.pɪt]"began", and⟨au ui eu ei ou⟩represented sequences of two vowels or of a vowel and one of the semivowels/jw/,incavē[ˈka.weː]"beware!",cuius[ˈkʊj.jʊs]"whose",monuī[ˈmɔn.ʊ.iː]"I warned",solvī[ˈsɔɫ.wiː]"I released",dēlēvī[deːˈleː.wiː]"I destroyed",eius[ˈɛj.jʊs]"his", andnovus[ˈnɔ.wʊs]"new".

Old Latin had more diphthongs, but most of them changed into long vowels in Classical Latin. The Old Latin diphthong⟨ai⟩and the sequence⟨āī⟩became Classical⟨ae⟩.Old Latin⟨oi⟩and⟨ou⟩changed to Classical⟨ū⟩,except in a few words whose⟨oi⟩became Classical⟨oe⟩.These two developments sometimes occurred in different words from the same root: for instance, Classicalpoena"punishment" andpūnīre"to punish".Early Old Latin⟨ei⟩usually monophthongized to a later Old Latin⟨ē⟩,to Classical⟨ī⟩.

By the late Roman Empire,⟨ae oe⟩had merged with⟨e ē⟩.During the Classical period this sound change was present in some rural dialects, but deliberately avoided by well-educated speakers.

Diphthongs classified by beginning sound

	Front	Back
Close		ui/ui̯/
Mid	ei/ei̯/ eu/eu̯/	oe/oe̯/ ou/ou̯/
Open	ae/ae̯/ au/au̯/

Syllables

Syllablesin Latin are signified by the presence of diphthongs andvowels.The number of syllables is the same as the number of vowel sounds.

Further, if a consonant separates two vowels, it will go into the syllable of the second vowel. When there are two consonants between vowels, the last consonant will go with the second vowel. An exception occurs when aphoneticstop and liquid come together. In this situation, they are thought to be a single consonant, and as such, they will go into the syllable of the second vowel.

Length

Syllables in Latin are considered eitherlong or short(less often called "heavy" and "light" respectively). Within a word, a syllable may either be long by nature or long by position.A syllable is long by nature if it has a diphthong or a long vowel. On the other hand, a syllable is long by position if the vowel is followed by more than one consonant.

Stress

There are two rules that define which syllable isstressedin Classical Latin.

1. In a word with only two syllables, the emphasis will be on the first syllable.
2. In a word with more than two syllables, there are two cases.
   • If the second-to-last syllable is long, that syllable will have stress.
   • If the second-to-last syllable is not long, the syllable before that one will be stressed instead.

Orthography

Main article:Latin alphabet

TheDuenos Inscription,from the 6th century BC, is one of the earliest knownOld Latintexts. It was found on theQuirinal Hillin Rome.

Latin was written in the Latin alphabet (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,V,X), derived from theEtruscan alphabet,which was in turn drawn from theGreek alphabetand ultimately thePhoenician alphabet.This alphabet has continued to be used over the centuries as the script for the Romance, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, Finnic and many Slavic languages (Polish,Slovak,Slovene,Croatian,Bosnian,SerbianandCzech); and it has been adopted by many languages around the world, includingVietnamese,theAustronesian languages,manyTurkic languages,and most languages insub-Saharan Africa,the Americas and Oceania, making it by far the world's single most widely used writing system.

The number of letters in the Latin alphabet has varied. When it was first derived from the Etruscan alphabet, it contained only 21 letters.Later,Gwas added to represent/ɡ/,which had previously been spelledC,andZceased to be included in the alphabet, as the language then had novoiced alveolar fricative.The letters K,Y,andZwere later added to represent Greek letterskappa,upsilon,andzetarespectively, in Greek loanwords.

Wwas created in the 11th century fromVVin some areas and uu in others. It represented/w/in Germanic languages, not Latin, which still usesVfor the purpose.Jwas distinguished from the originalIonly during the late Middle Ages, as was the letterUfromV.Although some Latin dictionaries useJ,it is rarely used for Latin text, as it was not used in classical times, but many other languages use it.

Punctuation

Classical Latin did not contain sentencepunctuation,letter case,orinterword spacing,butapiceswere sometimes used to distinguish length in vowels and theinterpunctwas used at times to separate words.

The first line ofCatullus 3( "Mourn, OVenusesandCupids") was originally written as:

simply	lv́géteóveneréscupidinésqve
withlong I	lv́géteóveneréscupIdinésqve
with interpunct	lv́géte·ó·venerés·cupidinésqve

It would be rendered in a modern edition as:

simply	Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque
with macrons	Lūgēte, ō Venerēs Cupīdinēsque
with apices	Lúgéte, ó Venerés Cupídinésque

A modern Latin text written in the Old Roman Cursive inspired by theVindolanda tablets,the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. The wordRomani('Romans') is at bottom left.

TheRoman cursivescript is commonly found on the manywax tabletsexcavated at sites such as forts, an especially extensive set having been discovered at Vindolanda onHadrian's WallinBritain.Most notable is the fact that while most of theVindolanda tabletsshow spaces between words, spaces were avoided in monumental inscriptions from that era.

Alternative scripts

Occasionally, Latin has been written in other scripts:

• ThePraeneste fibulais a 7th-century BC pin with an Old Latin inscription written using the Etruscan script.
• The rear panel of the early 8th-centuryFranks Caskethas an inscription that switches fromOld EnglishinAnglo-Saxon runesto Latin in Latin script and to Latin in runes.

Grammar

Main articles:Latin grammarandLatin syntax

Syntactical structure of the Latin sentence 'Iohannes vidit illam puellam' meaning 'John sees the girl'

Latin is asynthetic,fusional languagein the terminology of linguistic typology. Words involve an objective semantic element and markers (usually suffixes) specifying the grammatical use of the word, expressinggender,number,andcaseinadjectives,nouns,andpronouns(declension) and verbs to denoteperson,number,tense,voice,mood,andaspect(conjugation). Some words are uninflected and undergo neither process, such as adverbs, prepositions, and interjections.

Latin inflection can result in words with much ambiguity: For example,amābit,"he/she/it will love", is formed fromamā-,a future tense morpheme-bi-and a third person singular morpheme,-t,the last of which-tdoes not express masculine, feminine, or neuter gender. A major task in understanding Latin phrases and clauses is to clarify such ambiguities by an analysis of context.

Nouns

Main article:Latin declension

A regular Latin noun belongs to one of five main declensions, a group of nouns with similar inflected forms. The declensions are identified by the genitive singular form of the noun.

• The first declension, with a predominant ending letter ofa,is signified by the genitive singular ending of-ae.
• The second declension, with a predominant ending letter ofus,is signified by the genitive singular ending of-i.
• The third declension, with a predominant ending letter ofi,is signified by the genitive singular ending of-is.
• The fourth declension, with a predominant ending letter ofu,is signified by the genitive singular ending of-ūs.
• The fifth declension, with a predominant ending letter ofe,is signified by the genitive singular ending of-ei.

There are seven Latin noun cases, which also apply to adjectives and pronouns and mark a noun's syntactic role in the sentence by means of inflections. Thus,word orderis not as important in Latin as it is in English, which is less inflected. The general structure and word order of a Latin sentence can therefore vary. The cases are as follows:

1. Nominative– used when the noun is thesubjector apredicate nominative.The thing or person acting: the girl ran:puella cucurrit,orcucurrit puella
2. Genitive– used when the noun is the possessor of or connected with an object: "the horse of the man", or "the man's horse"; in both instances, the wordmanwould be in thegenitive casewhen it is translated into Latin. It also indicates thepartitive,in which the material is quantified: "a group of people"; "a number of gifts":peopleandgiftswould be in the genitive case. Some nouns are genitive with special verbs and adjectives: The cup is full of wine. (Poculum plēnum vīnī est.) The master of the slave had beaten him. (Dominus servī eum verberāverat.)
3. Dative– used when the noun is the indirect object of the sentence, with special verbs, with certain prepositions, and if it is used as agent, reference, or even possessor: The merchant hands thestolato the woman. (Mercātor fēminae stolam trādit.)
4. Accusative– used when the noun is the direct object of the subject, as the object of a preposition demonstrating place to which, and sometimes to indicate a duration of time: The man killed the boy. (Vir puerum necāvit.)
5. Ablative– used when the noun demonstrates separation or movement from a source, cause,agentorinstrumentor when the noun is used as the object of certain prepositions, and to indicate a specific place in time.; adverbial: You walked with the boy. (Cum puerō ambulāvistī.)
6. Vocative– used when the noun is used in a direct address. The vocative form of a noun is often the same as the nominative, with the exception of second-declension nouns ending in-us.The-usbecomes an-ein the vocative singular. If it ends in-ius(such asfīlius), the ending is just-ī(filī), as distinct from the nominative plural (filiī) in the vocative singular: "Master!" shouted the slave. ("Domine!" clāmāvit servus.)
7. Locative– used to indicate a location (corresponding to the English "in" or "at" ). It is far less common than the other six cases of Latin nouns and usually applies to cities and small towns and islands along with a few common nouns, such as the wordsdomus(house),humus(ground), andrus(country). In the singular of the first and second declensions, its form coincides with the genitive (RomabecomesRomae,"in Rome" ). In the plural of all declensions and the singular of the other declensions, it coincides with the ablative (AthēnaebecomesAthēnīs,"at Athens" ). In the fourth-declension worddomus,the locative form,domī( "at home" ) differs from the standard form of all other cases.

Latin lacks both definite and indefinitearticlessopuer curritcan mean either "the boy is running" or "a boy is running".

Adjectives

Main article:Latin declension § Adjectives

There are two types of regular Latin adjectives: first- and second-declension and third-declension. They are so-called because their forms are similar or identical to first- and second-declension and third-declension nouns, respectively. Latin adjectives also havecomparative and superlativeforms. There are also a number of Latinparticiples.

Latin numbers are sometimes declined as adjectives. SeeNumbersbelow.

First- and second-declension adjectivesare declined like first-declension nouns for the feminine forms and like second-declension nouns for the masculine and neuter forms. For example, formortuus, mortua, mortuum(dead),mortuais declined like a regular first-declension noun (such aspuella(girl)),mortuusis declined like a regular second-declension masculine noun (such asdominus(lord, master)), andmortuumis declined like a regular second-declension neuter noun (such asauxilium(help)).

Third-declension adjectivesare mostly declined like normal third-declension nouns, with a few exceptions. In the plural nominative neuter, for example, the ending is-ia(omnia(all, everything)), and for third-declension nouns, the plural nominative neuter ending is-aor-ia(capita(heads),animalia(animals)) They can have one, two or three forms for the masculine, feminine, and neuter nominative singular.

Participles

Latin participles, like English participles, are formed from a verb. There are a few main types of participles: Present Active Participles, Perfect Passive Participles, Future Active Participles, and Future Passive Participles.

Prepositions

Latin sometimes uses prepositions, depending on the type of prepositional phrase being used. Most prepositions are followed by a noun in either the accusative or ablative case: "apud puerum" (with the boy), with "puerum" being the accusative form of "puer", boy, and "sine puero" (without the boy), "puero" being the ablative form of "puer". A fewadpositions,however, govern a noun in the genitive (such as "gratia" and "tenus" ).

Verbs

Main articles:Latin grammarandLatin conjugation

A regular verb in Latin belongs to one of four mainconjugations.A conjugation is "a class of verbs with similar inflected forms."The conjugations are identified by the last letter of the verb's present stem. The present stem can be found by omitting the -re(-rīin deponent verbs) ending from the present infinitive form. The infinitive of the first conjugation ends in-ā-reor-ā-ri(active and passive respectively):amāre,"to love",hortārī,"to exhort"; of the second conjugation by-ē-reor-ē-rī:monēre,"to warn",verērī,"to fear;" of the third conjugation by-ere,-ī:dūcere,"to lead",ūtī,"to use"; of the fourth by-ī-re,-ī-rī:audīre,"to hear",experīrī,"to attempt".The stem categories descend fromIndo-Europeanand can therefore be compared to similar conjugations in other Indo-European languages.

Irregular verbsare verbs that do not follow the regular conjugations in the formation of the inflected form. Irregular verbs in Latin areesse,"to be";velle,"to want";ferre,"to carry";edere,"to eat";dare,"to give";ire,"to go";posse,"to be able";fieri,"to happen"; and their compounds.

There are six simpletensesin Latin (present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect and future perfect), threemoods(indicative, imperative and subjunctive, in addition to theinfinitive,participle,gerund,gerundiveandsupine), threepersons(first, second and third), two numbers (singular and plural), twovoices(active and passive) and twoaspects(perfective and imperfective). Verbs are described by four principal parts:

1. The first principal part is the first-person singular, present tense, active voice, indicative mood form of the verb. If the verb is impersonal, the first principal part will be in the third-person singular.
2. The second principal part is the present active infinitive.
3. The third principal part is the first-person singular, perfect active indicative form. Like the first principal part, if the verb is impersonal, the third principal part will be in the third-person singular.
4. The fourth principal part is the supine form, or alternatively, the nominative singular of the perfect passive participle form of the verb. The fourth principal part can show one gender of the participle or all three genders (-usfor masculine, -afor feminine and -umfor neuter) in the nominative singular. The fourth principal part will be the future participle if the verb cannot be made passive. Most modern Latin dictionaries, if they show only one gender, tend to show the masculine; but many older dictionaries instead show the neuter, as it coincides with the supine. The fourth principal part is sometimes omitted for intransitive verbs, but strictly in Latin, they can be made passive if they are used impersonally, and the supine exists for such verbs.

The six simpletenses of Latinare divided into two systems: the present system, which is made up of the present, imperfect and future forms, and the perfect system, which is made up of the perfect, pluperfect and future perfect forms. Each simple tense has a set of endings corresponding to the person, number, and voice of the subject. Subject (nominative) pronouns are generally omitted for the first (I, we) and second (you) persons except for emphasis.

The table below displays the common inflected endings for the indicative mood in the active voice in all six tenses. For the future tense, the first listed endings are for the first and second conjugations, and the second listed endings are for the third and fourth conjugations:

Tense	Singular			Plural
	1st Person	2nd Person	3rd Person	1st Person	2nd Person	3rd Person
Present	-ō/m	-s	-t	-mus	-tis	-nt
Future	-bō, -am	-bis, -ēs	-bit, -et	-bimus, -ēmus	-bitis, -ētis	-bunt, -ent
Imperfect	-bam	-bās	-bat	-bāmus	-bātis	-bant
Perfect	-ī	-istī	-it	-imus	-istis	-ērunt
Future Perfect	-erō	-eris/erīs	-erit	-erimus/-erīmus	-eritis/-erītis	-erint
Pluperfect	-eram	-erās	-erat	-erāmus	-erātis	-erant

Deponent verbs

Some Latin verbs aredeponent,causing their forms to be in the passive voice but retain an active meaning:hortor, hortārī, hortātus sum(to urge).

Vocabulary

As Latin is an Italic language, most of its vocabulary is likewise Italic, ultimately from the ancestralProto-Indo-European language.However, because of close cultural interaction, the Romans not only adapted the Etruscan alphabet to form the Latin alphabet but also borrowed someEtruscanwords into their language, includingpersona"mask" andhistrio"actor".Latin also included vocabulary borrowed fromOscan,another Italic language.

After theFall of Tarentum(272 BC), the Romans began Hellenising, or adopting features of Greek culture, including the borrowing of Greek words, such ascamera(vaulted roof),sumbolum(symbol), andbalineum(bath).This Hellenisation led to the addition of "Y" and "Z" to the alphabet to represent Greek sounds.Subsequently, the Romans transplantedGreek art,medicine, science and philosophy to Italy, paying almost any price to entice Greek skilled and educated persons to Rome and sending their youth to be educated in Greece. Thus, many Latin scientific and philosophical words were Greek loanwords or had their meanings expanded by association with Greek words, asars(craft) and τέχνη (art).

Because of the Roman Empire's expansion and subsequent trade with outlying European tribes, the Romans borrowed some northern and central European words, such asbeber(beaver), of Germanic origin, andbracae(breeches), of Celtic origin.The specific dialects of Latin across Latin-speaking regions of the former Roman Empire after its fall were influenced by languages specific to the regions. The dialects of Latin evolved into different Romance languages.

During and after the adoption of Christianity into Roman society, Christian vocabulary became a part of the language, either from Greek or Hebrew borrowings or as Latin neologisms.Continuing into the Middle Ages, Latin incorporated many more words from surrounding languages, includingOld Englishand otherGermanic languages.

Over the ages, Latin-speaking populations produced new adjectives, nouns, and verbs byaffixingorcompoundingmeaningfulsegments.For example, the compound adjective,omnipotens,"all-powerful", was produced from the adjectivesomnis,"all", andpotens,"powerful", by dropping the finalsofomnisand concatenating. Often, the concatenation changed the part of speech, and nouns were produced from verb segments or verbs from nouns and adjectives.

Numbers

Further information:Latin numerals (linguistics)

In ancient times, numbers in Latin were written only with letters. Today, the numbers can be written with theArabic numbersas well as withRoman numerals.The numbers 1, 2 and 3 and every whole hundred from 200 to 900 are declined as nouns and adjectives, with some differences.

ūnus, ūna, ūnum(masculine, feminine, neuter)	I	one
duo, duae, duo(m., f., n.)	II	two
trēs, tria(m./f., n.)	III	three
quattuor	IIIIorIV	four
quīnque	V	five
sex	VI	six
septem	VII	seven
octō	IIXorVIII	eight
novem	VIIIIorIX	nine
decem	X	ten
quīnquāgintā	L	fifty
centum	C	one hundred
quīngentī, quīngentae, quīngenta(m., f., n.)	D	five hundred
mīlle	M	one thousand

The numbers from 4 to 100 do not change their endings. As in modern descendants such as Spanish, the gender for naming a number in isolation is masculine, so that "1, 2, 3" is counted asūnus, duo, trēs.

Example text

Commentarii de Bello Gallico,also calledDe Bello Gallico(The Gallic War), written byGaius Julius Caesar,begins with the following passage:

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit. Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important, proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt. Qua de causa Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt, quod fere cotidianis proeliis cum Germanis contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt. Eorum una pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano, continetur Garumna flumine, Oceano, finibus Belgarum; attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum; vergit ad septentriones. Belgae ab extremis Galliae finibus oriuntur; pertinent ad inferiorem partem fluminis Rheni; spectant in septentrionem et orientem solem. Aquitania a Garumna flumine ad Pyrenaeos montes et eam partem Oceani quae est ad Hispaniam pertinet; spectat inter occasum solis et septentriones.

The same text may be marked for all long vowels (before any possible elisions at word boundary) withapicesover vowel letters, including customarily before "nf" and "ns" where a long vowel is automatically produced:

Gallia est omnis dívísa in partés trés, quárum únam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquítání, tertiam quí ipsórum linguá Celtae, nostrá Gallí appellantur. Hí omnés linguá, ínstitútís, légibus inter sé differunt. Gallós ab Aquítánís Garumna flúmen, á Belgís Mátrona et Séquana dívidit. Hórum omnium fortissimí sunt Belgae, proptereá quod á cultú atque húmánitáte próvinciae longissimé absunt, miniméque ad eós mercátórés saepe commeant atque ea quae ad efféminandós animós pertinent important, proximíque sunt Germánís, quí tráns Rhénum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt. Quá dé causá Helvétií quoque reliquós Gallós virtúte praecédunt, quod feré cotídiánís proeliís cum Germánís contendunt, cum aut suís fínibus eós prohibent aut ipsí in eórum fínibus bellum gerunt. Eórum úna pars, quam Gallós obtinére dictum est, initium capit á flúmine Rhodanó, continétur Garumná flúmine, Óceanó, fínibus Belgárum; attingit etiam ab Séquanís et Helvétiís flúmen Rhénum; vergit ad septentriónés. Belgae ab extrémís Galliae fínibus oriuntur; pertinent ad ínferiórem partem flúminis Rhéní; spectant in septentriónem et orientem sólem. Aquítánia á Garumná flúmine ad Pýrénaeós montés et eam partem Óceaní quae est ad Hispániam pertinet; spectat inter occásum sólis et septentriónés.

See also

• Accademia Vivarium Novum
• Botanical Latin
• Classical compound
• Contemporary Latin
• Greek and Latin roots in English
• Hybrid word
• International Roman Law Moot Court
• Latin grammar
• Latin mnemonics
• Latin obscenity
• Latin school
• Latino sine flexione(Latin without Inflections)
• List of Greek and Latin roots in English
• List of Latin abbreviations
• List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
• List of Latin phrases
• List of Latin translations of modern literature
• List of Latin words with English derivatives
• List of Latinised names
• Lorem ipsum
• Romanization (cultural)
• Toponymy
• Vulgar Latin

Bibliography

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• Bergin, Thomas G; Law, Jonathan; Speake, Jennifer, eds. (2004).Encyclopedia of the Renaissance and Reformation.Facts On File.ISBN0816054517.OL3681138M.
• Clark, Victor Selden (1900).Studies in the Latin of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.Lancaster: The New Era Printing Company.
• Demo, Šime (2022)."A paradox of the linguistic research of Neo–Latin. Symptoms and causes".Suvremena Lingvistika.48(93).doi:10.22210/suvlin.2022.093.01.S2CID251119298.
• Deneire, Thomas, ed. (2014).Dynamics of Neo-Latin and the Vernacular: Language and Poetics, Translation and Transfer.Leiden: Koninklijke Brill.ISBN9789004269071.
• Diringer, David (1996) [1947].The Alphabet – A Key to the History of Mankind.New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Private Ltd.ISBN978-81-215-0748-6.
• Herman, József (2000).Vulgar Latin.Translated by Wright, Roger. University Park, PA:Pennsylvania State University Press.ISBN978-0-271-02000-6.
• Holmes, Urban Tigner; Schultz, Alexander Herman (1938).A History of the French Language.New York: Biblo-Moser.ISBN978-0-8196-0191-9.
• Knight, Sarah; Tilg, Stefan, eds. (2015).The Oxford Handbook of Neo-Latin.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780190886998.OL28648475M.
• Levy, Harry Louis (1973).A Latin reader for colleges.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-47602-2.
• Jenks, Paul Rockwell (1911).A Manual of Latin Word Formation for Secondary Schools.New York: D.C. Heath & Co.
• Sihler, Andrew L (2008).New comparative grammar of Greek and Latin.New York: Oxford University Press.

External links

Language tools

• "Latin Dictionary Headword Search".Perseus Hopper.Tufts University.Searches Lewis & Short'sA Latin Dictionaryand Lewis'sAn Elementary Latin Dictionary.Online results.
• "Online Latin Dictionary with conjugator and declension tool".Olivetti Media Communication.Search on line Latin-English and English-Latin dictionary with complete declension or conjugation. Online results.
• "Latin Word Study Tool".Perseus Hopper.Tufts University.Identifies the grammatical functions of words entered. Online results.
• Aversa, Alan."Latin Inflector".Retrieved8 June2023.Identifies the grammatical functions of all the words in sentences entered, using Perseus.
• "Latin Verb Conjugator".Verbix.Displays complete conjugations of verbs entered in first-person present singular form.
• "Online Latin Verb Conjugator".Archived fromthe originalon 18 May 2016.Retrieved30 September2014.Displays conjugation of verbs entered in their infinitive form.
• Whittaker, William."Words".Notre Dame Archives. Archived fromthe originalon 18 June 2006.Identifies Latin words entered. Translates English words entered.
• "Alpheios".Alpheios Project.Combines Whittakers Words, Lewis and Short, Bennett's grammar and inflection tables in a browser addon.
• Dymock, John (1830).A new abridgment of Ainsworth's Dictionary, English and Latin, for the use of Grammar Schools(4th ed.). Glasgow: Hutchison & Brookman.
• "Collatinus web".Online lemmatizer and morphological analysis for Latin texts.

Courses

• Community coursesonMemrise
• Latin Lessons(free online through theLinguistics Research Centerat UT Austin)
• Free 47-Lesson Online Latin Course,Learnlangs
• Learn LatinArchived8 March 2022 at theWayback MachineGrammar, vocabulary and audio
• Latin Links and Resources,Compiled by Fr. Gary Coulter
• der Millner, Evan (2007)."Latinum".Latin Latin Course on YouTube and audiobooks.Molendinarius.Retrieved2 February2012.
• Byrne, Carol (1999)."Simplicissimus"(PDF).The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 30 April 2011.Retrieved20 April2011.(a course inecclesiastical Latin).
• Latin course: Ludus Latinus(Bibliotheca Augustana)
• Beginners' LatinonThe National Archives (United Kingdom)

Grammar and study

• Bennett, Charles E. (2005) [1908].New Latin Grammar(2nd ed.). Project Gutenberg.ISBN978-1-176-19706-0.
• Griffin, Robin (1992).A student's Latin Grammar(3rd ed.). University of Cambridge.ISBN978-0-521-38587-9.
• Lehmann, Winifred P.; Slocum, Jonathan (2008)."Latin Online".The University of Texas at Austin.Retrieved17 April2020.
• Ørberg, Hans (1991).LINGVA LATINA PER SE ILLVSTRATA – Pars I FAMILIA ROMANA.Museum Tusculanum Press.ISBN87-997016-5-0.
• Ørberg, Hans (2007).LINGVA LATINA PER SE ILLVSTRATA - Pars II ROMA AETERNA.Hackett Publishing Company, Incorporated.ISBN978-1-58510-067-5.
• Allen and Greenough (1903).New Latin Grammar.Athanæum Press.

Phonetics

• Cui, Ray (2005)."Phonetica Latinae-How to pronounce Latin".Ray Cui.Retrieved25 June2010.
• Wilkins, Augustus Samuel;Conway, Robert Seymour(1911)."Latin Language".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 16 (11th ed.). pp. 244–257.
• Ranieri, Luke (31 August 2018)."Latin Pronunciation (for Classical Latin)".YouTube.Archived fromthe originalon 27 October 2021.Retrieved31 August2018.

Libraries

• The latin library,ancient Latin books and writings (without translations) ordered by author
• LacusCurtius,a small collection of Greek and Roman authors along with their books and writings (original texts are in Latin and Greek, translations in English and occasionally in a few other languages are available)

Latin language media

• Ephemeris,online Latin newspaper:nuntii latini universi= news in Latin of the universe (whole world)
• Ephemeris archive,archived copy of online Latin newspaper
• Nuntii Latini,from Finnish YLE Radio 1
• Nuntii Latini,monthly review from GermanRadio Bremen(Bremen Zwei)
• Classics Podcasts in Latin and Ancient Greek,Haverford College
• Grex Latine Loquentium(Flock of those Speaking Latin)
• Circulus Latinus Interretialis(Internet Latin Circle)
• Latinitas Foundation, at the Vatican