Search results
Apr 2, 2024 · Classical Latin. The Latin language as spoken and written in formal speeches, literature, the arts, etc., by the ancient Romans. Quotations [ edit] For quotations using this term, see Citations:Classical Latin. Translations [ edit] ± Latin language as spoken and written formally. See also [ edit] Wiktionary’s coverage of Latin terms.
Ecclesiastical Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration to the present day, especially in the Catholic Church.
The language used in much early Latin literature, classical Latin, differed in many ways from colloquial spoken Latin, known as vulgar Latin, though some writers, including Cicero and Petronius, used vulgar Latin in their work.
Medieval Latin represented a continuation of Classical Latin and Late Latin, with enhancements for new concepts as well as for the increasing integration of Christianity. Despite some meaningful differences from Classical Latin, its writers did not regard it as a fundamentally different language.
Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal registers of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward. Vulgar Latin as a term is both controversial and imprecise. Spoken Latin existed for a long time and in many places.
Classical Latin is the type of Latin that was first spoken by the Romans. As time went by, fewer and fewer people spoke Classical Latin, and in the end, the language changed to become Vulgar Latin. After a while, only scholars spoke Classical Latin, but books were still written in it.
Later Latin (from the 3rd century ce onward) is often called Vulgar Latin—a confusing term in that it can designate the popular Latin of all periods and is sometimes also used for so-called Proto-Romance ( roman commun ), a theoretical construct based on consistent similarities among all or most Romance languages.
