In the history of human civilization, the Latin language has a special place. Over several millennia of its existence, it has changed more than once, but retained its relevance and importance.
Dead language
Today, Latin is a dead language. In other words, he does not have carriers who would consider this speech native and use it in everyday life. But, unlike other dead languages, Latin received a second life. Today, this language is the basis of international jurisprudence and medical sciences.
In terms of its importance, ancient Greek is close to Latin, which also died, but left its mark in a variety of terminologies. This amazing fate is connected with the historical development of Europe in ancient times.
Evolution
The ancient Latin language originated in Italy a thousand years BC. By its origin, it belongs to the Indo-European family. The first native speakers of this language were Latins, thanks to whom it got its name. This people lived on the banks of the Tiber. Several antique trade routes converged here. In 753 BC, the Latins founded Rome and soon began wars of aggression against their neighbors.
Over the centuries of its existence, this state has undergone several important changes. First there was a kingdom, then a republic. At the turn of the 1st century AD, the Roman Empire arose. Its official language was Latin.
Until the V century, it was the greatest civilization in the history of mankind. She surrounded the entire Mediterranean Sea with her territories. Under her rule there were many nations. Their tongues gradually died, and Latin replaced them. Thus, it spread from Spain in the west to Palestine in the east.
Vulgar Latin
It was in the era of the Roman Empire that the history of the Latin language made a sharp turn. This adverb is divided into two types. There was primordial literary Latin, which was the official means of communication in state institutions. It was used in paperwork, worship, etc.
At the same time, the so-called vulgar Latin was formed. This language arose as a lite version of a complex state language. The Romans used it as an instrument of communication with foreigners and conquered peoples.
That is how the folk version of the language arose, which with each generation was increasingly different from its own model of the ancient era. Live speech naturally rejected old syntax rules that were too complex to be read quickly.
Latin legacy
So the history of the Latin language spawned a romance group of languages. In the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire fell. It was destroyed by the barbarians, who created their national states on the ruins of the former country. Some of these peoples could not get rid of the cultural influence of past civilization.
Gradually, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese sprang up in this way. All of them are distant descendants of ancient Latin. Classical language died after the fall of the empire and was no longer used in everyday life.
At the same time, a state was preserved in Constantinople, the rulers of which considered themselves the successors of the Roman Caesars. It was Byzantium. Its inhabitants, out of habit, considered themselves Romans. However, the colloquial and official language of this country was Greek, due to which, for example, in Russian sources Byzantines were often called Greeks.
Use in science
At the beginning of our era, medical Latin was developing. Prior to this, the Romans had very little knowledge of human nature. In this field, they were noticeably inferior to the Greeks. However, after the Roman state annexed ancient policies famous for its libraries and scientific knowledge, interest in education increased noticeably in Rome itself.
Medical schools began to emerge. A huge contribution to physiology, anatomy, pathology and other sciences was made by the Roman physician Claudius Galen. He left behind hundreds of works written in Latin. Even after the death of the Roman Empire in European universities, medicine was continued to be studied with the help of ancient antique documents. That is why future doctors must have known the basics of the Latin language.
A similar fate awaited the legal sciences. It was in Rome that the first modern legislation appeared. In this ancient society , lawyers and legal experts occupied an important place. Over the centuries, a huge array of laws and other documents written in Latin has accumulated.
Emperor Justinian, the ruler of Byzantium of the VI century, took up their systematization. Despite the fact that the country spoke Greek, the sovereign decided to reprint and update the laws in the Latin edition. Thus appeared the famous Justinian Codex. This document (as well as all Roman law) is studied in detail by law students. Therefore, it is not surprising that Latin is still preserved in the professional environment of lawyers, judges and doctors. The Catholic Church also uses it in worship.