Describing the languages of the world, linguists use various classification principles. Languages are grouped according to the geographical (territorial) principle, according to the proximity of the grammatical structure, on the basis of linguistic relevance, use in living everyday speech.
Using the last criterion, researchers subdivide all the languages of the world into two large groups - the living and dead languages of the world. The main attribute of the former is their use in everyday colloquial speech, in linguistic practice by a comparatively large community of people (people). Living language is constantly used in everyday communication; it changes, becomes more complicated, or simplifies over time.
The most noticeable changes occur in the vocabulary (vocabulary) of the language: some of the words become obsolete, become archaic, and, conversely, more and more words (neologisms) appear to indicate new concepts. Other language systems (morphological, phonetic, syntactic) are more inert, change very slowly and subtlely.
Dead language, unlike living, is not used in everyday language practice. All his systems are unchanged; they are conserved, unchanging elements. Dead language, captured in various written monuments.
All dead languages can be divided into two large groups: firstly, those that were once, in the distant past, used for live communication and subsequently, for various reasons, ceased to be used in living human communication (Latin, ancient Greek, Coptic, Old Icelandic, Gothic). The second group of dead languages includes those that no one has ever spoken; they were created specifically to perform any functions (for example, the Old Slavonic language appeared - the language of Christian liturgical texts). The dead language is most often transformed into some living, actively used (for example, ancient Greek gave way to modern languages and dialects of Greece).
Latin takes a very special place among the rest. Without a doubt, Latin is a dead language: in lively colloquial practice, it has not been used since about the sixth century AD.
But, on the other hand, Latin has found the widest application in pharmaceuticals, medicine, scientific terminology, and Catholic worship (Latin is the official "state" language of the Holy See and the Vatican City). As you can see, the "dead" Latin is actively used in various fields of life, science, knowledge. All serious philological higher education institutions necessarily include Latin in the curriculum, thus preserving the traditions of classical liberal arts education. In addition, this dead language is the source of short and capacious aphorisms that have passed through the centuries: if you want peace, get ready for war; memento Mori; doctor, heal yourself - all these winged expressions come from Latin. Latin is a very logical and harmonious language, cast, without excesses and verbal husks; It is not only used for utilitarian purposes (writing recipes, forming a scientific thesaurus), but it is also, to some extent, a model, a standard of language.