A Dead Language (?)

Latin is often seen as the epitome of language failing to endure through the ages. The phrase "dead language" in English refers primarily to Latin even though English isn't a Latinate language. Observing and analyzing the Roman Empire's preservation and acquisition of language is therefore very different from doing the same for some other languages which are still spoken today relatively similar to how they were spoken in the past, such as Hebrew or Chinese, because there is no general Latin speaking population anywhere in the world today and nobody on the entire planet will tell you that their first language is Latin. So because Latin is the poster child for "dead languages," I'm going to take a slightly different approach on my post...

So how was Latin preserved up until the time that the language "died" in a figurative sense? One way is through story telling. Even before Virgil began his version of The Aeneid in 29 BC, Roman children heard myths and legends in the Greco-Roman tradition (Brianne also mentioned myths as a way of preserving language here). They knew all about Aeneas and Achilles and Odysseus. Their myths were, of course, tied to their religious beliefs concerning a multitude of gods (Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Pluto, Neptune, Apollo, Diana, Ceres, Bacchus, Vulcan... ok, those are the only ones I could think of off the top of my head. The point is that there were lots of deities and lots of stories to tell) as religious teachings can be a primary method of storytelling to children (but another group will focus on that).

Latin, however, became a very diluted language over time. Whenever the Romans conquered a civilization (generally, at least, Carthage was not given this opportunity), the conquered people became Roman citizens if they had good behavior (or conversely slaves if they had bad behavior). Either way, the conquered peoples had to learn Roman to either function in Roman society or understand their taskmaster's commands. Latin therefore gave way to many Romance languages (did you know that's where the term derived from? They aren't "wooing" languages), the most common being Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian.

This map shows where the dominant language is a Romance language.

This one shows where the alphabet is essentially the same as in Latin.

So even if people don't speak Latin natively anymore, it certainly has been preserved because of the Romans' conquests. But how was it preserved in Roman times besides mythology? It turns out that despite many of the great poets of antiquity being Roman (Virgil, Horace, Ovid, etc.), the Romans had a very strong oral tradition. Their artwork strongly reflects this. Take this statue:

Like many classical statues, it has multiple names. One of them is "The Orator." That is exactly this man's role in society: he orates and either tells stories or gives speeches. Now, this statue isn't actually from the Roman Empire: it was actually made right at the time of the shift of power in the Italian Peninsula from the Etruscan peoples to Rome. It shows, however, that Rome- and the Latin language- had a history in oral tradition. This continues to be shown throughout Roman art.

This one's Caesar Augustus himself. And what is he doing? Once again, he has his right hand in the oratory position that appears repeatedly throughout Roman statuary. Like The Orator, he is giving some sort of profound and eloquent speech.


Ironically, Latin texts also emphasize the oral tradition more than the written. Take, for example, The Aeneid again. In fact, virtually all of the Greco-Roman epics work. They all have some time where some person- usually the traveler, but also often a general or king, gives some profound, eloquent oration. There are not any Austen-like letters that contain sweet written things. There are instead bold speeches. Take this one from Aeneas:

"The man you seek is here. I stand before you,
Trojan Aeneas, torn from Libyan waves.
O you who were alone in taking pity
on the unutterable trials of Troy,
who welcome us as allies to your city
and home- a remnant left by Greeks, harassed
by all disasters known on land and sea."
- Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, lines 836-842

It's pretty direct, and Aeneas doesn't get a sign or poster to write this where everyone could see it; instead he says it, even if writing it would be more efficient to spread his declaration.

Latin was, in fact, mainly oral for generations, and at the time of the fall of Rome, there was still a very strong oral tradition.

Now, about Latin being a "dead language." My little brother is a Junior in high school, and he's taking AP Latin where he reads Latin texts, Virgil in particular, in Latin. Members of the Catholic clergy are often familiar with Latin, and it is spoken in the Vatican. But there are no native Latin speakers, meaning it is a "dead" language even is there are a few people who can read the language. Therefore, none of these people acquire Latin through learning it like we did English; instead, Latin is learned today by texts- texts that are the product of an oral tradition. Latin more "lives on" in the way that it impacted a multitude of other languages. Although English is not a Romance language, it has been heavily influenced by one Romance language in particular: French. Remember the maps before showing the spread of Latin across the globe? It has certainly had a very strong influence on the world as we know it today. So in a way, we are all preserving a little piece of the Latin language today!