Latin was originally the language of the ancient Romans. It probably dates to the middle of the 8 th century B.C. The traditional date for the founding of Rome is 753 B.C. Romulus and Remus, a pair of twins who had been abandoned and then suckled by a wolf, began to build a small town on a hill top. Their town was given the name Roma, and their language was an early form of Latin. WHAT IS LATIN?

Early Latin developed by borrowing from the languages of more advanced neighbors like the Etruscans and Greeks. BORROWINGS

The Romans developed an alphabet that was close to the Etruscan alphabet in this chart. English uses the Roman alphabet, with a few minor changes and additions. ALPHABET Archaic Latin alphabet ABCDEFZHIKLMNOPQRSTVX

The Latin language evolved to fill the needs of the Roman people. War, agriculture and political struggle kept most Romans busy, leaving little time for writing literature. EVOLUTION

During the last century before the birth of Christ, Romans became increasingly interested in writing literature of various types. They wrote comedy and drama for the stage, epic adventures, histories and speeches. Much of what they produced was influenced by or an imitation of the superior Greek civilization they had encountered and conquered. THE LATE REPUBLIC

It was during the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor (31 B.C. – 14 A.D.), that Latin literature reached its highest point, culminating in the poetry of Vergil, Horace and Ovid. There were, of course, many other remarkable writers both before and after this period, most notably Cicero, whose prose is considered by many to have been the model of Latin style. THE GOLDEN AGE

After the collapse of the Roman empire in A.D. 410, Latin continued to play a central role in western Europe, particularly in the Catholic church, where it was the official language, and in the universities, where it continued for a long time to be the language for teaching, learning, science and scholarship. THE MIDDLE AGES

The Latin language was central to the movement known as the Renaissance (rebirth). Beginning in the 14 th century in Italy, European intellectuals began to rediscover and apply the knowledge of ancient Greece and Rome. The process of finding and making sense of the manuscripts that lay undiscovered or ignored for so long was a terribly difficult process. Once again, however, the Latin language became the vehicle for bringing a new vitality and intellectual energy to the civilization of western Europe. REBIRTH

The debate continues to this day. Is LATIN alive or dead? You decide. ALIVE OR DEAD?