Sandra Bolden, age 14, of Tacoma, Wash., for her question:
HOW DID LATIN DEVELOP?
Latin as a language has not been in general use since the Middle Ages. But it formed the basis of the Romance languages and influenced many others.
Latin was only one of several related languages spoken in ancient Italy. Other dialects, such as Oscan, were fully as old. But they died out as the influence of Latin spread.
The earliest Latin was a crude, undeveloped tongue sometimes called preliterary Latin. This early form has come down to us through inscriptions and religious texts. During the 2009 and 100s B.C., Latin changed from a mere common dialect to a literary language.
Latin reached its highest point of perfection in the classical Latin of the Ciceronian and Augustan ages (101 B.C. to A.D. 14). Majestic verbal effects were achieved by Cicero and Caesar in prose and by Virgil and Horace in poetry.
Classical Latin differed from most other languages in that it had no dialects. But a vernacular, or common, Latin developed side by side with literary Latin.
The lingua Romana, or Roman language, underwent many changes after the so called Golden Age. Inflections were dropped and words became simplified. The advent of Christianity and the barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire added new vocabulary to Latin and further altered the langauge.
In the Middle Ages, Latin changed a great deal. The lingua Romana had a strong influence throughout Western Europe. By the 400s it had entirely replaced literary Latin as a spoken language.
After the Roman Empire fell apart, various localities in the Roman world continued to make changes in the common tongue. It was these local variations that gave rise to the Romance languages French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian.
Meanwhile, scholars continued to use a form of literary Latin in schools and monasteries.
Latin has been an important school subject since the Middle Ages, and it remains high in popularity in many schools today. Latin is said to have important educational values because of its precision and logical exactness.
The student of Latin also learns to derive the meanings of English words from the related Latin. He gains a background in grammar and vocabulary that will help him learn living languages.
Scholars estimate that about half of all English words in current use are of Latin origin. Most of them were borrowed from Old French and reflect forms and meanings that Latin words had acquired in that language.
But scholars also borrowed many words directly from Latin.
The vast majority of English abstract words are Latin in origin. When we speak of the "power of liberty," the "spirit of independence" or the "virtue of charity," the two important words in each phrase are Latin.
The richness and variety of English owe much to the contributions of Latin.