Karla Chapin, age 15, of Reno, Nev., for her question:
HOW DID LATIN DEVELOP?
Latin was the leading language of western Europe for hundreds of years. It was the language of the Roman Empire. Although it has not been in general use since the Middle Ages, Latin formed the basis of the Romance languages.
Latin developed from ancient times. The language was only one of several related tongues spoken in ancient Italy.
The earliest Latin was a crude, underdeveloped language sometimes called preliterate Latin. This early form has come down to us through inscriptions and religious texts.
During the 200s and 100s B.C., Latin changed from a mere common dialect to a literary language. It reached its highest point of perfection in the classical Latin of the Ciceronian and Augustan ages from 100 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. This 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 invasion of the Roman Empire added new vocabulary to Latin and further altered the language.
In the Middle Ages, Latin changed a great deal. The Roman language had a strong influence throughout western Europe and 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.
Changes in the common tongue after the Roman Empire split gave rise to the Romance languages of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian.
Meanwhile, scholars continued to use a form of literate Latin in the schools and monasteries of Europe, as well as in official documents. This derived form is commonly called Medieval Latin.
Latin still ranks as an important subject in many schools. Until the 1900s, all college men had to be able to read the great Latin masters fluently, and they were also required to write original Latin essays and poems.
It wasn't too long ago when no college student could earn an A.B. degree without studying Latin. Many colleges and universities in the United States have now abandoned this requirement. But most English and European institutions of higher learning, however, still retain it.
Students of Latin gain a background in grammar and vocabulary that helps in the study of all living languages.