The Italic family of the centum branch of Indo-European languages is where Latin finds a home, among a multitude of languages and dialects. Some of the modern Romance languages that owe their origin to Latin are French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian. English, however, is often mistaken for a Romance language by beginning Latin students because of the huge number of words in English with direct and indirect Latin origins.
Although Latin scholars disagree on the beginning and ending dates for the different periods in the language’s history, Latin can be broken down into seven periods with approximate dates given below:
Old Latin (origin – 75 B.C.)
Classical Latin (75 B.C.E. – 200 A.D.)
Vulgar Latin (200 – 900)
Medieval Latin (900 – 1300)
Renaissance Latin (1300 to 1500)
New Latin (1500 – Present)
Contemporary Latin (1900 – Present)
The following articles present a brief history of the Latin language periods, providing a synopsis of cultural, grammatical, and style differences that mark each major division. In addition and where appropriate, it is indicated where Latin has had an influence on modern languages both subordinate and cognate to Latin.
It should be noted that most modern Latin courses are based on the classical period. This period is noted for its important works by Caesar, Cicero, Augustus and other prominent authors of the time. It may be interesting to the beginning student to witness the evolution of Latin though the classical period and beyond to gain a clearer perspective of the language. Students should especially take note of the cultural issues shaping the language.
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