Now let's figure out why no one speaks Caesar's language in the kitchen, but everyone understands it.
What does “dead language” even mean? (A bit boring)
In linguistics, the term “dead language” is not about a cemetery and crosses. It is a purely technical status, like “account inactive.”
A language is considered dead when it is no longer spoken to children as a native language. That is, the last child to whom a mother sang a lullaby in Latin grew up about 1,500 years ago. Since then, Latin has become a professional tool: for doctors, lawyers, biologists, and boys in the Vatican.
Latina is like a skeleton under our skin. No one shows it off (that would be strange), we only see a living face and facial expressions. But try to remove the bones – and this organism instantly turns into a shapeless mass.
Folk Latin: Surzhik of Legionnaires
We used to think of Latin as the language of high culture: Cicero, Virgil, pompous speeches in the Senate… Forget it. It was the language of the elite — about 1% of the population.
The real guys—legionaries, merchants, and colonists—spoke the so-called “popular Latin.” It was a classic, hard-boiled vernacular. They didn’t bother with complex cases, they swallowed endings, and mixed words with local barbarian dialects.
When the Roman Empire “fell apart” in the West, this “military slang” remained the only means of communication. The Gauls, Goths, and Huns were too lazy to learn complex grammar, so they adopted a simplified version. It resembles modern English: in London it is one thing, and in a hotel in Turkey it is completely different.
Why hasn't this Surzhik been preserved as a single language?
The reason was economics and logistics. The Roman Empire was like the European Union: open borders, a single currency, perfect roads (which, by the way, still exist today). You could travel from Britain to Crimea and be understood everywhere. But when the empire fell, this single network of communication that united millions of people also broke down.
- Logistics disappeared. Roads became dangerous, trade stopped.
- Isolation. Former provinces turned into closed farms (fiefdoms).
- Lack of a standard. There were no more Roman legions, no one could come and say, “Hey, speak properly!”
In isolation, “folk Latin” began to mutate. In France, it mixed with Gallic dialects, in Spain with local ones, and in Romania with Dacian ones.
A real “Broken Telephone”, which lasted for several centuries. As a result, we got a group of Romance languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian. This is not the “death” of Latin. It is, rather, a natural evolution. Latin gave life to new languages.
And what is there in the East? (Byzantine direction)
The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) survived and lasted another thousand years. But Latin did not take root there. Why? Because there was already a powerful player there – the Greek language.
Greek culture was so powerful and ancient that even the Romans respected it. Therefore, Byzantium quickly officially switched to Greek, consigning Latin to the dustbin of history long before the West.
Sabir: a linguistic Frankenstein
When Latin finally became the language of books and the church, the holy place was not left empty. A Lingua Franca (or sabir) emerged in the Mediterranean.
It was a wild cocktail of Italian, Arabic, Spanish, and Turkish. A purely commercial project: a language created to sell carpets or negotiate the price of spices. It wasn't used to write poetry or declare love, it was used to conduct business. It lasted until the 18th century, when it was supplanted by national languages.
So is this language alive or not?
Today's Latin is like the grandfather who built the house you live in. He's long gone, but the foundation, the walls, and even the old sideboard are his work.
Are you using the words “alibi” or “virus”? Are you learning Spanish? Are you trying to decipher a doctor's prescription? It's all the same Latin.
The legacy of Rome has not disappeared, it has simply become part of our present.
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