Stages and Registers of the Latin Language
Because Latin was spoken and written from the 6th century BC (the time of the first written testimony) until the 8th century AD (when Romance languages appeared, and even then, it remained in worship), and because it was used by speakers of diverse geographical origins, social classes, and cultural backgrounds, two types of classifications can be made:
- A chronological classification, highlighting the different stages of the language.
- A classification based on the social class of speakers and the context of use, i.e., the registers of the Latin language.
Stages
Archaic Latin (6th – 2nd Century BC)
This is the formative stage of Latin, encompassing the first written records, usually inscriptions on everyday objects, and the first literary texts by authors such as Livius Andronicus (the first writer in Latin), Cato, Plautus, and Terence. Latin was influenced by Greek and Etruscan.
Classical Latin (1st Century BC – 1st Century AD)
This is the stage of full maturity of Latin, when it became the official language of the Roman Empire. It is also the period of maximum splendor of Latin literature, with important authors like Caesar, Cicero, Virgil, Ovid, and Horace. Latin is characterized by strict adherence to grammatical rules.
Post-Classical Latin (1st – 2nd Century AD)
This is a Baroque stage of Latin, with a language full of archaisms and popular features. It was used by writers such as Tacitus, Seneca, Martial, Petronius, Lucan, and Suetonius, marking the end of the great Latin literature.
Late Latin (3rd – 7th Century AD)
This stage marks the end of the great age of Latin literature until the time when Latin, due to progressive linguistic fragmentation, was replaced by Romance languages in spoken form. It is characterized by the influence of the vernacular on the written language.
Medieval Latin (8th – 14th Century)
In this stage, Latin became a written language used only by men of culture. While claiming to follow Classical Latin, it innovated with many linguistic elements from the Romance languages that were used orally by the majority of the population.
Humanistic Latin (15th – 16th Century)
This stage aimed at an unrealistic restoration of Latin, both spoken and written, intending to recover the purity and perfection of the language used by Latin authors of the Classical period.
Neo-Latin (20th – 21st Century)
This stage aims to reinvigorate Latin as a living language of communication. In an attempt to modernize the language of the ancient Romans, and to bring it closer to the reality of the 20th century, the Vatican’s Latinitas association, where Latin is the official language, produced a dictionary with 15,000 new words translated from the modern world, drawing from all Romance languages.
Registers
Literary Latin
This is the official Latin used by writers in their literary works and by officials in their documents. It is characterized by strict adherence to all grammatical rules and did not undergo many alterations or changes throughout its existence.
Vulgar Latin
This is the colloquial mode of Latin spoken by ordinary people. It is characterized by not following strict grammatical rules and, as a living, spontaneous language, it continuously innovated and evolved rapidly. The various Romance languages emerged from this popular trend of Vulgar Latin.