Why is Latin a dead language?
The unification of the old popular dialects of the plebs (the vulgarized Latin spread by the legionaries and the elites) gradually supplanted the Latin language and the former were imposed as official languages of the kingdoms of Europe.
Today, the Latin language is considered extinct. But what defines a dead language?
We speak of a dead language when no one speaks it anymore: nowadays, no one speaks Latin as their mother tongue.
And then? What caused the death of the Latin ?
The causes are multiple: historical, cultural and political reasons.
However, the debate remains open: some argue that the decline of Latin is closely linked to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
First, Latin ceases to spread as the only language of communication, since it is no longer necessary to take an oath of loyalty and obedience to Roman authority.
Later, Latin was no longer used as a living language. Throughout the centuries, no non-ecclesiastical person could understand Latin: the Catholic Church was the only institution that preserved this Indo-European language as the official language.
The progressive abandonment of Latin and the appreciation of the national language also becomes a means for kings and emperors to secure power, through the diffusion of a feeling of belonging to a country and the materialization of a collective national identity. Why is Latin a dead language?
