Definition of Dead Tongue

Linguists claim that a language is considered dead or extinct when no speaker uses it in their communication common in a community of speakers. Some dead languages ​​are still used in the context of the liturgy. In the field academic Latin and classical Greek are present in educational programs.

Examples of extinct languages

- Dalmatian or Dalmatian was spoken on the Dalmatian coasts and in a part of Albania until the 19th century (officially it is an extinct language because its last speaker, Antonio Udina, died in 1898).

- The Coptic became extinct in approximately the seventeenth century. Today it is only used in liturgical acts among Coptic Christians in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea or the city of Jerusalem.

- Spanish is spoken in the Canary Islands, but until the eighteenth century various Guanche languages ​​were used. Today some words are still used as place names.

- The ancient inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula spoke Iberian. In the 1920s the Spanish archaeologist Manuel Gómez Moreno managed to decipher the secrets of the

writing Iberian.

- In Argentina and Uruguay the so-called Charruas languages ​​were spoken in the pre-Hispanic stage (a reduced vocabulary is known about these languages, but their grammatical structure is ignored).

Is Latin a dead language?

Latin is sometimes claimed to be a dead language, but this label is quite questionable. It must be borne in mind that until the 18th century it was the majority language in the international scientific community. Today the Vatican continues to use it in its official documents and Christian theology could not be understood without knowing this language in depth.

If a person wants to know the etymology of a word, it is very likely that the original word comes from Latin. Some radios transmit their programming in this language, as with Radio Bremen in Germany or Radio Yle in Finland. On the other hand, the French Assimil method is considered to be the most suitable for getting started in this language.

For Latinists it is a living language because it is still used in biology for the classification of living beings and in legal terminology

Certain expressions are the literal translation of Latin phrases (action for damages and prejudices Equivalent to actio damni infecti, act as a precaution comes from ad cautelam and the intention to pay comes from the expression animus solvendi).

In Spanish there are innumerable Latinisms that we use on a daily basis: a priori and a posteriori, roughly, deficit, surplus, requiem, status, ad hoc, alter ego, cum laude or carpe diem. On synthesis, we could affirm that we speak and write in Latin without realizing it.

Photo: David

Dead Language Topics