Latin was the first real international language, much like the way English has adopted that role today. It was largely spread around Europe, North Africa, and also to a lesser extent into the Middle East, by the expanding Roman Empire. At the time it was used as a way to communicate for people living within the Roman Empire, and between the Empire and their allies. People were travelling to places they had never been before, and trade was flourishing between new territories, so a universal language to communicate with was essential.
Its spread into Europe had a massive influence on the languages that are now spoken in the majority of European countries. It was the basis for the Romance languages, of which the most widely spoken are Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan. For this reason many of the words spoken throughout the world today have their roots in Latin. But despite its wide influence throughout history, Latin is regarded as a dead language, even though it’s used more than you would believe.
Who still uses Latin?
You may be surprised to know just how much Latin is used in everyday language. Latin still has a dedicated following in religion, and is widely used within the Roman Catholic Church. Many clergymen for the Roman Catholic Church can speak Latin fluently. Official documents published by Vatican City are still written in Latin, as they were done in the days of the Roman Empire.
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