Latin (language)

Latin is an ancient language originally from the town of Latium which was conquered by the ancient Romans. In the Aeneid, Virgil suggests that the reason that the conquering peoples (the Romans) adopted the Latin language (of the Latins) was because of a deal brokered between the goddess Juno and her husband (and brother) Jupiter, on the condition that Aeneas would be able to found the city of Rome if the Latin language was allowed to predominate. But the real reasons why Latin came to dominate are not well understood. When Rome conquered the lands and peoples surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, Latin became the standard language or lingua franca of the civilized world. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Latin was preserved in monasteries in Western Europe and it remained the language of scholarship and study.

Latin is thought of as a Romance language and has an important influence on the subsequent development of other languages throughout Europe, including Aragonese, Corsican, Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Sardinian, Spanish and others. Many languages, including English have a rich mixture of Latin words in their vocabularies.