Vernacular Language Research Paper

Abstract: In a way, Latin can be called the common mother tongue of Western European culture, which has influenced the development of all major European languages (Ristikivi, 2005). Most people are familiar with statement, but how did this ancient language not get lost throughout the years? There are a few reasons why the Latin language is ingrained in our languages until today.

During the 14th century the use of vernacular language spread throughout most of Europe. Before this time, the common language was Latin and was only taught to people of a certain social class. This left most of the people illiterate and forced to create a form a Latin to speak. The French
Alot of our modern day medical and legal languages are derived of Latin. The conquest and development of the Roman empire made Latin the primary language of the early medieval times. Since Rome was one of the greatest empire that the world has seen, it is bound to have left major foot prints in the history of culture. The vernacular languages were all very similar forms of Latin. They differed from city to city, subculture to subculture making thousands of languages. Some of the strongest languages that still exist today, all derived from their mother language, Latin. This is where humanism at its best began to take place. Humanism is defined as the recovery, study, and spread of the art and literature of Greece and Rome (retrieved from www.marriamwbster.com). With all the different cities desiring to keep hold of their culture and spread the language, Latin became ingrained in all languages. After the Roman Empire had collapsed, Rome was destroyed, but Latin still stood strong in communication between governments and recorded documents. Latin was still used, despite vernacular languages, in schools, churches, and scientific realms. Educated people used Latin as their language. There was a clear social difference during the Middle Ages for people who were fluent in