Comments on: Do people still speak Latin in everyday life?

By: Cynthia C

Cynthia C — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

Like you said, if you live in Vatican City, you’d use it with some frequency, but it isn’t a spoken language today.

Also, the Latin we learn in school is not the Latin that was actually spoken by ancient Romans, which is what we call "vulgar Latin." The Latin we learn in school (if you are unfortunate enough to have to learn Latin) is closer to the ecclesiastical Latin used by the Catholic Church. It was the "proper" Latin that was used in formal settings (like the Roman Senate, for example, and in the literature from the era that we still have). Vulgar Latin and Classical Latin were actually fairly different. Romance Languages are derived from Vulgar Latin, if you want to get technical.

For some time, Latin was used as sort of the international language, the lingua franca, in Europe to communicate with people from other European countries in academic and governmental settings. That’s why a lot of treatises and the like that we read from great thinkers of the Enlightenment and the Renaissance were written in Latin (Descartes and Newton, for example, wrote their major works in Classical Latin). Today, some call English the international language, mostly for commercial purposes.

And unless you’re speaking to a priest, you’ll probably get some funny looks and snickers if you try to speak to a 21st Century Roman in Latin.

By: Nerdly Stud

Nerdly Stud — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

People speak Italian in Rome. Although there is or use to be a Scandinavian country that has radio broadcasts in Latin. Don’t remember if it was ecclesiastical pronunciation or regular.

By: satirecafe

satirecafe — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

only few people- if you want to communicate with people in rome learn italian, and alot speak english.

By: Marco

Marco — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

No, but I went to church the other day and they gave the service in Latin (parts of it)

By: applechick282

applechick282 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

Kinda. All of the "romance" languages are derived from Latin. Italian and Spanish included.

By: Kayl Q

Kayl Q — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

I think they call Latin a dead language for a reason. People in Rome speak Italian, and as stated Latin is used in the Vatican, but not in everyday life. However, Latin is the root language of many other languages and learning it will without a doubt improve your vocabulary skills and come in handy when learning languages like French, Italian, or Spanish.

By: Kelli

Kelli — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

You are better to learn Italian. Latin would be beneficial if you wanted to be a doctor.

By: wise

wise — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

latin is only used by a very few people !

By: Spreet

Spreet — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

carpe diem!

By: AlpineAlli

AlpineAlli — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:50:02 +0000

I was in the Vatican a few months ago and I didn’t hear any Latin. I’m pretty sure the signs weren’t in Latin, even the ones in several languages telling you not to wear shorts.
The pope and the cardinals and priests there probably sometimes have private conversations in Latin, since they would have that language in common and not necessarily any other.

People in Rome speak Italian, which is derived from Latin but has changed over the centuries.

On another note, I encountered a woman on-line who was trying to raise her daughter speaking Latin from birth. She said she and other Latin speakers sometimes went to Latin conferences.