During ancient times, the people of Rome commonly spoke and understood Latin and Greek. However, each city and province also had a regional language such as Aramaic for citizens of Syria and Mesopotamia, Syrian for citizens of Antioch, Punic for Carthaginians, Coptic for Ancient Egyptians, and Celtic for citizens of Gaul including France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Northwest Italy.
These local languages were spoken due to the trading activities of Rome which allowed traders and travelers to come and go from the city, speaking different languages. Furthermore, the Roman Empire acquired various slaves who also brought along their local languages.
Nonetheless, regardless of regional differences, every citizen living in Rome was expected to learn Latin and Greek as their primary languages. These two languages were used for official works, administrative and legislative tasks, political issues, and governmental duties. Most of the inscriptions on stone and clay, alongside the literature, were also primarily written in Latin.
The Latin language has evolved into modern languages since then, including Spanish, Italian, and French, and is spoken by approximately 700 million people across America, Africa, and Europe.
Latin in Ancient Rome
The citizens of Ancient Rome, particularly in the Western Mediterranean region, predominantly used Latin as their primary language. This language, known as Lingua Franca, was utilized in various fields, including administration, politics, military affairs, legislation, imperial or law, and literature.
The term Latin derived from Latini, the people who settled in Rome’s Latium around the 10th Century BCE. It was the official language of Rome until the 6th Century BCE, and it continued to be the most commonly used language in military service until 630 BCE.
Latin served as a potent medium for communication during wars and campaigns, as written inscriptions were crucial. Therefore, the military strategies of the Roman Empire were often documented in Latin.
Latin was further classified into three types- Old Latin, which originated circa 75 BCE; Classical Latin, which emerged between 75 BCE to 200 CE, and Vulgar Latin, which developed between 200 CE and 900 CE.
Although all three categories use almost the same letters, the lingua franca in Ancient Rome was Vulgar Latin. Additionally, the derivation of the modern Romance languages was from Vulgar Latin. Nonetheless, while the difference between the letters used in these three forms was not transparent, the sounds generated while speaking each distinct dialect were different.
Between 200 BCE and 100 CE, the Roman Empire extended its territory from the Iberian Peninsula to the western coast of the Black Sea, and during this time, Latin became dominant over other languages. Even after the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century, Latin continued to be used.
Vulgar Latin, which means “of the crowd”, “of the people”, or “of the masses”, was not considered rude or foul language. However, around 212 AD, the significant population of Rome lacked sufficient knowledge of Latin but was expected to have a basic understanding of the language.
Initially, only the Emperor, his family, and his friends used Latin. It gradually became familiar first to government officials, and then to the public. However, there were no proper means at that time to transfer written letters and notices to another city or empire.
A properly graveled road was constructed solely for transporting the letters of Roman Emperors, and any citizen found using this road would be punished. The only way to transfer a letter was to request a trusted person carrying the Emperor’s note to deliver it to the receiving person in secret. The letters were put in an oxen cart and pulled to the destination location.
Latin alphabets were derived from the Old Italic alphabet used by Etruscans who got it from Cumae. It, in turn, was derived from the Phoenician alphabet. The Latin language originated from the Latium region and from the Tiber River, which was the Roman Civilization’s origin.
The alphabet Y and Z were added during the Early Imperial Period around the 1st Century BC. The Latin language produced numerous Latin Literature surviving till today, including essays, poems, and even myths, which were polished and stylishly written in a manner known as Golden Latin, primarily around the 1st Century AD.
Although Latin was spoken and written almost all over Rome, the grammar and vocabulary were different in every region. Educated people, belonging to the noble class, first adopted this language, with many having Greek tutors, amongst the Greek slaves enslaved during the conquest of Greece by the Romans. The slaves included professors and intellectuals.
Greek in Ancient Rome
Greek Koine of Hellenism was an official language mostly spoken in the Eastern province of the Byzantine Empire. It continued to be used even after the Empire’s formation in the 7th Century BC and was made official by Emperor Heraclius. Greek gained further popularity after Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Eastern Region, and like Latin, it was used for official and diplomatic purposes inside and outside the borders of the Roman Empire.
The language played a significant role in the emergence and flourishing of Christianity in the region, with Christian leaders using it during councils, and it was also used in the New Testament in the Bible. In addition to the Bible, epistles were written to the Romans in Greek by Paul and the 4th Pope Clement, and Marcus Aurelius wrote his meditations in the language.
In the Roman Empire, Latin was considered the language of the noble and higher classes, while Greek was associated with the lower levels, particularly slaves, following Greece’s conquest by the Romans.
During the decline of the Empire in the Western provinces, Greek took over, becoming the dominant language in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 4th-5th centuries AD, when the Western Roman Empire lost its power, and the territory was split into different regions.
Greek became popular in Rome after the conquest of Greece and its surrounding territories. It was spoken and studied as the language of cultivation, used in plays by Plautus, and spoken by Cicero. The speech evolved from medieval Greek to modern Greek over time.
Despite the association with the lower classes, numerous Emperors, including Emperor Claudius, used both Latin and Greek languages during their reigns, and Claudius was the first to develop bilingualism in communicating and administrative work.
Roman Alphabet
The Latin Alphabet, also known as the Roman Alphabet, was initially derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics. It has undergone several changes and is currently still used in modern languages.
Initially, the Latin alphabet consisted of twenty-three letters, with twenty-one of them being derived from the Etruscan Alphabet. Some of these original letters were modified and differentiated to create additional letters.
For example, V was separated into V and U, while I was divided into J and I. Through these modifications, the original twenty-three letters have evolved into 26 letters in Modern English.
Although the date of exact origin is still unknown, the inscription of Latin letters on the Praeneste Fibula cloak pin dates back to the 7th century BC. This inscription reads, “MANOS MED FHEFHAKED NUMASIOI,” meaning “Manius made me for Numbers.”