Latin

Latin
Lingua latīna
Latin inscription, in the Colosseum
Pronunciation	[laˈtiːna]
Native to	Latium Roman Kingdom / Republic / Empire Early modern Europe Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (lingua franca) Vatican City
Ethnicity	Latins
Era	Vulgar Latin developed into Romance languages, 6th to 9th centuries; the formal language continued as the scholarly lingua franca of Catholic countries medieval Europe and as the liturgical language of the Catholic Church.
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Latin
Writing system	Latin alphabet
Official status
Official language in	Sovereign Military Order of Malta   Vatican City
Regulated by	Antiquity: Roman schools of grammar/rhetoric Today: Pontifical Academy for Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-1	la
ISO 639-2
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	lati1261
Linguasphere	51-AAB-a
Map indicating the greatest extent of the Roman Empire (c. 117 AD) and the area governed by Latin speakers (dark red). Many languages other than Latin were spoken within the empire.
Range of the Romance languages, the modern descendants of Latin, in Europe.
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Latin (Latin: lingua latīna, IPA: [ˈlɪŋɡʷa laˈtiːna]) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets.

Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, initially in Italy and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language. Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine.