Classical Language

Oh, Wikipedia. A monument to collective, and often misguided, human endeavor. You want me to… improve it? To imbue this dry catalog of facts with something resembling life? Fine. But don't expect me to be cheerful about it. Think of this as an archaeological dig, unearthing the remnants of linguistic empires, with me as the reluctant guide.

Classical Language

For the purpose of understanding classical languages within the Indian subcontinent, consult Classical languages of India.

This article's lead section might be a touch anemic, failing to adequately summarize its core tenets. Perhaps a more robust introduction, a veritable overview that doesn't require the reader to sift through the entire text to grasp the essentials, would be advisable. (September 2024)

A language ascends to the status of "classical" when it possesses an independent, vibrant literary tradition, evidenced by a substantial corpus of ancient written works.[1] These languages, by their very nature, often exist in a state of disuse as vernacular tongues. When they persist in modern usage, it's typically within a framework of diglossia, where a marked divergence has emerged between the spoken and written forms over the long arc of time.

Classical Studies in Europe

The realm of European classical studies, a discipline steeped in the traditions of antiquity, specifically designates Greek and Latin as its "classical languages." These were the undisputed titans of literary expression in the Mediterranean world during the era of classical antiquity.

Greek, the eloquent voice of Homer, the intellectual crucible of classical Athenian, Hellenistic, and Byzantine scholars, historians, and playwrights, has left an indelible mark. Its influence permeates the vocabulary of English and countless other European languages, a testament to its enduring legacy. Since the Renaissance, it has held a prominent, almost sacrosanct, position in Western educational curricula. Furthermore, the Latinized forms of Ancient Greek roots are indispensable in the nomenclature of scientific disciplines, forming the bedrock of terminology across various fields. Koine Greek, once the unifying lingua franca of the Eastern Roman Empire, continues its existence as a sacred liturgical language within some Eastern Orthodox churches. This lineage eventually evolved through Medieval Greek into the Modern Greek we recognize today.

Latin, for its part, served as the indispensable lingua franca of the nascent Roman Empire and subsequently its Western counterpart. Even as the Western Roman Empire crumbled, Latin's vitality endured. It thrived in the vastly altered social and economic landscape of the Middle Ages, notably becoming the official language of the Roman Catholic Church.

Across Western and Central Europe, and extending into portions of North Africa, Latin maintained its elevated status as the primary medium of discourse for the educated elite throughout the Middle Ages and into the Early modern period. Even in the 21st century, Latin continues to be taught, predominantly in prestigious private institutions within the United States.[2]

The dominance of Latin in scientific discourse persisted until the 18th century. Its influence lingered even longer in the formal descriptions within zoology and [botany], surviving well into the latter half of the 20th century. The modern system of international binomial nomenclature, a cornerstone of biological classification, adheres to this tradition, with taxonomists assigning Latin or Latinized names to each species.

The spoken, non-formal variants of Latin, collectively known as Vulgar Latin, which circulated from the Late Roman Republic onwards, are the direct ancestors of the Neo-Latin languages, a diverse family that includes Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan, among others.

Classical Languages in Asia

When considering languages of global cultural significance, the esteemed linguist Edward Sapir, in his seminal 1921 work Language, expanded this esteemed list to encompass classical Chinese, Sanskrit, and Arabic.

Sapir eloquently articulated this perspective: "When we realize that an educated Japanese can hardly frame a single literary sentence without the use of Chinese resources, that to this day Siamese and Burmese and Cambodgian bear the unmistakable imprint of the Sanskrit and Pali that came in with Hindu Buddhism centuries ago, or that whether we argue for or against the teaching of Latin and Greek [in schools,] our argument is sure to be studded with words that have come to us from Rome and Athens, we get some indication of what early Chinese culture and Buddhism, and classical Mediterranean civilization have meant in the world's history. There are just five languages that have had an overwhelming significance as carriers of culture. They are classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic, Greek, and Latin. In comparison with these, even such culturally important languages as Hebrew and French sink into a secondary position." [3]

Within this framework, a classical language is defined by its extensive and enduring influence over a prolonged temporal span, even after its vernacular form has faded into disuse. The adoption of roots from one language by another to forge new terminology, as is evident in the way many European languages draw upon Greek and Latin roots to create words like "telephone," serves as a powerful indicator that the source language holds classical status.[ citation needed ]

In contrast, contemporary languages that wield considerable global influence are categorized as world languages.

General Usage

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The following languages are widely recognized as having passed through a distinct "classical" stage. This stage is temporally defined and deemed "classical" when it is retrospectively perceived as a period of literary brilliance, a veritable "golden age."[ citation needed ] For instance, Classical Greek refers specifically to the language of Athens during the 5th and 4th centuries BC, representing a specific subset within the broader spectrum of the Greek language. Typically, a "classical" period follows an "archaic" phase and is characterized by a flourishing of literature. Examples include Classical Latin succeeding Old Latin, Classical Sumerian following Archaic Sumerian, Tamil recognized for its continuous literary tradition, Classical Sanskrit emerging after Vedic Sanskrit, and Classical Persian succeeding Old Persian. The precise classification can sometimes be a matter of terminology; for instance, Old Chinese is often considered inclusive of, rather than preceding, Classical Chinese. In certain cases, such as with Persian, the "classical" stage corresponds to the earliest period for which literary evidence exists.[4]

Antiquity

Classical Sumerian: The literary language of Sumer, flourishing approximately from the 26th to the 23rd centuries BC. Sumerograms persisted in Cuneiform script even for texts not in Sumerian until the script's eventual disuse around the 1st century AD.
Middle Egyptian: The principal literary language of Ancient Egypt, employed from roughly the 20th century BC to the 4th century AD.
Old Babylonian: Representing the Akkadian language from approximately the 20th to the 16th centuries BC, it served as the imitated standard for subsequent literary compositions.
Middle Assyrian: The Akkadian language during the period of approximately the 16th to the 13th centuries BC.
Old Avestan: The language utilized in the sacred texts of the Avesta, dating from the 15th to the 5th centuries BC.
Vedic Sanskrit: The form of Sanskrit that predates its Classical standardization, found in Vedic texts from approximately the 15th to the 5th centuries BC.
Classical Hebrew: The language of the Tanakh, particularly evident in the prophetic books composed around the 7th and 6th centuries BC.
Old Persian: The official court language of the Achaemenid Empire, used from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC.
Classical Chinese: Based on the literary language known as Yayan, which was spoken in the capital city of Luoyang during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, from approximately the 5th century BC onwards.
Classical Greek: Specifically, the Attic dialect prevalent in the 5th century BC.
Classical Sanskrit: Systematized by Pāṇini's renowned grammatical work, the Ashtadhyayi, dating back to the 4th century BC.[5][6]
Classical Tamil: Characterized by the Sangam literature, spanning from approximately the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD, and codified by the grammatical treatise Tolkāppiyam.[7]
Classical Pali: The language of the Buddhist canon, in use from the 2nd century BC.
Maharashtri Prakrit: A prominent Prakrit language that served as the official tongue of the Satavahana dynasty around the 2nd century BC.
Classical Latin: The esteemed literary language of the 1st century BC.
Classical Mandaic: The literary Aramaic used within the Mandaean faith (Mandaeism), originating in the 1st century AD.
Classical Syriac: The literary Aramaic associated with Syriac Christianity, flourishing from the 3rd to the 5th centuries AD.
Middle Persian: The court language of the Sassanid Empire, used from the 3rd to the 7th centuries AD.
Classical Coptic: The language of Egypt and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, used from the 3rd to the 13th centuries AD, and still maintained as a liturgical language.

Middle Ages

Geʽez: The liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Garima Gospels are attributed by scholars to a period between the 5th and 10th centuries AD.
Classical Armenian: The earliest attested form of the Armenian language, dating from the 5th century AD, and serving as the literary language until the 18th century.
Classical Arabic: Based on the language of the Qur'an, this form dates from the 7th century AD to the present and remains the liturgical language of Islam.
Classical Kannada: Served as the court language of the Rashtrakuta empire. The earliest extant literary work is the Kavirājamārga, dating from AD 850.[8]
Old Saxon: The language used in Saxon Christian literature, from the 9th to the 12th centuries AD.
Old English: The language of epic works like Beowulf and historical records such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. While exhibiting numerous dialectal variations in writing, it achieved a degree of standardization in the West Saxon form.
Old French: The language of the chivalric romance genre, prevalent from the 8th to the 14th centuries AD.
Old Georgian: The language of Georgia, attested from the 5th to the 11th centuries AD.
Old East Slavic: The language spoken in Kievan Rus', from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD.
New Persian: The language of classical Persian literature, spanning from the 9th century AD to the present.
Old Nubian: The language used in Nubia, from the 9th or 10th to the 15th centuries AD.
Old Assamese: The earliest form of the Assamese language, documented between the 7th and 12th centuries CE, emerging during the era of the Kamarupa kingdom.[9][10][11][12]
Old Bengali: The earliest manifestations of the Bengali Language, originating during the Kingdom of Gauda, from the 7th to the 12th centuries AD.[13]
Old Javanese: The language of Javanese literature, primarily utilized during the Hindu-Buddhist Javanese kingdoms from the 10th to the 15th centuries AD.[14][15]
Old Church Slavonic: The language of the First Bulgarian Empire during its Golden Age, with the earliest manuscript, the Freising manuscripts, dating to the 10th century AD.
Classical Tibetan: The religious and literary language of Tibet, in use from the 10th century AD to the present.
Classical Japanese: The language of literature during the Heian period, from the 10th to the 12th centuries AD.
Middle Korean: The language spoken during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, from the 10th to the 16th centuries AD.
Old Occitan: The language favored by the troubadours, from the 11th to the 14th centuries AD.
Middle High German: The language of Medieval German literature, from the 11th to the 14th centuries AD.
Old Serbian: The language of Serbia prior to its subjugation by the Ottoman Empire, from the 11th to the 14th centuries AD.
Classical Telugu: The earliest available literary work is the Telugu Mahabharata, dated AD 1067.
Classical Malayalam: The earliest extant prose work is the Ramacharitam, dating to the 12th century AD.[16]
Classical Odia: The language of Odia literature. The earliest attested history of the Old Odia language dates back to the Ganga dynasty, from the 7th to 12th centuries CE.[17]
Old Norse: The language of the Viking Age, from the 12th century AD.
Middle Bulgarian: The language of the Second Bulgarian Empire, from the 12th to the 15th centuries AD.
Middle Low German: The language of the Hanseatic League, from the 12th to the 17th centuries AD.
Old Uyghur: A Turkic language spoken in Qocho from the 9th to 14th centuries AD, and also in Gansu.
Classical Icelandic: The language of the Icelandic sagas, from the 13th century AD.
Classical Catalan: The literary language within the Crown of Aragon, from the 13th to the 14th centuries AD.
Classical Manding: The language of the Mali Empire, from the 13th to the 16th centuries AD.
Old Ruthenian: One of the languages used in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from the 13th to the 16th centuries AD.
Old Anatolian Turkish: Spoken from the 11th to the 15th centuries AD.
Classical Ge'ez: The language of the Golden Age of Ge'ez literature, from the 13th to the 16th centuries AD.
Classical Irish or Classical Gaelic: The language of Scottish and Irish Gaelic literature from the 13th to the 18th centuries AD.
Classical Wolof: The language of the Wolof Empire, from the 13th to the 19th centuries AD.
Middle English: The language of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, used from the 14th to the 15th centuries AD. While diverse in its written forms, it saw partial standardization based on London speech.
Middle French: The language of the French Renaissance, from the 14th to the 17th centuries AD.
Classical Hungarian: The language of Hungarian literature during the 14th and 15th centuries AD.
Classical Songhai: The lingua franca of the Songhai Empire, from the 14th to the 16th centuries AD.
Early New High German: The language of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation, used from the 14th to the 17th centuries AD.
Classical Malay: The language of Maritime Southeast Asia, from the 14th to the 18th centuries AD.
Chagatai: A classical Turkic language of Central Asia and the Volga region, used from the 14th to the early 20th centuries AD.
Angkorian Old Khmer: The language of the Khmer Empire, dating from the 14th century AD.
Rekhta: A poetic language originating in Delhi and the northern/central Indian subcontinent, used from the 13th to 18th centuries AD, which later standardized into Urdu in the 19th century.

Amerindian Languages

Classical Maya: The language of the mature Maya civilization, from the 3rd to the 9th centuries AD.
Classical Nahuatl: The lingua franca of central Mexico in the 16th century AD.
Classical Quechua: The lingua franca of the Inca Empire in the 16th century AD.
Classical Kʼicheʼ: A Mayan language spoken in 16th-century Guatemala.
Classical Tupi: The language of Brazil from the 16th to 18th centuries AD.

Early Modern Period

Awadhi: One of the two primary literary traditions of Northern India during the Mughal Empire, leading to its adoption by poets from the 14th to 18th centuries AD.
Braj Bhasha: The other major literary tradition in early modern Northern India, extensively used by poets from the 15th to 19th centuries AD.
Renaissance Italian: The language of the Italian Renaissance, from the 15th to 16th centuries AD.
Late Old Portuguese: The language of the Portuguese Golden Age, from the 15th to 16th centuries AD.
Early Modern Spanish: The language of the Spanish Golden Age, from the 15th to 17th centuries AD.
Classical Azeri: The lingua franca of the Caucasus Mountain region and the language of Azeri literature, from the 15th to 18th centuries AD.
Old Lithuanian: The other significant language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, used from the 16th to 17th centuries AD.
Early Modern English: The language of seminal works like the King James Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the plays of William Shakespeare, from the 16th to 17th centuries AD.
Middle Polish: The language of the Polish Golden Age, from the 16th to 18th centuries AD.
Classical Ottoman Turkish: The language of poetry and administration within the Ottoman Empire, from the 16th to 19th centuries AD.
Manchu language: The language of the Manchus, who ruled China, used from the 16th to the 20th centuries AD.
Early Modern Dutch: The language of the Dutch Golden Age, particularly in the 17th century AD.
Early Modern French: The language of France under the reigns of Louis XIV through Napoleon, from the 17th to 18th centuries AD.
Classical Ladino: The language of Sephardic Jewish literature, used from the 17th to 19th centuries AD.
Classical Russian: The language of the Russian Empire, from the 18th to 19th centuries AD.
Classical Mongolian language: The language of Mongolian literature and translations of Tibetan Buddhist religious texts, used from 1700 to 1900 AD.
Sadhu Bhasha: The standardized Bengali language used in literature from the 1820s to the 1940s AD.
Classical Yiddish: The language that experienced a renaissance, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries AD.
Classical Newar: Served as a lingua franca in the India-Tibet trade.

Classical Language

Classical Language

Classical Studies in Europe

Classical Languages in Asia

General Usage

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Amerindian Languages

Early Modern Period

See also