Ancient language
Language originated in times that may be referred to as ancient
An ancient language is any language originating in times that may be referred to as ancient. There are no formal criteria for deeming a language ancient, but a traditional convention is to demarcate as "ancient" those languages that existed prior to the 5th century. Linguist Roger Woodward has said that "[p]erhaps, then, what makes an ancient language different is our awareness that it has outlived those for whom it was an intimate element of the psyche".
By this definition, the term includes languages attested from ancient times in the list of languages by first written accounts, and described in historical linguistics, and particularly the languages of classical antiquity, such as Ancient Greek and Latin. The term may include some extinct languages.
01Popular culture
The description of fictional races and realms having their own "ancient languages" adds depth and richness to storytelling, even if the vocabulary and grammar of the languages themselves is never provided. Examples of this include a fictional language in The Inheritance Cycle young-adult novels, the language of the race called Ancients in the Mythology of Stargate, and various languages in writings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ancient language”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- ANCIENT MEETEI LANGUAGE.jpg by Haoreima, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.