Describing the languages of the world, linguistic scientists usedifferent principles of classification. Languages are grouped according to the geographical (territorial) principle, the proximity of the grammatical structure, the sign of linguistic relevance, the use in living everyday speech.
Using the last criterion, the researcherssubdivide all the languages of the world into two large groups - the living and dead languages of the world. The main sign of the first - their use in everyday spoken language, language practice relatively large community of people (people). Live language is constantly used in everyday communication, changing, becoming more complicated or simplifying with time.
The most notable changes occur in vocabulary(vocabulary) language: some words become obsolete, acquires an archaic coloring, and, on the contrary, new and new words (neologisms) appear to denote new concepts. Other systems of language (morphological, phonetic, syntactic) are more inert, change very slowly and hardly noticeable.
The dead language, unlike the living one, is notIt is used in everyday language practice. All its systems are unchanged, they are conserved, unchanging elements. The dead language is imprinted in various written monuments.
All dead languages can be divided into two largegroups: first, those that used to be used in the distant past for live communication and subsequently, for various reasons, ceased to be used in living human communication (Latin, Ancient Greek, Coptic, Old Norse, Gothic). The second group of dead languages are those on which no one has ever spoken; they were created specifically to perform any functions (for example, the Old Slavonic language, the language of Christian liturgical texts, appeared). The dead language is most often transformed into any living, actively used (so, the Ancient Greek gave way to modern languages and dialects of Greece).
Latin language occupies a very special place among the rest. Without a doubt, Latin is a dead language: in a living conversational practice, it is not used until about the sixth century AD.
But, on the other hand, the Latin found the mostwide application in pharmaceutics, medicine, scientific terminology, Catholic worship (Latin - the official "state" language of the Holy See and Vatican State). As you can see, "dead" Latin is actively used in various spheres of life, science, cognition. All serious philological institutions of higher education necessarily include Latin in the curriculum, thus preserving the traditions of classical humanitarian education. In addition, this dead language is the source of brief and capacious aphorisms that have passed through the ages: if you want peace, prepare for war; memento Mori; doctor, heal yourself - all these winged expressions "come" from Latin. Latin - a very logical and harmonious language, cast, no frills and verbal husks; it is not only used for utilitarian purposes (writing prescriptions, the formation of a scientific thesaurus), but it is also, to some extent, a model, a standard of language.
