Native Name: Latin (lingua latīna)
Number of Speakers:
Official language of: Vatican City
Script used: Latin
Sample of Latin
British Pennies showing Latin Inscription (1945 and 1926)
Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, the one which was used in the Roman Catholic church and nowadays it is the language of the Vatican State in Italy. Latin is not a ‘living tongue’ and as such is spoken only as a second language. Latin and its daughter Romance languages are the only surviving branch of the Italic language family. Other branches, known as Italic languages, are attested in documents surviving from early Italy, but were assimilated during the Roman Republic. The one possible exception is Venetic, the language of the people who settled Venetia, who in Roman times spoke their language in parallel with Latin.
In the classical world Latin was the lingua-franca of the educated. During the 15th century, it began to lose its dominant position as the main language of scholarship and religion throughout Europe. It was largely replaced by written versions of the vernacular languages of Europe, many of which are descendants of Latin or have been heavily influenced by it, including French and Italian. Despite being a ‘dead language’ Adelphi have been involved in translating Latin to English for historical documents and certificates.
Latin Translation, Typesetting, Websites, Voice-Overs and Subtitles
Adelphi Translations Ltd. work translating Latin to English and English to Latin. We also produce voice recordings and subtitles for video in Latin as well as translation and localisation of web sites into Latin. We are based in Sheffield, UK and handle language projects for local clients in commercial centres such as Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and London but also have many International clients from around the world.
