Latin

Latin was the language of the Roman Empire. Originally spoken only in and near the city of Rome, Latin became the official language of business and government as the Roman Empire spread to most of Western Europe. Classical Latin was the language of literature and the language spoken in the Senate, while the common people and Roman soldiers spoke a variant the language known as Vulgar Latin. Many people living in Roman provinces spoke local languages. These local languages blended with Vulgar Latin—the language of the Roman soldiers--to form what we now call Romance languages. Romance refers to the fact that the languages originated in Rome. Today there are approximately twenty-five commonly spoken Romance languages. They include Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Romanian.

Latin is the language of the Roman Catholic Church and the official language of the Vatican city-state. Many students throughout the world continue to study Latin, as Latin vocabulary is still widely used in law, medicine and philosophy. E pluribus unum ("out of many, one") is a Latin phrase found on most American currency.

Most Europeans speak Romance, Germanic or Slavic languages. Germanic languages are spoken primarily in northern Europe, including the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. English is classified as a Germanic language. Slavic languages are spoken primarily in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia and Serbia.

Many people in Western Europe once spoke Celtic languages before the expansion of the Roman Empire. Few people speak Celtic languages today, though the influence of the Celtic people lives on in stories and myths. Leprechauns, Halloween and the Blarney Stone are remnants of Celtic culture. In Ireland and Wales, students are often encouraged to study traditional Celtic languages, but most Irish and Welch people speak English in everyday conversation.