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Contemporary Latin is the form of the
Literary Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later periods ...
used since the end of the 19th century. Various kinds of contemporary Latin can be distinguished, including the use of
New Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy a ...
words in
taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. A ...
and in
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
generally, and the fuller ecclesiastical use in the Catholic Church – but Living or Spoken Latin (the use of Latin as a language in its own right as a full-fledged means of expression) is the primary subject of this article.


Token Latin

Latin is still present in words or phrases used in many languages around the world, as a relic of the great importance of
New Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy a ...
, which was the formerly dominant international ''
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' down to the 19th century in a great number of fields. Some minor communities also use Latin in their speech.


Mottos

The official use of Latin in previous eras has survived at a symbolic level in many mottos that are still being used and even coined in Latin to this day. Old mottos like , found in 1776 on the Seal of the United States, along with and , and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782, are still in use. Similarly, current
pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
coins are minted with the Latin inscription ''CHARLES III·D·G·REX·F·D'' (, i.e. King by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith), although, unlike previous monarchs, King
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
uses the English version of his name, not the Latin. The official motto of the multilingual European Union, adopted as recently as 2000, is the Latin . Similarly, the motto on the
Canadian Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC; french: Croix de Victoria) was created in 1993, perpetuating the lineage of the British Victoria Cross, while serving as the highest award within the Canadian honours system, taking precedence over all other orders, deco ...
is in Latin, perhaps due to Canada's bilingual status.


Fixed phrases

Some common phrases that are still in use in many languages have remained fixed in Latin, like the well-known , or .


In science

In fields as varied as mathematics, physics, astronomy, medicine, pharmacy, biology, and philosophy, Latin still provides internationally accepted names of concepts, forces, objects, and organisms in the natural world. The most prominent retention of Latin occurs in the classification of living organisms and the
binomial nomenclature In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
devised by Carl Linnaeus, although the rules of nomenclature used today allow the construction of names which may deviate considerably from historical norms. Another continuation is the use of Latin names for the constellations and celestial objects (used in the
Bayer designations A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer designations contained 1,564 stars. T ...
of stars), as well as
planets A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
and satellites, whose surface features have been given Latin selenographic toponyms since the 17th century. Symbols for many of those chemical elements of the
periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ch ...
known in ancient times reflect and echo their Latin names, like Au for (
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile m ...
) and Fe for (
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in fr ...
).


Vernacular vocabulary

Latin has also contributed a vocabulary for specialised fields such as anatomy and
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
which has become part of the normal, non-technical vocabulary of various European languages. Latin continues to be used to form
international scientific vocabulary International scientific vocabulary (ISV) comprises scientific and specialized words whose language of origin may or may not be certain, but which are in current use in several modern languages (that is, translingually, whether in naturalized, lo ...
and
classical compound Neoclassical compounds are compound words composed from combining forms (which act as affixes or stems) derived from classical Latin or ancient Greek roots. New Latin comprises many such words and is a substantial component of the technical ...
s. Separately, more than 56% of the vocabulary used in English today derives ultimately from Latin, either directly (28.24%) or through French (28.30%).


Ecclesiastical Latin

The Catholic Church has continued to use Latin: Two main areas can be distinguished. One is its use for the official version of all documents issued by the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, which has remained intact to the present. Although documents are first drafted in various vernaculars (mostly Italian), the official version is written in Latin by the
Latin Letters Office The Latin Letters Office is a department of the Roman Curia's Secretariat of State of the Holy See in Vatican City. It is well known among modern-day Latinists as the place where documents of the Catholic Church are written in or translated int ...
. The other is its use for the liturgy, which has diminished after the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...
of 1962–65, but to some degree resurged half a century later when
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
encouraged the Latin Mass. After the Church of England published the
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
in English in 1559, a 1560 Latin edition was published for use at universities such as Oxford and the leading public schools, where the liturgy was still permitted to be conducted in Latin, and there have been several Latin translations since. Most recently a Latin edition of the 1979 USA Anglican Book of Common Prayer has appeared.


Academic Latin

Latin has also survived to some extent in the context of classical scholarship. Some classical periodicals, like ''
Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine chi ...
'' and the German ''Hermes'', to this day accept articles in Latin for publication. Latin is used in most of the introductions to the critical editions of ancient authors in the
Oxford Classical Texts Oxford Classical Texts (OCT), or Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis, is a series of books published by Oxford University Press. It contains texts of ancient Greek and Latin literature, such as Homer's ''Odyssey'' and Virgil's ''Aeneid'' ...
series, and it is also nearly always used for the apparatus criticus of Ancient Greek and Latin texts. The University Orator at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
makes a speech in Latin marking the achievements of each of the honorands at the annual Honorary Degree Congregations, as does the Public Orator at the
Encaenia Encaenia (; ) is an academic or sometimes ecclesiastical ceremony, usually performed at colleges or universities. It generally occurs some time near the annual ceremony for the general conferral of degrees to students. The word is from Latin, mea ...
ceremony at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
.
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher l ...
and
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
also have Latin Salutatory commencement addresses every year. The
Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , underg ...
and many other universities around the world conduct the awarding of their
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
degrees in Latin. Other universities and other schools issue diplomas written in Latin.
Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
, Sewanee, and Bard College also hold a portion of their graduation ceremonies in Latin. The song is sung at university opening or graduation ceremonies throughout Europe.


Living Latin

Living Latin ( in Latin itself), also known as Spoken Latin, is an effort to revive Latin as a spoken language and as the vehicle for contemporary communication and publication. Involvement in this Latin revival can be a mere hobby or extend to more serious projects for restoring its former role as an
international auxiliary language An international auxiliary language (sometimes acronymized as IAL or contracted as auxlang) is a language meant for communication between people from all different nations, who do not share a common first language. An auxiliary language is primaril ...
.


Origins

After the decline of Latin at the end of the
New Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy a ...
era started to be perceived, there were attempts to counteract the decline and to revitalize the use of Latin for international communication. In 1815, Miguel Olmo wrote a booklet proposing Latin as the common language for Europe, with the title (" of Villaudric to the eight great princes who ordained world peace at Vienna in 1815, an extraordinary book about the Latin language and a Latin state to be founded"). In the late 19th century, Latin periodicals advocating the revived use of Latin as an international language started to appear. Between 1889 and 1895,
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (28 August 1825 – 14 July 1895) was a German lawyer, jurist, journalist, and writer who is regarded today as a pioneer of sexology and the modern gay rights movement. Ulrichs has been described as the "first gay man in w ...
published in Italy his . This publication was followed by the , published by the architect and engineer
Aristide Leonori Aristide Leonori (28 July 1856 – 30 July 1928) was an Italian architect and engineer. He worked mostly on religious buildings in Italy, the United States, and Africa, in a variety of styles. Biography Born in Rome, the eldest of twelve childr ...
from 1898, twice a month, until 1913, one year before the outbreak of World War I. The early 20th century, marked by tremendous technological progress, as well as drastic social changes, saw few advances in the use of Latin outside academia. Following the beginnings of the re-integration of postwar Europe, however, Latin revivalism gained some ground. One of its main promoters was the former dean of the
University of Nancy A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
(France), Prof. Jean Capelle, who in 1952 published a cornerstone article called "Latin or Babel" in which he proposed Latin as an international spoken language. Capelle was called "the soul of the movement" when in 1956 the first International Conference for Living Latin () took place in
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...
, marking the beginning of a new era of the active use of Latin. About 200 participants from 22 different countries took part in that foundational conference.


Pronunciation

The essentials of the classical pronunciation had been defined since the early 19th century (e.g. in K.L. Schneider's , 1819) but, in many countries, there was strong resistance to adopting it in instruction. In English-speaking countries, where the traditional academic pronunciation diverged most markedly from the restored classical model, the struggle between the two pronunciations lasted the entire 19th century. In 1907, the "new pronunciation" was officially recommended by the Board of Education for adoption in schools in England. Although the older pronunciation, as found in the nomenclature and terminology of various professions, continued to be used for several decades, and in some spheres prevails to the present day, contemporary Latin as used by the living Latin community has generally adopted the classical pronunciation of Latin as restored by specialists in Latin historical phonology.


Aims

Many users of Contemporary Latin promote its use as a spoken language, a movement that dubs itself "Living Latin." Two main aims can be distinguished in this movement:


For Latin instruction

Among the proponents of spoken Latin, some promote the active use of the language to make learning Latin both more enjoyable and more efficient, drawing upon the
methodologies In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
of instructors of modern languages. In the United Kingdom, the Association for the Reform of Latin Teaching (ARLT, still in existence as the Association for Latin Teaching) was founded in 1913 by the classical scholar
W. H. D. Rouse William Henry Denham Rouse (; 30 May 1863 – 10 February 1950) was a pioneering British teacher who advocated the use of the "direct method" of teaching Latin and Greek. Life Rouse was born in Calcutta, British India on 30 May 1863. After his f ...
. It arose from summer schools which Rouse organised to train Latin teachers in the direct method of language teaching, which entailed using the language in everyday situations rather than merely learning
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
and
syntax In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituency ...
by rote. The
Classical Association The Classical Association is a British learned society in the field of classics, aimed at developing classical study and promoting its importance in education. Constitution The association was founded on 19 December 1903, and its objects are def ...
also encourages this approach. The Cambridge University Press has now published a series of school textbooks based on the adventures of a mouse called
Minimus The Minimus books are a series of school textbooks, written by Barbara Bell, illustrated by Dr. Helen Forte, and published by the Cambridge University Press, designed to help children of primary school age to learn Latin. The books espouse some o ...
, designed to help children of primary school age to learn the language, as well as its well-known
Cambridge Latin Course The Cambridge Latin Course (CLC) is a series of textbooks published by Cambridge University Press, used to teach Latin to secondary school pupils. It provides a grounding in vocabulary, grammar and sense which allows progression through Common ...
(CLC) to teach the language to secondary school students, all of which include extensive use of dialogue and an approach to language teaching mirroring that now used for most modern languages, which have brought many of the principles espoused by Rouse and the ARLT into the mainstream of Latin teaching. Outside Great Britain, one of the most accomplished handbooks that fully adopts the direct method for Latin is the well-known by the Danish linguist Hans Henning Ørberg. It was first published in 1955 and improved in 1990. It is composed fully in Latin and requires no other language of instruction, thus it can be used to teach students of many different languages.


For contemporary communication

Others support the revival of Latin as a language of international communication in academic, scientific, or diplomatic spheres (as it was in Europe and European colonies through the Middle Ages until the mid-18th century) or as an
international auxiliary language An international auxiliary language (sometimes acronymized as IAL or contracted as auxlang) is a language meant for communication between people from all different nations, who do not share a common first language. An auxiliary language is primaril ...
to be used by anyone. However, as a language native to no people, this movement has not received support from any government, national or supranational.


Supporting institutions and publications

A substantial group of institutions (particularly in Europe, but also in North and South America) has emerged to support the use of Latin as a spoken language. The foundational first International Conference for living Latin () that took place in
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...
was followed by at least five others. As a result of those first conferences, the (ALF) was then created in Rome. Among its most prominent members are well-known
classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
s from all over the world, like Prof.
Michael von Albrecht Michael von Albrecht (born 22 August 1933 in Stuttgart) is a German classical scholar and translator, as well as a poet writing in Latin. Life The son of the composer Georg Albrecht first attended the Music Academy in Stuttgart, where he graduate ...
or Prof. . The ALF held its first international conference in Rome in 1966 bringing together about 500 participants. From then on conferences have taken place every four or five years, in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, Malta,
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 20 ...
,
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...
, Berlin, Madrid, and many other places. The official language of the ALF is Latin and all acts and proceedings take place in Latin. Also in the year 1966, Clément Desessard published a method with tapes within the series of the French company
Assimil Assimil (often stylised as ASSiMiL) is a French company, founded by Alphonse Chérel in 1929. It creates and publishes foreign language courses, which began with their first book ''Anglais Sans Peine'' ("English Without Toil"). Since then, the c ...
. Desessard's work aimed at teaching contemporary Latin for use in an everyday context, although the audio was often criticized for being recorded with a thick French accent. Assimil took this out of print at the end of 2007 and published another Latin method which focused on the classical idiom only. However, in 2015 Assimil re-published Desessard's edition with new audio CDs in restored classical Latin pronunciation. Desessard's method is still used for living Latin instruction at the . In 1986 the Belgian
radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiatio ...
Gaius Licoppe, who had discovered the contemporary use of Latin and learnt how to speak it thanks to Desessard's method, founded in Brussels the for the promotion of Latin teaching and use for communication. In Germany, Marius Alexa and Inga Pessarra-Grimm founded in September 1987 the (LVPA, or Association for the Promotion of Living Latin). The first (Amöneburg Latin Week) was organized in 1989 at Amöneburg, near Marburg in Germany, by Mechtild Hofmann and Robertus Maier. Since then the Latin Weeks were offered every year. In addition, members of the supporting association (''European Latin Weeks'') published a text book named that contains dialogues in modern everyday Latin. At the located in Rome, Italy, all classes are taught by faculty fluent in Latin or Ancient Greek, and resident students speak in Latin or Greek at all times outside class. Most students are supported by scholarships from the Mnemosyne foundation and spend one or two years in residence to acquire fluency in Latin. The living Latin movement eventually crossed the Atlantic, where it continues to grow. In the summer of 1996, at the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...
, Prof. Terence Tunberg established the first Conventiculum, an immersion conference in which participants from all over the world meet annually to exercise the active use of Latin to discuss books and literature, and topics related to everyday life. The success of the Conventiculum Lexintoniense has inspired similar conferences throughout the United States. In October 1996, the (SALVI, or North American Institute for Living Latin Studies) was founded in Los Angeles, by a group of professors and students of Latin literature concerned about the long-term future of classical studies in the US. In the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...
, Prof. Terence Tunberg founded the (known in English as the Institute of Latin Studies), which awards Graduate Certificates in Latin Studies addressed at those with a special interest gaining "a thorough command of the Latin language in reading, writing and speaking, along with a wide exposure to the cultural riches of the Latin tradition in its totality". This is the only degree-conferring program in the world with courses taught entirely in Latin. There is also a proliferation of Latin-speaking institutions, groups and conferences in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and in Latin America. Some prominent examples of this tendency towards the active use of Latin within Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries are the annual conferences called Jornadas de Culturaclasica.com, held in different cities of southern Spain, as well as the CAELVM (), a Latin summer program in Madrid. In 2012, the was founded in Puebla, Mexico, by Prof. Alexis Hellmer, in order to promote the study of Latin in that country, where only one university grants a degree in Classics. Most of these groups and institutions organise seminars and conferences where Latin is used as a spoken language, both throughout the year and over the summer, in Europe and in America. Less academic summer encounters wholly carried out in Latin are the ones known as (European Latin Weeks), celebrated in Germany and attracting people of various ages from all over Europe. At the present time, several periodicals and social networking web sites are published in Latin. In France, immediately after the conference at Avignon, the publisher launched the magazine , which still exists, associated to the CERCAM () of the Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III. Until very recently, it was published in Latin in its entirety. In Germany, the magazine was founded in 1965 by Caelestis Eichenseer (1924–2008) and is to this day published wholly in Latin four times a year in the University of Saarbrücken. In Belgium, the magazine ''Melissa'' created in 1984 by Gaius Licoppe is still published six times a year completely in Latin. is a free online magazine of crosswords, quizzes, and other games in Latin language. It is published by the Italian cultural Association Leonardo in collaboration with the online Latin news magazine and with ELI publishing house. From 1989 until 2019, Finnish radio station
YLE Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...
Radio 1 broadcast a weekly review of world news called completely in Latin. The German
Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (RB), Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerhaven). With its headquarters sited in Bremen, Radio Bre ...
also had regular broadcasts in Latin until December 2017. Other attempts have been less successful. Beginning from July 2015 Radio F.R.E.I. from
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...
(Germany) broadcasts in Latin once a week on Wednesdays for 15 minutes; the broadcast is called . In 2015, the Italian startup pptArt launched its catalogue () and its registration form for artists () in Latin and English. In 2016, ACEM (
Enel Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica (National Electricity Board), was first established as a public body at the ...
executives' cultural association) organized with Luca Desiata and Daniel Gallagher the first Business Latin course for managers (). The government of
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Both ...
, during its presidencies of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
, issued official newsletters in Latin on top of the official languages of the Union.


In public spaces

Although less so than in previous eras, contemporary Latin has also been used for public notices in public spaces: The Wallsend Metro station of the
Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...
has signs in Latin. The
Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...
has an
automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fund ...
with instructions in Latin.


Original production

Some contemporary works have been produced originally in Latin, most overwhelmingly poetry, but also prose, as well as music or cinema. They include:


Poetry

*1924. by Tomás Viñas. *1946. by A. Pinto de Carvalho. *1954. by Johannes Alexander Gaertner.IJsewijn, Jozef, ''Companion to Neo-Latin Studies. Part I. History and Diffusion of Neo-Latin Literature'', Leuven University Press, 1990, p. 293. *1962. by Henry C. Snurr aka . *1966. by Jan Novák. *1966. by Johannes Alexander Gaertner. *1972. by . *1991. by . *1992. by .


Prose

*1948. by Antonio d'Elia. *1952. by Antonio d'Elia. *1961. by Jozef IJsewijn. *1965. by . *1966. by Wolfgang Jenniges. *2011. ''(Heptalogia Sphingis)'' by Stephen A. Berard. *2019: ''Praecursus: Fabula Neophysiologica (Heptalogia Sphingis)'' by Stephen A. Berard. *2019. Hebdomada Aenigmatum by Luca Desiata


Music

*1927. by
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
(an opera-
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
with
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
, based on Sophocles's
tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...
, prepared in French by
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
and given its final Latin form by Abbé
Jean Daniélou Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou (; 14 May 1905 – 20 May 1974) was a French Jesuit and cardinal, an internationally well known patrologist, theologian and historian and a member of the Académie Française. Biography Early life and studies Jea ...
). *1994. by Latin hip hop band Ista. *1995. The works of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
have been translated into Latin by Finnish academic
Jukka Ammondt Jukka Ammondt is a Finnish literature professor who has recorded popular music, including songs of Elvis Presley, in Latin and Sumerian. Jukka Ammondt is a professor of literature in the University of Jyväskylä, Finland with a Ph.D in philos ...
. *2008.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' is a 2008 crossover fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, it was announced at a pre- E3 2005 press conferen ...
Main Theme. *2011. by French electronic group
Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
. *2020. '' Legend of Zelda'', music of
Koji Kondo is a Japanese music composer, pianist, and music director who works for the video game company Nintendo. He is best known for his numerous contributions to the ''Super Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series of video games, among others prod ...
arranged into a symphony by Canadian musician Alexandre Choinière, and texts translated and adapted into Latin by French linguist Olivier Simon


Cinema

*1976. by
Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...
and Paul Humfress. *2004. ''
The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary ...
'' by
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
. *2009. by Samohi Latin Media (SLAM). *2010. by SLAM. *2013. by Konrad Łęcki.


Television

*2008. by the team (37:44min special broadcast, 22 August 2008) of the German public channel
3sat In logic and computer science, the Boolean satisfiability problem (sometimes called propositional satisfiability problem and abbreviated SATISFIABILITY, SAT or B-SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfie ...
.


Blogs

*2019-.... is a daily blog in Latin on
Linkiesta ''Linkiesta'' is an independent Italian online newspaper of investigative journalism, in-depth analysis and commentary. It was launched on 31 January 2011 and, from 24 September 2019, the editor in chief is Christian Rocca. The first editor in ...
, where Francesco Lepore, a journalist and a former papal Latinist at the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
(2003-2005), comments daily news on politics, crime, health, customs and civil rights.


Translations

Various texts—usually children's books—have been translated into Latin since the beginning of the living Latin movement in the early fifties for various purposes, including use as a teaching tool or simply to demonstrate the capability of Latin as a means of expression in a popular context. They include: * 1884. ''(
Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...
)'' tr.
Francis William Newman Francis William Newman (27 June 1805 – 4 October 1897) was an English classical scholar and moral philosopher, prolific miscellaneous writer and activist for vegetarianism and other causes. He was the younger brother of John Henry Newman. ...
. * 1922. ''(
Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure n ...
)'' tr.
Arcadius Avellanus Arcadius Avellanus, born Mogyoróssy Arkád (6 February 1851 – 16 June 1935), was a Hungarian American scholar of Latin and a proponent of Living Latin. Mogyoróssy was born in Esztergom. Few details of his life in Europe are known with cert ...
. * 1928. ''(Robinson Crusoe)'' tr.
Arcadius Avellanus Arcadius Avellanus, born Mogyoróssy Arkád (6 February 1851 – 16 June 1935), was a Hungarian American scholar of Latin and a proponent of Living Latin. Mogyoróssy was born in Esztergom. Few details of his life in Europe are known with cert ...
. * 1960. ''(
Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...
)'' tr. Alexander Lenard. * 1962. ''( Ferdinand the Bull)'' tr. Elizabeth Chamberlayne Hadas. * 1962. ''(
The Tale of Peter Rabbit ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he gets into, and is chased around, the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns h ...
)'' tr. E. Perot Walker. * 1964. ''(
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatu ...
)'' tr. Clive Harcourt Carruthers. * 1965. ''( The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck)'' tr. Jonathan Musgrave. * 1966. ''(
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...
)'' tr. Clive Harcourt Carruthers. * 1973–present. ''Asterix'' ''(
Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...
)'' * 1978. ''( The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher)'' tr. E. Perot Walker. * 1983. ''( The Adventures of Alix)'' * 1985. ''(
The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 a ...
)'' tr. Augusto Haury * 1987. (Tintin comic ''
The Black Island ''The Black Island'' (french: link=no, L'Île noire) is the seventh volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper for its children's supplement , it ...
'') * 1987. ''The Classical Wizard / '' ''(
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after ...
)'' tr. C.J. Hinke and George Van Buren. * 1990. (Tintin comic ''
Cigars of the Pharaoh ''Cigars of the Pharaoh'' (french: link=no, Les Cigares du pharaon) is the fourth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the series of comic albums by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper '' Le Vingti� ...
'') * 1991. ''(
Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and hi ...
)'' tr. Bernice Fox. * 1994. ''( Beneath the Wheel)'' tr. Sigrides C. Albert * 1998. ''(
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by ste ...
)'' tr. Jennifer Morrish Tunberg, Terence O. Tunberg. * 1998. ''(
The House at Pooh Corner ''The House at Pooh Corner'' (1928) is the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction of the character Tigger. Plot The title comes from a s ...
)'' tr. Brian Staples. * 2000. ''(
The Cat in the Hat ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by the American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow ...
)'' tr. Jennifer Morish Tunberg, Terence O. Tunberg. * 2002. ''(
The Giving Tree ''The Giving Tree'' is an American children's picture book written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. First published in 1964 by Harper & Row, it has become one of Silverstein's best-known titles, and it has been translated into numerous lang ...
)'' tr. Terence O. Tunberg, Jennifer Morrish Tunberg. * 2003. ''(
Green Eggs and Ham ''Green Eggs and Ham'' is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2019, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The story has appeared in several adaptations, starting with 1973's '' Dr. Seuss on the Loos ...
)'' tr. Terence O. Tunberg, Jennifer Morrish Tunberg. * 2003. ''(
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers hi ...
)'' tr. Peter Needham. * 2005. ("
Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of ...
") tr. David C. Noe. * 2006. ''(
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, du ...
)'' tr. Peter Needham. * 2007. '' Olivia: the essential Latin edition'' tr. Amy High. * 2009. Over 265 illustrated children's books in Latin have been published on the Tar Heel Reader website. * 2009. () tr. Claude Aziza and Cathy Rousset. * 2009. – adaptation of "
A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as th ...
" from Disney's '' Aladdin'' * 2012. ''(
The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...
)'' tr. Mark Walker. *2022. ''( Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)'' tr. Garrett Dome.


Dictionaries, glossaries, and phrase books for contemporary Latin

*1990. '' Latin for All Occasions'', a book by
Henry Beard Henry Nichols Beard (born June 7, 1945) is an American humorist, one of the founders of the magazine '' National Lampoon'' and the author of several best-selling books. Life and career Beard, a great-grandson of 14th Vice President John C. Bre ...
, attempts to find Latin equivalents for contemporary
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
s. *1992–97. '' / '' by Karl Egger, containing more than 15,000 words for contemporary everyday life. *1998. by Sigrid Albert. *1999. by Robert Maier, Mechtild Hofmann, Klaus Sallmann, Sabine Mahr, Sascha Trageser, Dominika Rauscher, Thomas Gölzhäuser. *2010. by
Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
, translated by Robert Maier. *2012. vol. 1+2 edited by Mechtild Hofmann and Robert Maier (based on ).


See also

*
Reginald Foster (Latinist) Reginald Thomas Foster (November 14, 1939 – December 25, 2020) was an American Catholic priest and friar of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. From 1970 until his retirement in 2009, he worked in the Latin Letters section of the Secretariat ...
*
Botanical Latin Botanical Latin is a technical language based on New Latin, used for descriptions of botanical taxa. Until 2012, International Code of Botanical Nomenclature mandated Botanical Latin to be used for the descriptions of most new taxa. It is still the ...
*
Latin translations of modern literature A number of Latin translations of modern literature have been made to bolster interest in the language. The perceived dryness of classical literature is sometimes a major obstacle for achieving fluency in reading Latin, as it discourages students fr ...
*
Latino sine Flexione Latino sine flexione ("Latin without inflections"), Interlingua de Academia pro Interlingua (IL de ApI) or Peano's Interlingua (abbreviated as IL), is an international auxiliary language compiled by the Academia pro Interlingua under chairmanship ...
*
Interlingua Interlingua (; ISO 639 language codes ia, ina) is an international auxiliary language (IAL) developed between 1937 and 1951 by the American International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA). It ranks among the most widely used IALs and is th ...
*
List of songs with Latin lyrics This is a list of songs having lyrics in Latin. This list contains songs that are performed in Latin by the named performers. Songs that sample other recorded music in Latin do not become eligible only by virtue of that sampling. Songs with only ...


Notes and references


Further reading


English

* Jozef IJzewijn, ''A companion to neo-Latin studies'', 1977. * W. H. S. Jones, M.A. ''Via Nova or The Application of the Direct Method to Latin and Greek'', Cambridge University Press 1915. * Robin Meyer, "Curtain Call for Latin" in '' The Linguist'' vol. 59 no. 1 (2020) pp. 22–23


Spanish

* , , published by the Instituto Superior Juan XXIII, Bahía Blanca, Argentina, 1998 ()


French

* , '': ()'', s.l., 1989 * , , Paris, Albin Michel, 1998. * , , Brussels, 2003.


German

* , () {{Portal bar, Languages Latin language Forms of Latin Language revival Latin-language literature History of literature Languages attested from the 19th century