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Although now generally considered a dead language, of few fluent speakers and no native ones, Latin is still used by the Catholic Church. It has greatly influenced many living languages, including English, and is a source of vocabulary for science, academia, and law. Vulgar Latin, a dialect of Latin, is the ancestor of the [[Romance]] languages ([[Italian]], [[French]], [[Spanish]], [[Portuguese]], [[Romanian]], [[Catalan]], [[Romansh]], and other regional languages or [[dialects]] from the same area), and many words adapted from Latin are found in other modern languages—including [[English]], half of whose vocabulary is derived, directly or indirectly, from Latin. Latin's influence attests to its legacy as the lingua franca of the Western world for over a thousand years.

Although now generally considered a dead language, of few fluent speakers and no native ones, Latin is still used by the Catholic Church. It has greatly influenced many living languages, including English, and is a source of vocabulary for science, academia, and law. Vulgar Latin, a dialect of Latin, is the ancestor of the [[Romance]] languages ([[Italian]], [[French]], [[Spanish]], [[Portuguese]], [[Romanian]], [[Catalan]], [[Romansh]], and other regional languages or [[dialects]] from the same area), and many words adapted from Latin are found in other modern languages—including [[English]], half of whose vocabulary is derived, directly or indirectly, from Latin. Latin's influence attests to its legacy as the lingua franca of the Western world for over a thousand years.

Latin is the official language of [[Vatican City]] and The Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It had been the primary [[liturgical]] language until just after the [[Second Vatican Council]] in the 1960s, when the various vernacular languages of its members were allowed in the liturgy. Classical Latin, the literary language of the [[late Republic]] and [[early Empire]], is still taught in many primary, grammar, and secondary schools throughout the world, often combined with [[Greek]] in the study of [[Classics]]; but its role has diminished since the early 20th century.

Latin is the official language of [[Vatican|Vatican City]] and The Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It had been the primary [[liturgical]] language until just after the [[Second Vatican Council]] in the 1960s, when the various vernacular languages of its members were allowed in the liturgy. Classical Latin, the literary language of the [[late Republic]] and [[early Empire]], is still taught in many primary, grammar, and secondary schools throughout the world, often combined with [[Greek]] in the study of [[Classics]]; but its role has diminished since the early 20th century.

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