View source for Classical language-242561

{{short description|Old language with established literature or use}}
{{Lead too short|date=September 2024}}
A '''classical language''' is any [[language]] with an independent literary tradition and a large body of ancient written [[literature]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hart|first1=George|title=Statement on the status of Tamil as a Classical Language|url=https://southasia.berkeley.edu/statement-status-tamil-classical-language|publisher=Institute for South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley|access-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812034850/https://southasia.berkeley.edu/statement-status-tamil-classical-language|archive-date=12 August 2021}}</ref> Typically associated with civilizations of antiquity, these languages serve as foundational sources for [[History|historical]], [[Philosophy|philosophical]], [[Religion|religious]], and [[Science|scientific]] texts, often enduring long after their everyday spoken use has declined.

Many classical languages are considered [[Extinct language|extinct]] or no longer in [[vernacular]] use, while some exist in [[Sacred language|liturgical]] or [[Literary language|literary]] contexts. Those that are still in use today tend to show highly [[Diglossia|diglossic]] characteristics in areas where they are used, as the difference between spoken and written language has widened over time.

== Classical studies in Europe ==
{{Main|Classics}}
[[File:Homer British Museum.jpg|thumb|Bust of [[Homer]] in the [[British Museum]], London]]
In the context of traditional European [[classical studies]], the "classical languages" refer to [[ancient Greek|Greek]] and [[classical Latin|Latin]], which were the literary languages of the Mediterranean world in [[classical antiquity]].

Greek was the language of [[Homer]] and of [[Classical Athens|classical Athenian]], [[Hellenistic]] and [[Byzantine]] historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to the vocabulary of English and many other European languages, and has been a standard subject of study in Western educational institutions since the [[Renaissance]]. [[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] forms of Ancient Greek roots are used in many of the scientific names of species and in other scientific terminology. [[Koine Greek]], which served as a [[lingua franca]] in the Eastern Roman Empire, remains in use today as a sacred language in some [[Eastern Orthodox churches]]. Eventually Koine Greek gave rise to [[Medieval Greek]] and then [[Modern Greek]].

Latin became the lingua franca of the early [[Roman Empire]] and later of the [[Western Roman Empire]]. Despite the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the Latin language continued to flourish in the very different social and economic environment of the [[Middle Ages]], not least because it became the official language of the [[Roman Catholic Church]].

In Western and Central Europe and in parts of northern Africa, Latin retained its elevated status as the main vehicle of communication for the learned classes throughout the Middle Ages and subsequently in the [[Early modern period]]. In the 21st century, Latin is still taught in the United States, mostly in elite private schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Accredited Schools |url=https://classicallatin.org/accredited-schools/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Classical Latin School Association - |language=en-US}}</ref>

Until the end of the 17th century, the majority of books and almost all diplomatic documents were written in Latin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Helander |first=Hans |date=2012-04-01 |title=The Roles of Latin in Early Modern Europe |url=https://journals.openedition.org/annuaire-cdf/1783 |journal=L'Annuaire du Collège de France. Cours et travaux |volume=111 |issue=111 |pages=885–887 |doi=10.4000/annuaire-cdf.1783 |s2cid=160298764 |issn=0069-5580}}</ref> Some of the last major international treaties to be written in Latin include the [[Treaty of Vienna (1738)|Treaty of Vienna]] in 1738 and the [[Treaty of Belgrade]] in 1739; after the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] (1740–48) international diplomacy was conducted predominantly in French. [[French language|French]] (itself a [[Romance language]], a language that evolved from Latin) replaced [[Latin]] as the prestige language of politics, trade, education, diplomacy, military and international relations ([[lingua franca]])<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wright|first=Sue|date=2006|title=French as a lingua franca|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annual-review-of-applied-linguistics/article/abs/french-as-a-lingua-franca/709F93AD0A5A7E7162C6E170FCA59E43|journal=Annual Review of Applied Linguistics|volume=26|pages=35–60|doi=10.1017/S0267190506000031|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>Laureys, Marc, ''Political Action'' in {{harvnb|Knight|Tilg|2015|p=356}}</ref> It retained this role until approximately the middle of the 20th century, when it was [[International English|replaced by English]] (a [[Germanic language]]).<ref name="andaman.org">[http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm The World's 10 Most Influential Languages]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312042140/http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm |date=12 March 2008 }}. ''Top Languages''. Retrieved 11 April 2011.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Battye |first1=Adrian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pya2KY8upAUC&pg=PA2 |title=The French Language Today: A Linguistic Introduction |last2=Hintze |first2=Marie-Anne |last3=Rowlett |first3=Paul |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-203-41796-6 |language=en |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104351/https://books.google.com/books?id=pya2KY8upAUC&pg=PA2 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Like French, [[Spanish language|Spanish]] also evolved from Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Comparán Rizo |first1=Juan José |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caqn_7i6tvkC&pg=PA17 |title=Raices Griegas y latinas |publisher=Ediciones Umbral |isbn=978-968-5430-01-2 |page=17 |language=es |access-date=22 August 2017 }}</ref> At present, it is the second most used language in international trade, and the third most used in politics, diplomacy and culture after English and French.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070918102605/http://www.quadernsdigitals.net/index.php?accionMenu=secciones.VisualizaArticuloSeccionIU.visualiza&proyecto_id=361&articuloSeccion_id=4463 "¿Por qué los brasileños deben aprender español?"]}} – Copyright 2003 Quaderns Digitals Todos los derechos reservados ISSN 1575-9393.</ref>

Latin was not supplanted for scientific purposes until the 18th century, and for formal descriptions in [[zoology]] as well as [[botany]] it survived to the later 20th century. The modern international [[binomial nomenclature]] holds to this day: taxonomists assign a Latin or Latinized name as the scientific name of each [[species]].

[[Vulgar Latin]], the range of non-formal [[Register (sociolinguistics)|registers]] of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward, is the ancestor of the Romance languages ([[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], etc.). The Romance languages spread throughout the world owing to the period of [[European colonialism]] beginning in the 15th century. There are more than 900 million native speakers of Neo-Latin languages found worldwide, mainly in the [[Americas]], [[Europe]], and parts of [[Africa]]. French, Spanish, and Portuguese also have many non-native speakers; they are widely used as [[lingua franca]]s.<ref name="ethnologue.com">{{cite book|editor-last=Lewis|editor-first=M. Paul|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=size|chapter=Summary by language size|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202224556/http://www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=size |archive-date=2013-02-02|url-status=dead|title=Ethnologue : Languages of the World|edition=16|publisher=Ethnologue|isbn=978-1556712166|date=2009-05-30|pages=1248}}</ref>

== Classical languages in Asia  ==
[[File:Edward Sapir.jpg|thumb|Edward Sapir (1884-1939), linguist, around 1910]]
In terms of worldwide cultural importance, [[Edward Sapir]] in his 1921 book ''[[Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech|Language]]'' extends the list to include [[classical Chinese]], [[Classical Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] and [[Classical Arabic|Arabic]]:

<blockquote>When we realize that an educated [[Japanese people|Japanese]] can hardly frame a single literary sentence without the use of Chinese resources, that to this day [[Thai language|Siamese]] and [[Burmese language|Burmese]] and [[Khmer language|Cambodgian]] bear the unmistakable imprint of the Sanskrit and [[Pali language|Pali]] that came in with Hindu Buddhism centuries ago, or that whether we argue for or against the teaching of Latin and Greek [in schools,] our argument is sure to be studded with words that have come to us from [[Rome]] and [[Athens]], we get some indication of what early Chinese culture and [[Buddhism]], and classical [[Mediterranean civilization]] have meant in the world's history. There are just five languages that have had an overwhelming significance as carriers of culture. They are classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic, Greek, and Latin. In comparison with these, even such culturally important languages as [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[French language|French]] sink into a secondary position.<ref>{{cite book | last =Sapir| first=Edward| author-link =Edward Sapir | title =Language: An introduction to the study of speech | publisher =Harcourt, Brace and Company| date =1921| location =New York| page =164| url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12629| isbn =4-87187-529-6| access-date=February 17, 2006}}</ref></blockquote>

In this sense, a classical language is a language that has a broad influence over an extended period of time, even after it is no longer a [[Colloquialism|colloquial]] [[Mother-tongue|mother tongue]] in its original form. If one language uses roots from another language to coin words (in the way that many [[European languages]] use Greek and Latin [[Root (linguistics)|roots]] to devise new words such as "telephone", etc.), this is an indication that the second language is a classical language.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

In comparison, [[living language]]s with a large sphere of influence are known as [[world language]]s.

The use of Classical Chinese in writing remained nearly universal until the late 19th century, culminating with the widespread adoption of [[written vernacular Chinese]] with the [[May Fourth Movement]] beginning in 1919. Spoken Chinese evolved faster than the written form. The vernacular [[Old Chinese]] eventually give rise to [[Middle Chinese]] in the Middle Ages. Middle Chinese give origin to local [[Chinese language]] varieties forming a branch of the [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan language family]], many of which are not [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]]. The varieties are typically classified into several groups: [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], [[Wu Chinese|Wu]], [[Min Chinese|Min]], [[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]], [[Gan Chinese|Gan]], [[Jin Chinese|Jin]], [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] and [[Yue Chinese|Yue]], though some varieties remain unclassified. Modern [[Standard Chinese]] is based in Mandarin and is the national [[lingua franca]] of China, one of the official languages of the [[United Nations]] and of [[Singapore]], and one of the national languages of [[Taiwan]].

Outside the learned sphere of written [[Classical Sanskrit]], vernacular colloquial dialects ([[Prakrit]]s) continued to evolve. Sanskrit co-existed with numerous other Prakrit languages of ancient India. The oldest attested Prakrits are the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] and [[Jainism|Jain]] canonical languages [[Pali]] and [[Ardhamagadhi Prakrit]], respectively. By medieval times, the Prakrits had diversified into various [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages]]. ''[[Apabhraṃśa]]'' is the conventional cover term for transitional dialects connecting late Middle Indo-Aryan with early modern Indo-Aryan, spanning roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The largest languages that formed from Apabhraṃśa were [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]], [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]], [[Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Odia language|Odia]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], and [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]. Hindustani, spoken in North India and Pakistan is the lingua franca of the region and have two standard registers, known as [[Hindi]] (Prakritised and Sanskritised register written in the Brahmic script) and [[Urdu]] (Persianised and Arabised register written in the Perso-Arabic script), which serve as official languages of the governments of India and Pakistan, respectively.

Classical Arabic is the register of the Arabic language on which [[Modern Standard Arabic]] is based. Modern Standard Arabic is its direct descendant used today throughout the [[Arab world]] in writing and in formal speaking, for example prepared speeches, some radio and television broadcasts and non-entertainment content. In the Arab world little distinction is made between Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic and both are normally called al-fuṣḥā (الفصحى) in Arabic, meaning 'the most eloquent'. Geographically, modern Arabic varieties are classified into five groups: [[Maghrebi Arabic|Maghrebi]] (including the [[Moroccan Arabic|Moroccan]], [[Algerian Arabic|Algerian]], [[Tunisian Arabic|Tunisian]], [[Libyan Arabic|Libyan]], [[Hassaniya Arabic|Hassaniya]] and [[Algerian Saharan Arabic|Saharan]] dialects), Egyptian (including [[Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian]] and [[Sudanese Arabic|Sudanese]]), [[Mesopotamian Arabic|Mesopotamian]], [[Levantine Arabic|Levantine]] and [[Peninsular Arabic]] (including [[Gulf Arabic|Gulf]], [[Emirati Arabic|Emirati]], [[Kuwaiti Arabic|Kuwaiti]], [[Hejazi Arabic|Hejazi]], [[Najdi Arabic|Najdi]], [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemeni]], [[Omani Arabic|Omani]], etc)<ref name="Al-Wer-Concise-Encyclopedia">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&q=Maghrebi+Egyptian+Mesopotamian+Levantine+Peninsular+Arabic&pg=PA54|title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World|last=Al-Wer|first=E.|date=2018|publisher=Elsevier Science|isbn=978-0080877747|editor1-last=Brown|editor1-first=Keith|editor2-last=Ogilve|editor2-first=Sarah|page=53,54|chapter=Arabic Languages, Variation in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eisele |first=John C. |date=1987 |title=Arabic dialectology: A Review of Recent Literature |journal=Al-'Arabiyya |volume=20 |issue=1/2 |pages=199–269 |jstor=43191695 }}</ref> Speakers from distant areas, across national borders, within countries and even between cities and villages, can struggle to understand each other's dialects.<ref name="economist-2018">{{cite news |title=Arabic, a great language, has a low profile |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2018/10/20/arabic-a-great-language-has-a-low-profile |date=2018-10-20 |access-date=2020-06-24 }}</ref>.

== General usage ==
{{Original research|date=November 2022}}
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2023}}
The following languages are generally taken to have a "classical" stage. Such a stage is limited in time and is considered "classical" if it comes to be regarded as a literary "golden age" retrospectively.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} Thus, [[Ancient Greek|Classical Greek]] is the language of 5th to 4th century BC [[Classical Athens|Athens]] and, as such, only a small subset of the varieties of the [[Greek language]] as a whole. A "classical" period usually corresponds to a flowering of literature following an "archaic" period, such as [[Classical Latin]] succeeding [[Old Latin]], [[Sumerian language|Classical Sumerian]] succeeding Archaic Sumerian, [[Tamil language|Tamil]] for its continuous literature, Classical Sanskrit succeeding [[Vedic Sanskrit]], [[Persian language#Classical Persian|Classical Persian]] succeeding [[Old Persian]]. This is partly a matter of terminology, and for example [[Old Chinese]] is taken to include rather than precede [[Classical Chinese]]. In some cases, such as those of [[Persian language|Persian]], the "classical" stage corresponds to the earliest attested literary variant.<ref>{{Citation| last=Ramanujan|first= A. K.|author-link = A. K. Ramanujan|title=Poems of Love and War: From the Eight Anthologies and the Ten Long Poems of Classical Tamil|publisher= New York: Columbia University Press. Pp. 329|year = 1985|isbn=0-231-05107-7|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=nIybE0HRvdQC}}Quote (p.ix–x) "Tamil, one of the four classical languages of India, is a Dravidian language ... These poems (''[[Sangam literature]]'', 1st century BC to 3rd century AD) are 'classical,' i.e. early, ancient; they are also 'classics,' i.e. works that have stood the test of time, the founding works of a whole tradition. Not to know them is not to know a unique and major poetic achievement of Indian civilization."</ref>

===Antiquity===
* [[Sumerian language#Stages|Classical Sumerian]] (literary language of [[Sumer]], c. 26th to 23rd centuries BC) [[Sumerogram]]s were used in [[Cuneiform]] even for non-Sumerian texts until the writing system went out of use around the first century AD
* [[Egyptian language#Middle Egyptian|Middle Egyptian]] (literary language of [[Ancient Egypt]] from c. the 20th century BC to the 4th century AD)
* [[Akkadian language#Development|Old Babylonian]] (the Akkadian language from c. 20th to 16th centuries BC, the imitated standard for later literary works)
* [[Akkadian language#Development|Middle Assyrian]] (the Akkadian language from c. 16th to 13th centuries BC)
* [[Vedic Sanskrit]] (the form of Sanskrit before Classical standardization was used in Vedic texts from c. 15th to 5th centuries BC)
* [[Avestan|Old Avestan]] (the language of the [[Avesta]], 15th to 5th centuries BC)
* [[Biblical Hebrew|Classical Hebrew]] (the language of the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]], in particular of the [[Nevi'im|prophetic books]] of c. the 7th and 6th centuries BC)
* [[Old Persian]] (court language of the [[Achaemenid Empire]], 6th to 4th centuries BC)
* [[Ancient Greek|Classical Greek]] ([[Attic Greek|Attic dialect]] of the 5th century BC; [[Koine Greek|Koine dialect]] of the [[Hellenistic period]] and [[Greece in the Roman era|Roman era]], 323 BC to 330 AD)
* [[Classical Chinese]] (based on the literary language, [[Yayan (language)|Yayan]], used in the capital [[Luoyang]] of the [[Eastern Zhou|Eastern Zhou Dynasty]] from c. the 5th century BC)
* [[Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit|Classical Sanskrit]] (described by [[Pāṇini|Pāṇini's]] [[Aṣṭādhyāyī|Ashtadhyayi]] of the 4th century BC)<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Panini.html Article "Panini" from ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'' (Sixth Edition) at Encyclopedia.com]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C&pg=PA21 |title= The Sanskrit epics, Part 2| volume = 12|first= J. L. |last= Brockington|page = 28|publisher = BRILL| year=1998|isbn=978-90-04-10260-6}}</ref>
* [[Old Tamil|Classical Tamil]] ([[Sangam literature]] c. 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD, defined by [[Tolkāppiyam]])<ref>{{Citation|last=Zvelebil|first=Kamil|year = 1997|title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India: On Tamil Literature of South India|publisher=BRILL Academic Publishers. p. 378|isbn=90-04-03591-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VF2VMUoY_okC&q=smile+of+murugan}} Quote: "Chart 1 literature: 1. the "Urtext" of the ''Tolkappiyam'', i.e. the first two sections, ''Ezhuttatikaram'' and ''Collatikaram'' minus later interpolations, '''ca. 100 BC'''  2. the earliest strata of bardic poetry in the so-called ''Cankam'' anthologies, '''ca. 1 Cent. BC–2 Cent. AD.'''"</ref>
* [[Pali#Pali literature|Classical Pali]] (Buddhist canon used this language from 2nd centuries BC)
* [[Maharashtri Prakrit]] (a [[Prakrit]] language, was the official language of the Satavahana dynasty c. 2nd century BC)
* [[Classical Latin]] (literary language of the 1st century BC)
* [[Mandaic language|Classical Mandaic]] (literary [[Aramaic]] of [[Mandaeism]], 1st century AD)
* [[Syriac language#History|Classical Syriac]] (literary [[Aramaic]] of [[Syriac Christianity]],  3rd to 5th centuries)
* [[Middle Persian]] (court language of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid Empire]], 3rd to 7th centuries)
* [[Coptic language|Classical Coptic]] (language of Egypt and the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], 3rd to 13th centuries, liturgical language to the present day)

===Middle Ages===
* [[Geʽez]], language of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]]; the [[Garima Gospels]] are dated from the 5th century to the 10th century by various scholars.
* [[Classical Armenian]], the oldest attested form of [[Armenian language|Armenian]] from the 5th century and literary language until the 18th century
* [[Classical Arabic]], based on the language of the [[Quran|Qur'an]], 7th century to present; liturgical language of [[Islam]]
* [[Kannada#Old Kannada|Classical Kannada]], court language of [[Rashtrakuta dynasty|Rashtrakuta empire]]; earliest available literary work is the ''[[Kavirajamarga|Kavirājamārga]]'' of AD 850.<ref name=BritannicaLit>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2008. "Kannada literature" Quote: "''The earliest literary work is the ''Kavirājamārga'' (c. AD 850), a treatise on poetics based on a Sanskrit model.''"</ref>
* [[Old Saxon#Literature|Old Saxon]], language of Saxon Christian literature, 9th to 12th centuries
* [[Old English]], language of ''[[Beowulf]]'' and the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' with many divergent written dialects, but partially standardized in [[West Saxon dialect|West Saxon]] form
* [[Old French]], language of [[chivalric romance]], 8th to 14th centuries
* [[Old Georgian]], language of Georgia, 5th to 11th centuries
* [[Old East Slavic]], language of the [[Kievan Rus']], 9th to 13th centuries
* [[New Persian#Classical Persian|New Persian]], language of classical [[Persian literature]], 9th to present
* [[Old Nubian]], language of [[Nubia]], 9th or 10th to 15th centuries
* [[Assamese language#Magadhan and Gauda-Kamarupa stages|Old Assamese]], the earliest form of [[Assamese language]], attested  between 7th to 12th century CE and emerged during the [[Kamarupa kingdom]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-10-24|title=ASSAMESE (অসমীয়া)–THE HISTORY|url=https://protelostudios.com/assamese/|access-date=2024-10-23 | website=www.protelostudios.com|language=en |quote=The Indo-Aryan language in Kamarupa had differentiated by the 7th-century, before it did in Bengal or Orissa.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |date=2025-02-09 |title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections |isbn=978-81-260-0365-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC&pg=PA3 |language=en |quote=To find out the written specimens of the Assamese literature, we are to go back to the period of the songs and aphorisms composed by the Buddhist Siddhacharyas between the 8th and the 12th centuries A.D. |author1=Ayyappappanikkar |publisher=Sahitya Akademi }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-31 |title=Assamese language {{!}} Assamese Dialects, Brahmaputra Valley & Eastern India {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Assamese-language |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=Assamese literary tradition dates to the 13th century. Prose texts, notably buranjis (historical works), began to appear in the 16th century.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2024-08-31 |title=Charyapads as the Oldest Written Specimen of Assamese Literature|url=https://www.neliti.com/publications/429892/charyapads-as-the-oldest-written-specimen-of-assamese-literature#:~:text=While%20dividing%20this%20era%2C%20Charyapad,written%20specimen%20of%20Assamese%20literature.|journal=International Journal of Health Sciences|doi=10.53730/ijhs.v6nS1.6513 |language=en |quote=Charyapads are considered as the first written specimen of Assamese literature. |last1=Deka |first1=Joy Jyoti |last2=Boro |first2=Akashi Tara |pages=7028–7034 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
* [[Old Bengali]], the earliest forms of the [[Bengali Language]], emerged during the [[Kingdom of Gauda]], 7th to 12th centuries.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Das |editor1-first=Amitava |editor2-last=Sanyal |editor2-first=Rajat |editor3-last=Chakraborty |editor3-first=Rajib |title=Classical Bangla |date=2025 |publisher=[[Institute of Language Studies and Research]] (ILSR), Kolkata |location=[[Kolkata]] |isbn=9788198479358 |page=386 |quote=The beginning of literary expression in Bengali in the 7th century AD as Caryāpada relates that the language developed over a considerable period before it reached the present status of literary expression in the 7th century. The oral traditions-proverbs, riddles, folks, stories which are the staple of the Bengali culture germinated before the written literature and were handed down from generation to generation. .... Caryāpada, which was composed in the 7th century AD, is the earliest literary expression (discovered so far) in Bengali language. Its composition in the 7th century is proof enough of a thirteen hundred years of ancestry of Bengali language in the written form. .... According to French scholar Sylvain Levi, in 657 A.D. during the period of King Narendra Deb, Matsyendranath who is also known as Mīnanātha according to Näthagitikā, travelled to Nepal. He was the founder and propagator of Nathism and also happens to be the oldest writer in the Bengali language, as has been recognized by many.}}</ref>
* [[Old Javanese]], language of [[Javanese literature|Old Javanese]] literature, used primarily during [[Javanese people#Ancient Javanese kingdoms and empires|Hindu-Buddhist]] Javanese kingdom era from 10th to 15th centuries<ref name="H.Cresse">{{cite journal |last1=Cresse |first1=Helen |title=Old Javanese Studies: A Review of the Field |journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde |date=2001 |volume=1 |issue=157 |pages=3–33 |doi=10.1163/22134379-90003816 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/43472268 |access-date=23 February 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Ogloblin">{{cite book |last=Ogloblin |first=Alexander K. |year=2005 |chapter=Javanese |title=The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAShwSYLbUYC&pg=PA590 |editor1=K. Alexander Adelaar |editor2=Nikolaus Himmelmann |location=London dan New York |publisher=Routledge |pages=590–624 |isbn=9780700712861 }}</ref>
* [[Old Church Slavonic]], language of the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] during its Golden Age, 10th century earliest manuscript is [[Freising manuscripts]]
* [[Classical Tibetan]], religious and literary language of Tibet, 10th century to present
* [[Classical Japanese]], language of [[Heian period]] literature, 10th to 12th centuries
* [[Middle Korean]], language of [[Goryeo]] and [[Joseon]], 10th to 16th centuries
* [[Old Occitan]], language of the [[troubadour]]s, 11th to 14th centuries
* [[Middle High German]], language of [[Middle High German literature|Medieval German literature]], 11th to 14th centuries
* [[Old Church Slavonic#Serbian recension|Old Serbian]], language of [[Serbia]] before its conquest by the [[Ottoman Empire]], 11th to 14th centuries
* [[Telugu language|Classical Telugu]]: the earliest available literary work is the Telugu Mahabharata, AD 1067.
* [[Malayalam|Classical Malayalam]]: the earliest extant prose work is the ''Ramacharitam'', 12th century.{{sfn|Nair|1997|p=301}}
* [[Odia language|Classical Odia]], language of [[Odia literature]], the earliest attested history of [[Old Odia]] language dates back to ganga dynasty 7th to12th century CE<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajaguru |first=Satyanarayan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BswxmAEACAAJ |title=Inscriptions of Orissa: C. 600-1100 A.D. |date=1966 |publisher=Gouri Kumar Brahma, M.A., D. Ed. |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Old Norse]], language of the [[Viking Age]], from the 12th century
* [[Middle Bulgarian]], language of the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]], 12th to 15th centuries
* [[Middle Low German]], language of the [[Hanseatic League]], 12th to 17th centuries
* [[Old Uyghur]], Turkic language spoken in [[Qocho]] from the 9th–14th centuries and in Gansu
* [[Sagas of Icelanders|Classical Icelandic]], the language of the [[Sagas of Icelanders|Icelandic sagas]], 13th century
* [[Old Catalan|Classical Catalan]], language of literature in the [[Crown of Aragon]], 13th to 14th centuries
* [[Mandinka language|Classical Manding]], language of the [[Mali Empire]], 13th to 16th centuries
* [[Ruthenian language|Old Ruthenian]], one language of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], 13th to 16th centuries
* [[Old Anatolian Turkish]], 11th to 15th centuries
* [[Geʽez#13th to 14th centuries|Classical Ge'ez]], language of [[Ethiopian literature#Medieval literature (1200–1672)|Golden Age of Ge'ez literature]], 13th to 16th centuries
* [[Early Modern Irish#Classical Gaelic|Classical Irish or Classical Gaelic]], language of the 13th to 18th centuries Scottish and Irish Gaelic literature
* [[Wolof language|Classical Wolof]], language of the [[Jolof Empire|Wolof Empire]], 13th to 19th centuries
* [[Middle English]], language of [[The Canterbury Tales]], 14th to 15th centuries, with many divergent written dialects, but partially standardized on London speech
* [[Middle French]], language of the [[French Renaissance]], 14th to 17th centuries
* [[History of the Hungarian language#Old Hungarian (10th to 15th centuries)|Classical Hungarian]], language of [[Hungarian literature]], 14th to 15th centuries
* [[Songhay languages|Classical Songhai]], lingua franca of the [[Songhai Empire]], 14th to 16th centuries
* [[Early New High German]], language of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], the [[German Renaissance]], and the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]], 14th to 17th centuries
* [[History of the Malay language#Classical Malay|Classical Malay]], language of [[Maritime Southeast Asia]], 14th to 18th centuries
* [[Chagatai language|Chagatai]], classical Turkic language of Central Asia and the Volga, 14th to early 20th centuries
* [[Old Khmer|Angkorian Old Khmer]], language of the [[Khmer Empire]], from 14th century
* [[Rekhta]], poetic language of [[Delhi]] and the Northern/Central Indian subcontinent, 13th-18th century, became standardized as [[Urdu]] in the 19th century.

===Amerindian languages===
* [[Classic Maya language|Classical Maya]] (the language of the mature [[Maya civilization]], 3rd to 9th centuries)
* [[Classical Nahuatl]] (lingua franca of 16th-century central Mexico)
* [[Classical Quechua]] (lingua franca of the 16th-century [[Inca Empire]])
* [[Classical Kʼicheʼ]] (a [[Mayan languages|Mayan language]] of 16th-century [[Guatemala]])
* [[Tupi language|Classical Tupi]] (language of 16th to 18th centuries [[Brazil]])

===Early modern period===
* [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]] (one of two major literary traditions of Northern India during [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] rule led to its use by poets, 14th to 18th centuries)
* [[Braj literature|Braj Bhasha]] (the second of two major literary traditions in early modern Northern India used by poets, 15th-19th centuries)
* [[Italian language#Renaissance|Renaissance Italian]] (language of the [[Italian Renaissance]], 15th to 16th centuries)
* [[History of Portuguese|Late Old Portuguese]] (language of [[History of Portugal (1415–1578)|Portuguese Golden Age]], 15th to 16th centuries)
* [[Early Modern Spanish]] (language of the [[Spanish Golden Age]], 15th to 17th centuries)
* [[Azerbaijani literature#Classical era|Classical Azeri]] (lingua franca of the Caucasus Mountain region and language of Azeri literature, 15th to 18th centuries)
* [[Lithuanian language#Old Lithuanian|Old Lithuanian]] (the other language of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], 16th to 17th centuries)
* [[Early Modern English]] (language of the [[King James Version|King James Bible]], the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'', and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], 16th to 17th centuries)
* [[Middle Polish]] (language of the [[Polish Golden Age]], 16th to 18th centuries)
* [[Ottoman Turkish#History|Classical Ottoman Turkish]] (language of poetry and administration of the [[Ottoman Empire]], 16th to 19th centuries)
* [[Manchu language]] (language of the Manchus who ruled China, 16th–20th centuries)
* [[History of the Dutch language#Standardization and Modern Dutch|Early Modern Dutch]] (language of the [[Dutch Golden Age]], 17th century)
* [[History of French#Modern French|Early Modern French]] (language of [[France]] under [[Louis XIV]] to [[Napoleon]], 17th to 18th centuries)
* [[Judaeo-Spanish#History|Classical Ladino]] (language of [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic Jewish literature]], 17th to 19th centuries)
* [[History of the Russian language#Empire (18th–19th centuries)|Classical Russian]] (language of the [[Russian Empire]], 18th to 19th centuries)
* [[Classical Mongolian language]] (the language of Mongolian literature and translations of Tibetan Buddhist religious texts from 1700 to 1900)
* [[Sadhu bhasha|Sadhu Bhasha]] (the modern language Bengali from 1820s to 1940s)
* [[Yiddish#Secularization|Classical Yiddish]] (language of the [[Yiddishist movement|Yiddish Renaissance]], 19th–20th centuries)
* [[Classical Newar]] (lingua franca in India-Tibet trade)

== See also ==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Classical language
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
*[[Ancient language]]
*[[Aureation]], an aspect of the influence of a classical language on a later language
*[[Classical Languages of India|Classical languages of India]]
*[[Classicism]]
*[[Classics]]
*[[Golden age (metaphor)]]
*[[Lingua franca]]
*[[List of lingua francas]]
*[[List of languages by first written account]]s
*[[Literary language]]
*[[Sacred language]]
*[[Official language]]
*[[Standard language]]
*[[World language]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Knight |editor1-first=Sarah |editor2-first=Stefan |editor2-last=Tilg |date=2015 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Neo-Latin |place=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-088699-8 |ol=OL28648475M}}
*{{cite book |last=Nair|first=K. Ramachandran|editor=Ayyappapanicker|title=Medieval Indian Literature:An Anthology |year= 1997|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=81-260-0365-0|chapter= Malayalam}}

==Further reading==
*Ashdowne, Richard. 2009. "Accidence and Acronyms: Deploying electronic assessment in support of classical language teaching in a university context." ''Arts and Humanities in Higher Education'' 8, no. 2: 201–16.
*Beach, Adam R. 2001. "The creation of a classical language in the eighteenth century: standardizing English, cultural imperialism, and the future of the literary canon." ''Texas Studies in Literature and Language'' 43, no. 2: 117+.
*Coulson, Michael. 1976. ''Sanskrit: An Introduction to the Classical Language.'' Sevenoaks, Kent: Hodder and Stoughton.
*Crooker, Jill M., and Kathleen A. Rabiteau. 2000. "An interwoven fabric: The AP Latin examinations, the SAT II: Latin test, and the national "standards for classical language learning." ''The Classical Outlook'' 77, no. 4: 148–53.
*Denizot, Camille, and Olga Spevak. 2017. ''Pragmatic Approaches to Latin and Ancient Greek.'' Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
*Eschbach-Szabo, Viktoria, and Shelley Ching-yu Hsieh. 2005. "Chinese as a classical language of botanical science: Semiotics of transcription." ''Kodikas/Code. Ars Semeiotica: An International Journal of Semiotics'' 28, nos. 3–4: 317–43.
*{{citation |last=Flood |first=Gavin |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |year=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-43878-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo }}
* {{cite book |title=A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese |last=Goswami |first=Upendra Nath |year=1970 |publisher=Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam}}
*Gruber-Miller, John. 2006. ''When Dead Tongues Speak: Teaching Beginning Greek and Latin.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press.
*Hymes, Robert. 2006. "Getting the Words Right: Speech, Vernacular Language, and Classical Language in Song Neo-Confucian 'Records of Words'." ''Journal of Song-Yuan Studies'' 36: 25–55. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23496297.
*Koutropoulos, Apostolos. 2011. "Modernizing classical language education: communicative language teaching & educational technology integration in classical Greek." ''Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge'' 9, no. 3 (2011): 55–69.
*Tieken, Herman. 2010. "Blaming the Brahmins: Texts lost and found in Tamil literary history." ''Studies in History'' 26, no. 2: 227–43.
* {{cite thesis |type=Ph.D. |first=Mathew W S |last=Toulmin |title=Reconstructing linguistic history in a dialect continuum: The Kamta, Rajbanshi, and Northern Deshi Bangla subgroup of Indo-Aryan |url=https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/45743 |publisher=The Australian National University |year=2006}}
*Watt, Jonathan M. 2003. "Classical language instruction: A window to cultural diversity." ''International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities, and Nations'' 3: 115–24.
*Whitney, William Dwight. 1971. ''Sanskrit Grammar: Including Both the Classical Language, and the Older Dialects, of Veda and Brahmana.'' 12th issue of the 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Classical languages}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Classical languages| ]]