If Spanish came from Latin, why is there still Latin?

Answer 1

I've tried this tack but it doesn't matter... They have the 'Tower of Babel' story to back them up... It's useless, really. Despite the fact that Spanish didn't exist when the Bible was written, and neither did English... Linguistic evolution is in fact a close parallel to species evolution, except that the concept of 'survival of the fittest' doesn't apply... One language survives while another one dies, but it's nothing to do with how 'fit' the language is.

Click on this link for comical creationist nonsense:

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Anq7dLzbZrtgFYylUmHex6sgBgx.?qid=1006050302328

Answer 2

Spanish was merely one of a number of languages which evolved, between the fall of the Roman Empire, and the creation of the Holy Roman Empire. During that period of time, Latin was only used for liturgical/religious purposes.

With the arrival of the Renaissance, Latin came into vogue as a scientific language. That usage is why Latin was a requirement to graduate from University, from the mid-fourteenth to early nineteenth century.

The two major reasons for learning Latin now, are to find out exactly what the pioneers in a field wrote, or for the etymology. Oh, and it is the official language of The Holy See --- the smallest country on the planet. [So long as there is a Holy See, the language won't be quite dead.]

Answer 3

Let me guess, your NEXT question will be, "If humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes?" Am I right? Or is it, "If email developed from snail mail, why is there still snail mail?"

Languages change over time. The Greek of the New Testament is not the same Greek as that of Homer, or as the Greek of today. The Egyptian of the ancient pharaohs is different from the Coptic of the First Century and neither are spoken in Egypt today, outside of church. Today's English speakers cannot understand the English of the 14th Century. Yet each language has roots and syntax resembling its earlier versions.

Latin provided the basis of Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romansc. Latin "exists" in the sense that it is preserved in literature, but there are not current speakers outside of academia to keep it living and growing with the times. Doctors, lawyers and scientists use Latin words and phrases, sometimes coining new ones out of old pieces as needed to describe some new discovery or invention. But it doesn't live like a language of the street or commerce.

The endurance of a particular language depends on having speakers who will speak it. A person tends to stay with the language of childhood. If a parent's children are exposed to another, predominant language, the chance of their children speaking the grandparent's language is greatly reduced. People don't spontaneously invent new languages and stop speaking the former one. Often trade, military invasion or simple migration will change the linguistic landscape, as people from different areas try to communicate. A pidgin language may develop and grow into a mature new one over time, or one of the original languages may predominate, but with changes. Why are there so many French, German and Latin words and roots in English? Because England kept changing hands. And if you think it's not still changing, read Shakespeare, or the King James Bible, the 1611 original not the subsequent editions. Or get an American and an Englishman into an extended casual conversation about daily life.

Answer 4

Latin is used by more than the Roman Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages it became the common trade langauge of western Europe, so certain Latin terms servive in the philosophical, theological, legal, scientific, and economic areas of study. People who study the "dead" language of Latin today find it easier to learn French, German, and Spanish--all of which derived from the Latin.

Answer 5

Latin is considered a "dead" language in that nobody actually speaks it anymore. However, knowledge of Latin is useful in many fields because tons of terms are still used in their original Latin.

Answer 6

If we evolved from monkeys, how come there are still monkeys? Latin is the basis for many words in western languages and it is THE foundation language for many of the sciences. Many of the great literary works of western civilization were recorded in Latin and scholars still read and refer to them in the original form.

Answer 7

Latin is the official language of the Roman Catholic church.

Today, it is purely ceremonial, though. The priests needed latin to take their vows and translate the bible into various languages.

Answer 8

Latin is considered a dead language because it is not used in the common format anywhere other than the church. Even within the church, it is not spoken, but rather, recited in the prayers.

Answer 9

Latin is only used by the church,The medical department use it extensively.No one actually speaks it as a language Even the church only use it in church

Answer 10

Latin is derived from Latin, but Latinos also have Arab ancestors so is very mixed.