Language is a means of communication as well as a vehicle for culture, history and identity. The histories of Latin, Sanskrit and Greek show how languages can develop along divergent paths. Latin and Sanskrit are largely marginalised as spoken languages today, despite their immense historical significance, whereas Greek has survived and is still growing. Language use, political patronage, cultural relevance and passage to next generations are some of the variables that determine whether a language is considered living or dead.
Latin expanded throughout the Roman empire and was widely used throughout Europe. It was used in administration, everyday speech and literature. Latin, however, fragmented into many regional dialects with the fall of the Western Roman empire, and these dialects eventually gave rise to the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian). This change effectively replaced Classical Latin as the native vernacular.
Spoken language is always a dynamic, ever-evolving entity that eventually separates from written language to form dialects. This process is always quicker in peripheral areas and in isolation. When left to their own devices, dialects often develop into unique languages and this is exactly what happened to Latin.
The Latin spoken by the wealthy classes and the Latin spoken by the common people differed. Old Latin, which was spoken natively by the upper classes as well as by wealthy merchants and residents of mansions, was mostly preserved by the upper classes and later became the official standard for Latin throughout the empire. Because Greek was the language of higher education in the Roman empire, state officials in the Greek-speaking regions of the empire adopted that version of Latin as a second language, even though the upper classes in those regions were typically not proficient in Latin.
The term “vulgar,” which means “the common one,” refers to the simpler form of Latin that the ordinary people spoke. This version of the language deviated from Old Latin when the Roman republic started to rapidly expand its borders and many people started adopting the language as their primary native tongue, quickly outnumbering the core natural speakers of Latin. Shortly after Rome fell in 476 CE, Latin started to disappear in the 6th century. The fall of Rome sparked the empire’s collapse, which gave rise to distinctive regional Latin dialects that later became the modern Romance languages.
Latin slowly started declining because of natural causes. Its evolution with the fall of the Roman empire was primarily influenced by two factors. First, after Rome fell, people left the cities and towns and relocated to the countryside. The native speakers of Latin were separated from other groups of people there, including other native speakers of Latin. Second, the use of written Latin was abandoned. Writing in a language, and reading previous writings in the same language, tends to slow down the language’s rate of change. As fewer people acquired literacy skills, written Latin’s importance diminished. People who resided in different parts of the former empire could no longer speak with one another as a result of these changes, which happened gradually.
On the other hand, Greek remained more linguistically unified. Its easy switch from Classical Greek to Byzantine Greek and, finally, to Modern Greek ensured its continued existence as a spoken language. Greek culture and language were preserved in large part by the Byzantine empire and the Greek Orthodox Church, which encouraged this continuity.
Greek swiftly took the place of Latin in the Eastern Roman empire. The majority of the people residing in the area were Greek, and this Hellenisation also extended to the other peoples within the empire. While Roman merchants and nobility were already fluent in Greek, westerners were required to learn it. It was common for Roman aristocrats to learn Greek so they could study the classic works of the ancient Greek sages in their original language. In regions where Greek was spoken and written, merchants needed to be proficient in the language in order to carry out effective trading.
At that point, Alexander’s expeditions had absorbed Greek culture almost entirely throughout the Near East. As a result, only the extremely small number of native Roman speakers remained in the Western Roman empire. However, this empire was short-lived, as the Franks, Ostrogoths and Lombards―former barbarians―conquered it. Latin was reduced to a language of literature. Latin speech was only used in the Catholic Church because Italian had replaced Latin even in that country.
Sanskrit has a long and glorious past that begins approximately 1500 BCE, during the Vedic era. It was the language of the Vedas, the oldest holy books of Hinduism. Scholars and priests composed hymns, chants and rituals in the language that was passed down orally from generation to generation. It was regarded as the language of the gods, and its significance in spiritual and religious activities increased with time. It has a great influence on Indian literature and culture. It was the language of intellectuals and royal courtiers, who wrote plays, poetry and literary masterpieces.
In ancient India, Sanskrit was once a commonly spoken language, especially among scholars, priests and the upper classes with higher education. However, over time, a number of causes led to the decline of Sanskrit as a common language and its transition into a classical and religious language. There is also the common assumption that the Hindu culture and the Sanskrit language were destroyed by the Turks and Afghans. This was the long-held British perspective, which was acknowledged by certain Indian historians like Haraprasad Sastri.
However, if we examine the Sanskrit writing produced during the Mughal era, we find that not only were the Mughals readers of Sanskrit literature, but some of them also wrote in Sanskrit. The Mughals made no effort to wipe out the Sanskrit language or literature in general. But there were a number of reasons why Sanskrit declined.
While there was an increase in variety, it is possible to argue that there was some output decline. An attempt was made to publish secular literature that had existed prior to the Sultanate era. The growth of regional literature caused some issues for Sanskrit because people became more attracted to works that were performed frequently, read aloud, on the banks of rivers like the Ganges, and they could understand what they were hearing. This posed a significant issue for Sanskrit.
Consequently, there was a boom in the development of regional literature―not because the Mughals had supported it, but rather because of the historical context and the people’s desire to comprehend their literature, the religious dimensions, the qualities of God, etc. However, one would also observe that the Sultanate era was coming to an end at this time. There was a growing trend towards independence among many regions. Perhaps the growth of regional literature was spurred by this desire for independence.
For instance, Bengali literature from the end of the 15th century was the only one available in that region. In contrast, the Bengal sultans had gained their independence from Delhi by 1350. However, there isn’t another Bengali document that dates back to before 1485. As a result, one would not agree, looking back, that the Turko-Afghans were responsible for the destruction of Sanskrit culture; rather, there were other factors contributing to both the collapse and the emergence of different languages.
As Indian culture developed, common people started to speak more regional languages than Sanskrit, which was thought to be a more difficult and exclusive language. Over time, Sanskrit’s status as a language of administration and governance declined owing to a decrease in state patronage of the language. Many rulers wanted to govern in their native tongues.
Literary traditions emerged in regional languages as India’s culture changed. These languages started to thrive in poetry, prose and theatre, drawing in a larger readership and becoming increasingly useful in daily life. With the advent of contemporary educational institutions, the old gurukul educational system―which played a crucial role in the preservation and dissemination of Sanskrit―saw a decline. The general public began to place less importance on learning Sanskrit as a result of this change.
Another very important factor influencing Sanskrit’s status was the European colonisation of India. Sanskrit and other indigenous languages were further marginalised by the British promotion of English as the language of government, education and administration. The use of Sanskrit for practical and everyday communication declined as a result of the fall in support from governments, institutions and the elite class. Sanskrit thus became mainly a scholarly and religious language. English swiftly displaced Sanskrit as the language of government, academia and science.
Unlike Latin and Sanskrit, Greek culture survived throughout history, spanning the Hellenistic era and the Byzantine empire. The preservation and spreading of Greek language and culture were made possible by this continuity. Greek continued to be important in religious situations, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, where it was still considered a sacred language. Greek literature was studied and maintained by academics throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, demonstrating the continued importance of the Greek language in scholarly pursuits.
Although Latin continued to be important in academic and religious circles, its use in secular contexts declined, which led to its ultimate marginalisation to the domain of academia and the church. Although Sanskrit continued to be significant in Indian religious and scholastic contexts, its influence was not as extensive outside its cultural domain. The continuous use and diffusion of the Greek language was made easier by the geographical spread of Greek-speaking countries, especially the Byzantine empire and its influence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Latin, on the other hand, was mostly connected to the Roman empire, which with the fall of Rome experienced a decline in both strength and influence in western Europe. Although Sanskrit was widely used in ancient India, its influence was limited to the Indian subcontinent. Greek’s versatility, demonstrated by its development into Koine Greek and its subsequent impact on a number of languages, including Modern Greek, helped ensure its survival. Greek loanwords and linguistic origins ensured the language’s enduring relevance throughout European languages. Greek became a modern spoken language, but Latin did not, although it had an impact on the creation of Romance languages and scientific nomenclature. Sanskrit did not have the same degree of influence on world languages as other languages, despite being rich in religious scriptures and literary works.
Another reason that Greek is still in use today is its ongoing linguistic development. Greek is one of the earliest Indo-European languages and is typically classified as either Modern Greek or Ancient Greek; the latter is sometimes considered extinct. Koine, a prevalent dialect of Ancient Greek that was intelligible at the time by all Greek-speaking people worldwide, is the source of Modern Greek.
According to the linguist Peter T. Daniels, the “actual” alphabet that represented both vowels and consonants was first used by the ancient Greeks. Many terms in English are derived from Greek words, called morphemes. Some examples of these words are as follows: phobia (dread), such as arachnophobia, which is the dread of spiders; demos (people), as in democracy; micro (tiny), as in microscopic.
Greek mythology has had a significant impact on western culture, especially on literature and art. Greek was able to adapt to modern society, which enabled it to stay relevant despite major phonological changes and the addition of new vocabulary. These changes made the language simpler to learn and pronounce by simplifying vowel sounds and consonant clusters. Greek has changed morphologically, although its inflectional system is still quite robust. Over time, this method has become more efficient, which keeps the language more grammatically accurate while also improving speaker mobility. To keep up with advancements in social, cultural and technological spheres, Greek has consistently adopted new vocabulary and idioms. It has managed to stay relevant in modern settings because of its adaptability.
Latin and Sanskrit, on the other hand, did not go through as much linguistic change. Classical Latin declined as a vernacular because it did not adapt to the spoken form of Latin, which gave rise to the Romance languages. Sanskrit, in its classical form, has likewise stayed relatively unchanged. While regional languages in India changed and developed, Sanskrit continued to be mostly used in academic and religious contexts, which limited its applicability and rate of advancement.
We know the sociolinguistic environment is crucial to a language’s survival. After the Greek War of Independence in the 19th century, a strong sense of national identity and cultural continuity contributed to the survival of the Greek language. Thanks to institutional support provided by the government, educational system and the media, Greek was considered essential to the Hellenic identity. As various national identities and dialects emerged in Europe, Latin’s sociolinguistic importance diminished. The case is similar to the Sanskrit language. Despite its esteemed position there was no cohesive sociolinguistic group to promote Sanskrit.
The survival of any language depends on institutional support. Greek is the official language of both contemporary Greece and Cyprus, where it enjoys considerable support from the media, education system and government. Latin was not widely used, although being encouraged both academically and religiously. The predominance of English and other regional languages in school and daily life presents serious obstacles for Sanskrit, despite its promotion in academic and religious contexts.
To sum up, we can say that the distinct pathways of Sanskrit, Latin and Greek pose a complex relationship of historical, cultural and sociopolitical factors. These factors play an important role in influencing the ongoing development of these languages. Owing to continuous adaptations, strong institutional support and a strong feeling of cultural identity, Greek is still widely used today as a living language, whereas Sanskrit and Latin have mostly become symbolic and scholarly languages. Furthermore, the Greek language has endured for centuries because of its adaptability and widespread influence.
The author is chairperson at the department of linguistics, AMU Aligarh, and president of the Linguistic Society of India. warsimj@gmail.com