classical language
Sanskrit or Greek
A classical language is an ancient language with a substantial body of literature that has exerted lasting influence on later cultures.
Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, Classical Arabic, and Classical Chinese are typical examples.
The term distinguishes these prestige languages from their modern descendants or from languages without comparable literary traditions.
She studied classical languages before moving on to modern linguistics.
Of public worship rites
- sacred textsHoly religious writings
- revivalReturn after decline
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- literary traditionInherited body of texts
cultural heritage · influence · loan words · descendants · Romance languages · Indo-Aryan · education · curriculum
Language's structural rules
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- inflectionWord form alteration
- conjugationVerb form variation system
declension · verb forms · particles · phonology · etymology · roots · alphabet · script
Ancient Roman language
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- HebrewSemitic language of Israel
- AramaicAncient Semitic language
Tamil · Pali · Sumerian · Akkadian · Phoenician · Hittite · Egyptian · Coptic
Impressively grand in scope
- poetryMetrical literary composition
- proseUnversified language
- dramaTheatrical art or turmoil
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
philosophy · rhetoric · hymns · scripture · canon · oration · verse · meter
Study of historical texts
- paleographyStudy of ancient handwriting
- epigraphyStudy of ancient inscriptions
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
lexicography · translation · commentary · critical edition · annotation · decipherment · corpus · reconstruction
liturgical
Of public worship rites
- sacred textsHoly religious writings
- revivalReturn after decline
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
literary tradition · cultural heritage · influence · loan words · descendants · Romance languages · Indo-Aryan · education · curriculum · antiquity
grammar
Language's structural rules
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- inflectionWord form alteration
conjugation · declension · verb forms · particles · phonology · etymology · roots · alphabet · script · diacritics
Latin
Ancient Roman language
Aramaic · Tamil · Pali · Sumerian · Akkadian · Phoenician · Hittite · Egyptian · Coptic · Old Norse
epic
Impressively grand in scope
mythology · philosophy · rhetoric · hymns · scripture · canon · oration · verse · meter · treatise
philology
Study of historical texts
- paleographyStudy of ancient handwriting
- epigraphyStudy of ancient inscriptions
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
exegesis · lexicography · translation · commentary · critical edition · annotation · decipherment · corpus · reconstruction · attestation
- linguisticslinguistics, phoneme, phonemes, morpheme, morphemes
- languagesEnglish, Arabic, Chinese, German, French
- language policyofficial languages, bilingual education, immersion programs, English-only, citizenship tests
classical languageliving language
Language still naturally spoken
modern language · vernacular · contemporary language · spoken language · native language
classical languagevernacular
Everyday regional speech
colloquial speech · slang · dialect · patois · argot
classical languageartificial language
Invented system of communication
conlang · modern language · Esperanto · unwritten language · Klingon
language, classical, classic, classics, classicist, classicism, classically, lingua, neoclassical