What is Classical Latin?
{{Infobox language |name = Classical Latin |nativename = {{lang|la|LINGVA LATINA, lingua latina}} |pronunciation = {{IPA-la|laˈtiːnɪtaːs|}} |region = ''[[Mare Nostrum]]'' region |states = [[Roman Republic]], [[Roman Empire]] |nation = [[Roman Republic]], [[Roman Empire]] |script = [[Classical Latin alphabet]]&nbsp;<!--&nbsp; needed to prevent default link to Latin script--> |era = 75 BC to AD 3rd century, when it developed into [[Late Latin]] |familycolor = Indo-European |fam2 = [[Italic languages|Italic]] |ancestor = [[Old Latin]] |image = Rome Colosseum inscription 2.jpg |imagesize = |imagecaption = Latin inscription in the [[Colosseum]] |map = Europa60AD.svg |mapcaption = The range of Latin, AD 60 |agency = Schools of grammar and rhetoric |fam3 = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]] |fam4 = [[Latin]] |isoexception = historical |glotto = none |linglist = lat-cla |lingua = 51-AAB-aaa }} '''Classical Latin''' is the form of [[Latin]] that was used by the [[ancient Rome|Ancient Romans]] in official Roman record-keeping, the [[Roman army]], and Latin literature. Its use helped the Golden Age of Latin literature, during the [[1st century BC]] and the early [[1st century|1st century AD]]. Classical Latin is a dead language, as is [[Vulgar Latin]], the common speech of citizens in the [[Roman Empire]]. Latin is no longer spoken as a first language, but it is still spoken by church officials in the [[Vatican]], where it is the [[official language]]. {{Europe-stub}} {{Latin periods}} [[Category:Ancient Rome]] [[Category:Latin language]]