Unit 2-Individual Project
Topics in Cultural Studies-HUMA215
Candice Kelley Waugh
1/21/14

“To be or not to be…?” If the question is whether to confine all literary works to only the Latin language, then the answer for scholars and writers alike in the 12th century was indeed not. While Latin was spoken and read by educated men throughout Europe at the time, the growing availability of education for even the common man and women made for an increase in the amount of works created. It would then follow that with proper knowledge of the written word, those with the creative inkling would begin to write, not as a scholar, but rather in the vernacular most commonly recognizable to those who would read their works. Vernacular simply means the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region (Sayre, 2013). The Latin language however is far from dead. Its roots can be found in nearly every language throughout the world. Even with the complexity of the English language, Latin bases, roots, prefixes and suffixes are very apparent. Without the shift from exclusivity to commonality the literary world would have suffered greatly. Prior to the 12th century, literature was primarily written in Latin. According to Dr. Deborah Schwartz, a professor at Calpoly University, writers of the time adapted poetry from Latin to French as part of a movement known as “translation studii” (Schwartz, 1999-2008). Not only were current works translated to language that could understand by the lay man or woman, but new works were also being created in a language that could be understood by all. The French led this movement with such works as “Song of Roland” and Chretien de Troye’s “Lancelot” (Sayre, 2013). By the 14th century, the use of vernacular language in writing had spread throughout Europe and the use of Latin in literary works began to fade (Sayre, 2013). Some present day languages have very obvious links to the Latin language. Italian, Greek, Portuguese, and Spanish are just a few of those languages. The English language however, both by way of England and America has roots deep in the base of Latin. The reason so many languages share Latin and in fact also Greek roots, is because of the history of the Roman Empire and how it affect the territories it came in contact with. As the Roman leaders, Caesars, vied for control of as much land as they could muster, the Roman culture and language was left in their wake. Later, trade and the expansion of colleges and artisanship during the Renaissance period would do more to open up language barriers and expand cultural dimensions.

References:
Sayre, H. M. (2013). Discovering the Humanities. Pearson Education, Inc.
Schwartz, D. D. (1999-2008). Medieval Attitudes Toward Vernacular Literature.