| − | An [[Indo-European]] language of the Italic family; its closest relatives were [[Umbric]] and [[Etruscan]], which are both now extinct. Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, from which all the Romance languages are derived. These languages include Spanish, Romanian, Portugese, and Italian. | + | An [[Indo-European]] language of the Italic family; its closest relative was [[Umbric]], which is now extinct. Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, from which all the Romance languages are derived. These languages include Spanish, Romanian, Portugese, and Italian. |
| − | Latin grammar is marked by an extensive system of noun cases and verbal inflection. Noun cases are organized along nominative-accusative lines, with several other oblique cases also used. Verbal morphology distinguishes both case and aspect. Phonologically, Latin is generally similar to other western languages of the Indo-European family. However, Latin was innovative because it had a whole series of ejective stops. Interestingly, these consonants neither existed in Italic nor survived into the Romance daughter languages.
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| | + | Latin grammar is marked by an extensive system of noun cases and verbal inflection. Noun cases are organized along nominative-accusative lines, with several other oblique cases also used. Verbal morphology distinguishes both case and aspect. Phonologically, Latin is generally similar to other western languages of the Indo-European family. |