The Functional Distribution of Latin Forms in Western Europe of the Early Middle Ages

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the historical dynamics of the functional distribution of Latin forms common in Western Europe in the IV–X centuries. Studying the history of the development of the Latin language as the most important source of Romance languages in the light of these developments is an extremely important phenomenon, because it is able to bring the researcher closer to understanding the issues of the emergence of Romance languages and the vitality of the Latin language after the collapse of the Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome, interest in Roman culture and classical Latin in Western European countries is still relevant. It is known that in the late period of the development of the Roman Empire, there is a differentiation of forms of classical and folk Latin, of which the vulgar, Folk Latin successfully contributed to the processes of linguistic development and the formation of new Romance languages. However, the distancing of the forms of classical and folk Latin is primarily associated with the emergence of a new religion—Christianity and the emergence of a new Latin form—Christian Latin. Thus, Latin remains in school education and is newly developed in Christian communities. Christian Latin is a means of linguistic unification of Gaul in the Middle Ages. Christian literature combines the norm of classical literature and the folk language and becomes the new language standard. The crucial role of Christianity in the development of the Latin language and medieval European culture and society is noted. To solve the tasks in the work, the historical method is used to establish types of language situations and conditions and their temporal correlation in the territory of Western Europe; comparative-historical, based on a cultural-historical interpretation and identification of types of idioms; comparative-comparative, suggesting a systematization of emerging language situations and conditions on the territory of the studied areas in the specified period. An analysis of the various forms of the Latin language that existed in Western Europe right up to the New Time allows us to judge the process of transforming one language into another as extremely complex, fed by various sources, each of which is marked by its own developmental features. Materials and conclusions of the study can be used in theoretical courses in romance philology, general linguistics, in the course of the Latin language.