LATIN<\/a> is a classical language belonging to the ITALIC LANGUAGES<\/a> branch of the INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES<\/a>. Originally spoken in the region of LATIUM<\/a>, it rose to prominence as the official language of ANCIENT ROME<\/a>. Its development is generally categorized into several phases, beginning with OLD LATIN<\/a> and progressing into the highly standardized CLASSICAL LATIN<\/a> of the late ROMAN REPUBLIC<\/a> and early ROMAN EMPIRE<\/a>.<\/p> During the Golden Age of LATIN-LITERATURE<\/a>, authors such as CICERO<\/a>, VIRGIL<\/a>, HORACE<\/a>, and OVID<\/a> produced works that would define Western literary traditions for centuries. While the elite wrote in a formal style, the common population spoke VULGAR LATIN<\/a>, which eventually evolved into the modern ROMANCE LANGUAGES<\/a>, including ITALIAN<\/a>, FRENCH<\/a>, SPANISH<\/a>, PORTUGUESE<\/a>, and ROMANIAN<\/a>.<\/p> In the post-classical era, MEDIEVAL-LATIN<\/a> served as the lingua franca of EUROPE<\/a> for science, law, and theology. It remains the liturgical language of the ROMAN-CATHOLIC-CHURCH<\/a> and provides the basis for much of the scientific nomenclature in BIOLOGY<\/a> and MEDICINE<\/a>. For further reading, see the Encyclopædia Britannica<\/a> or the World History Encyclopedia<\/a>.<\/p>