Difference Between Greek and Latin

The main difference between Greek and Latin is that Greek is considered a living language while Latin is known to be an extinct language.

Greek vs Latin

Greek is the oldest language of the Indo-European language family that is still a mother tongue. Latin is another famous ancient language that is no longer used. The Greek language is considered a living language. On the other hand, Latin is known to be the extinct language. Greek belongs to the separate Hellenic or Greek branch of the Indo-European language family. Latin belongs to the independent Italic branch of the Indo-European language family.

The history of the Greek language tells that it was the lingua franca during the classical period and the official language of the Byzantine Empire in classical antiquity. The history of the Latin language tells that it was the lingua franca during the Middle Ages; the Byzantine Empire replaced its official language with Latin during late antiquity. Most of the laws of science are in Greek, while the elements of the periodic table are in Latin. Greek is known to be the official language of some countries, for example, Greece and Cyprus. Latin is known to be the official language of the Romans and the Vatican City.

Greek has its specific alphabet and its structure is VSO or SVO. Latin had different alphabets and its construction was a verb-final sentence structure. The Greek gave many scientific, technical and medical words. Many other languages ​​rooted in Latin. Greek is divided into periods, for example Ancient Greek, Proto-Greek, Mycenaean Greek, Koine Greek, Modern Greek, and Medieval. Latin is classified into periods such as Classical Latin, Old Latin, Vulgar Latin, and Medieval Latin.

Comparison chart

What is Greek?

Greek is one of the most important and ancient languages ​​that was derived from the Hellenic or Greek branch of the Indo-European language family. It has the longest documented history of approximately 34 centuries of written records among any Indo-European language. It is the main language spoken in Greece, with nearly 13 million native speakers. Other areas where Greek is the native language are the southern Balkans, the Aegean Islands, western Asia Minor, southern Italy, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, and parts of northern and eastern Anatolia and the South Caucasus.

Greek is known as an opulent language with its phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. Linguistically, Greek is a diglossic language (different varieties of speech and writing). The Greek language is primarily known for its literature, and its history dates back to the 4th century BC. C. Western literature also grew out of Greek literature. There are various periods of the Greek language, for example, Proto-Greek, Mycenaean Greek, Ancient Greek, Koine Greek, Modern Greek, and Medieval.

Greek was the lingua franca (any language used for communication between speakers of other languages) in the world of meditation in classical antiquity. It is the base language of many writing systems such as Latin and Gothic. It was the official language of the Byzantine Empire, and Modern Greek is known to be the official language of Greece and Cyprus. The Greek language has an excellent share in science as it made many relevant laws and borrowed many scientific terms. The Greek alphabet originated from the Phoenician script and the structure of the language is the VSO or SVO structure.

What is Latin?

Latin is one of the most prominent languages ​​of the Indo-European language family. The Latin language was spoken in ‘Latium’ which is an area of ​​Italy. The Latin alphabet is the oldest inscriptions dating back to ^6th century BC, and originated from the Etruscan alphabet. It is an ancient language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family that was spoken during the Roman Empire. There are no native speakers of Latin today and it is known as an extinct or dead language.

Latin does not evolve like other languages, and this is because its use was only limited to some groups in the Roman Catholic Church. It is classified into different periods, for example, Old Latin, Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin, Medieval Latin, etc. Classical Latin is mainly found in written form. The written form of Latin still exists, but it is not spoken. Vulgar Latin refers to the colloquial language spoken by people at the time. Vulgar Latin later became the influence of Italic/Romance languages ​​like Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, etc.

Latin terminology is also used in fields such as biology, medicine, and theology. It has an excellent share in science as most of the elements in the periodic table are in Latin, eg nattruim, gallium, etc. Latin was once a major language of the Roman Empire, and many languages ​​are still influenced by Latin, for example familiar Romance languages ​​such as French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. While during the fifteenth ^century its use decreased and was replaced by other languages.

Key differences

1. Greek has its roots in the Hellenic or Greek branch of the Indo-European language family. In contrast, Latin is related to the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family.
2. The Greek language is considered a living language that is used in comparison. Latin is known to be a dead or extinct language.
3. Greek is known to be the official language of some countries, for example, Greece and Cyprus; on the other hand, Latin is known to be the official language of the Romans and the Vatican City.
4. The Greek alphabet is found to have originated from the Phoenician script; conversely, the Latin alphabet is known to be influenced by the Greek text.
5. Greek is divided into several periods, e.g. Eg Proto-Greek, Mycenaean Greek, Ancient Greek, Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, and Modern Greek, while Latin is classified into periods, e.g. For example, Old Latin, Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin, Medieval Latin, etc.
6. The history of the Greek language tells that it was the lingua franca during the classical period; on the other hand, Latin was the lingua franca during the Middle Ages.
7. Greek was the official language of the Byzantine Empire during classical antiquity; on the contrary, the Byzantine Empire replaced its official language with Latin during late antiquity.
8. Most of the laws of science are in Greek; on the other side the elements of the periodic table are in Latin.
9. The Greek gave many scientific, technical and medical words; conversely, many other languages ​​rooted in Latin.
10. Greek has its specific alphabet, and its structure is VSO or SVO, while Latin had different alphabets, and its construction was a verb-final sentence structure.

Final Thought

Greek and Latin are the two most popular and oldest languages. They both have their separate branches in the family. Two of these languages ​​share many grammatical features, eg gender, cases, noun inflections. But they are different from each other based on their origins, history and other notions.