Vulgar Latin Period

          Before the invasion of Gaul (present day France) by the Romans (led by Julius Caesar in 58-52 BC), it was largely populated by a group of Celtic people referred to as Gauls. Although there were also other linguistic/ ethnic groups in France at that time, the Gaul populations, even if they were separated in several groups, was almost everywhere speaking a common language called Gaelic, a homogeneity seldom observed for such a vast territory.

         Vulgar Latin, the colloquial dialect spoken by the Roman army and its agents and not the literary dialect of Cicero, quickly became the lingua franca of the entire Gallic region for mercantile, official, and educational purposes. However, no writing was used for that language, which created its disappearance. Romans did not impose Latin to the populations, but they tended to make it indispensible for the local elites.


Key Factors: Why was Latin adopted in Gaul?

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1. To become a Roman citizen in the Empire, it was compulsory to speak Latin.
2. Financial institutions and all public services (such as, schools, temples, theatres, etc) were distributed in Latin. Some civil servants were also sent to Rome to learn Latin, though against their willing.
3. The army was also governed in Latin, so all the military sent by defeated populations, had to learn the language. Camps all over the empire interacted with the local population using Latin.
4. Romans are offered lands for any service given to the empire. This is of great importance in explaining why Latin quickly spread throughout the territory.
5. Urbanization and municipalities’ development were also key factors for Romanization and Latin spread.
6. A vast road network and a huge post delivery system were created.
7. As Gaelic had no alphabet, Latin writings were adopted, especially by the elites.
8. When Germanic invasions started, the diversity in populations, invaders, and fleeing people, gave a new impulsion to Latin, as Germanic acted more and more upon Gaelic.
9. Even as the country was receptive to Christianization of the empire, as Latin was the language of the new religion, it contributed a lot to the spread of popular Latin, surviving 8 centuries as the lingua franca of Christianity. But as Christianity first touched the popular part of the population, the priests adapted their language to their faithful followers, that which was different from the Latin spoken in Rome. The Priests decided to have a language able to speak to the masses than the elites. This “Christian” Latin was open to innovations and therefore, evolved immensely.

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