Classical Latin

From Freepedia

Classical Latin is the language used by the principal exponents of that language in what is usually regarded as 'classical' Latin literature. Its origins within the framework of Indo-European are well understood, but there is much work still to be done on details.

Classical Latin is the Latin language of the Golden Age (broadly the 1st century BC), possibly extending to the Silver Age (broadly the 1st century AD).

What we call "Classical Latin" was, in fact, a highly stylized and polished written literary language selectively constructed from early Latin, of which we have far fewer remains. Classical Latin is the product of the reconstruction of early Latin in the prototype of Attic Greek. The earliest Latin literature, such as that of Cato the Elder, Plautus, and to some extent Lucretius, differs from the Latin of the "Golden Age" to some degree. The spoken Latin of the Roman Empire, especially from the second century forward, is generally called vulgar Latin. Vulgar Latin differed from classical Latin in its vocabulary and grammar, and as time passed it differed from the classical language in pronunciation as well.

Ages of Latin
—75 BC	75 BC – 1st c.	2nd c. – 8th c.	9th c. – 15th c.	15th c. - 17th c.	17th c. – present
Old Latin	Golden Age Latin Silver Age Latin (Classical Latin)	Late Latin	Medieval Latin	Humanist Latin	New Latin