Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, and its influence spread across Europe during the Roman period. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Latin continued to be used in the Catholic Church and in academia, and over time, it evolved into various regional dialects. These dialects eventually developed into the Romance languages, which include:
* Italian
* Spanish
* Portuguese
* French
* Romanian
* Catalan
* Sardinian
While Latin is the direct ancestor of these Romance languages, it also had a significant influence on other European languages, including:
* English (due to the Norman conquest of England)
* German (due to Latin's role in education and administration)
* Russian (through the influence of Church Slavonic, which was based on Old Church Slavonic, itself derived from a South Slavic dialect of Proto-Slavic that was heavily influenced by Latin)
Therefore, Latin can be considered the foundational language for many of the languages spoken in Europe today.