This text makes use of contemporary work in linguistics to provide up-to-date commentary on the development of Latin, from its prehistoric origins in the Indo-European language family, through the earliest texts, to the creation of the Classical Language of Cicero and Vergil, and examines the impact of the spread of spoken Latin through the Roman Empire.

• The first book in English in more than 50 years to provide comprehensive coverage of the history of the Latin language
  
• Gives a full account of the transformation of the language in the context of...