History Main / ClassicalTongue

* Several in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''. The Dwemer language is mostly lost, rediscovering the dragon language is a plot point in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', as is the Falmer language. The closest example to a language of the educated, possibly, is Old High Elven or Aldmeris (which also parallels Latin in that it didn't so much die out as evolve into several distinct but clearly related languages, some living and others, like Dwemeris and the Falmer language, extinct).

* Ancient Belkan (which is [[GratuitousGerman suspiciously similar to modern German]]) in the ''LyricalNanoha'' franchise is spoken only by a few old-fashioned Knights and their Devices.
* In ''ScrappedPrincess'' it turns out that the old language is ''English''. For example, the name of their continent, "Dustvin", is a corruption of "Dustbin".

* High Valyrian from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''.

* The High D'Haran from ''Literature/TheSwordOfTruth'' series.
* Several in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': Westron, the Lingua Franca and CommonTongue of the series, is derived from Adûnaic, the language of the Númenóreans. Quenya serves in the same capacity for the Elves.
** Dwarves never speak their own tongue to outsiders except their BattleCry (and presumably the hearers are expected to soon be dead). Dwarvish is a ceremonial language and is exactly the same in the time of ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' as it was in Durin's time. When talking to outsiders and sometimes even among themselves they use Common Speech. And if an outsider knows Dwarvish that is a sure sign that he is considered to be a very honored friend and possibly that he has [[GoingNative Gone Native]].

* There's ''Literature/InheritanceCycle's'' Ancient Language. As an added bonus, it's a LanguageOfMagic.

* At the end of ''[[LordPeterWimsey Gaudy Night]]'', Wimsey makes his last marriage proposal to Harriet Vane in Latin and she accepts in the same language ("Placet," meaning "it pleases"). They're both highly educated graduates of Oxford University, where the novel is set. The event is special, in that Wimsey unsuccessfully proposed marriage to Harriet (in the vernacular) '''repeatedly''' over the course of several years and several novels.

* High Imperial in ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw''.
** BilingualBonus: [[spoiler: It's Spook's street slang from ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy''.]]

* Old High Gallifreyan in ''Series/DoctorWho''.

* Among Darrians in {{Traveller}} the Old Script ''Yaser Te-yulep'' is used for poetry and legal documents and the Roman Script ''Rome Te-yelup'' is used generally.
* Old Realm, as opposed to modern High Realm and Low Realm, in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}''. It's still spoken by most spirits and by scholars, enough to be used as one of the setting's three {{Common Tongue}}s.

* Ancient Hylian in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''.

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* In ''VideoGame/ThunderForce VI'', the [[TheFederation Galaxy Federation]] uses [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangut_language Tangut]] as its official language.

* During the Archprelate's funeral in the ''{{Elenium}}'', there's a reference to the prayers and chants being in an archaic form of the Elene language that hardly anyone present understands.

* For ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'', BioWare commissioned a 2,500 word ConLang called [[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/arts/do-you-speak-tho-fan-its-all-the-rage-in-jade-empire.html Tho Fan]], also known in universe as "the Old Tongue". Though, they ended up using it to save memory on dialogue as they could get away with using only a few sentences in what would sound like gibberish to most players, and the majority of [=NPCs=] speak "English" anyways.

* Arabic is an interesting case. Classical Arabic--the flowery language of TheQuran--is unquestionably dead, but it's not difficult to understand for one who speaks Modern Standard Arabic, which is less flowery and more businesslike. However, nobody speaks MSA as a first language, either: they speak one of the numerous varieties of Arabic. However, none of these are traditionally written down, and high-class colloquial Arabic blends seamlessly into MSA anyhow. The result is that while Classical Arabic is a classical language for Arabs (and a holy language for Muslims, Arab or otherwise), Arabic in general is very much alive.[[note]]The same process is how we got from Latin to the various Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, etc.), incidentally. Vulgar Latin, the form spoken by the masses, gradually broke up into different dialects that evolved in different directions. The difference is that the printing press and widespread literacy arrived in the Arab world before the split was complete.[[/note]]

* {{Downplayed}} on ''{{Grimm}}'' when Nick needs a text translated that is written in a medieval dialect of German. Monroe explains that the dialect has not been used in a long time but he can still translate it because it is close enough to modern German. Played straighter with the cloth covering the Templar treasure, which has writing in Aramaic and Latin. Rosalee can translate some of the Latin, but says it's archaic Latin, not Classical Latin.

* {{Downplayed}} on ''{{Grimm}}'' when Nick needs a text translated that is written in a medieval dialect of German. Monroe explains that the dialect has not been used in a long time but he can still translate it because it is close enough to modern German.

* Several in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''. The Dwemer language is mostly lost, rediscovering the dragon language is a plot point in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', as is the Falmer language. The closest example to a language of the educated, possibly, is Old High Elven or Aldmeris.

A language that isn't typically known or used by the common man. It may be dead and mostly forgotten, or only spoken by educated elites such as nobility, scholars, [[SacredLanguage clergy]], or [[LanguageOfMagic mages]]. A few words from it might be used to denote something special, or is used for something or someone's [[YouAreTheTranslatedForeignWord name]], or someone who knows it [[GratuitousForeignLanguage might drop a phrase here and there in an attempt to sound clever]], but don't expect the common masses to use it (anymore). It's often an {{Expy}} [[CanisLatinicus of Latin]], if it isn't [[AltumVidetur Latin itself]].

** Dwarves never speak their own tongue to outsiders except their BattleCry(and presumably the hearers are expected to soon be dead). Dwarvish is a ceremonial language and is exactly the same in the time of ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' as it was in Durin's time. When talking to outsiders and sometimes even among themselves they use Common Speech. And if an outsider knows Dwarvish that is a sure sign that he is considered to be a very honored friend and possibly that he has [[GoingNative Gone Native]].

* The Ancient Language in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius'', used as a spell casting language in most contemporary settings and is the primary language for the Heron tribe. Most of what Princess Leanne says is in this language, translations of which can be found [[http://serenesforest.net/fe9/galldr.html here]] and [[http://serenesforest.net/fe10/ancient.html here]].

* Classical or Literary Chinese differs from modern vernacular Chinese mostly in style and vocabulary, one of the more salient features being the lack of multi-character words. It survives mostly in literature, certain formal contexts, and school exams.

* In ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'' negotiating with different species requires researching their languages, most of them have three, a "CommonTongue" that allows Ceasefire agreements, a secondary language that allows the formation of alliances or Non-Aggresion Pacts, and a third that enables tech sharing and demands for their surrender. Humanity's are English, Latin, and Hanzi.

* ''{{Futurama}}'' has a RunningGag where French has become one by the year 3000.

* High Valyrian from ''ASongOfIceAndFire''.

* The High D'Haran from ''TheSwordOfTruth'' series.

** Dwarves never speak their own tongue to outsiders except their BattleCry(and presumably the hearers are expected to soon be dead). Dwarvish is a ceremonial language and is exactly the same in the time of LordOfTheRings as it was in Durin's time. When talking to outsiders and sometimes even among themselves they use Common Speech. And if an outsider knows Dwarvish that is a sure sign that he is considered to be a very honored friend and possibly that he has [[GoingNative Gone Native]].

* "High Speech" from ''TheDarkTower'', which is the language of Gilead, the city of Gunslingers, and is considered a "civilized" language compared to the Low Speech of everyday communication. It's an "old" language in the sense that, by the time of the first novel (''The Gunslinger''), Roland is the last of the Gunslingers and thus one of the few people left in the world who actually can speak it.

A language that isn't typically known or used by the common man. It may be dead and mostly forgotten, or only spoken by educated elites such as nobility, scholars, [[SacredLanguage clergy]], or [[LanguageOfMagic mages]]. A few words from it might be used to denote something special, or is used for something or someone's [[YouAreTheTranslatedForeignWord name]], or someone who knows it [[GratuitousForeignLanguage might drop a phrase here and there in an attempt to sound clever]], but don't expect the common masses to use it (anymore). It's often an {{Expy}} of Latin, if it isn't Latin itself.

A language that isn't known/used by the common man. It may be dead/(mostly) forgotten, or is spoken by nobility/scholars/any elite or knowledgeable/educated person in general. It'll probably be both. A few words from it might be used to denote something special, or is used for something or someone's [[YouAreTheTranslatedForeignWord name]], or someone who knows it [[GratuitousForeignLanguage might drop a phrase here and there in an attempt to sound clever]], but don't expect the common masses to use it (anymore). It's often an {{Expy}} of Latin, if it isn't Latin itself.

* Arabic is an interesting case. Classical Arabic--the flowery language of TheQuran--is unquestionably dead, but it's not difficult to understand for one who speaks Modern Standard Arabic, which is less flowery and more businesslike. However, nobody speaks MSA as a first language, either: they speak one of the numerous varieties of Arabic. However, none of these are traditionally written down, and high-class colloquial Arabic blends seamlessly into MSA anyhow. The result is that while Classical Arabic is a classical language for Arabs (and a holy language for Muslims, Arab or otherwise), Arabic in general is very much alive.[[note]]The same process is how we got from Latin to the various Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, etc.), incidentally. Vulgar Latin, the form spoken by the masses, gradually broke up into different dialects that evolved in different directions.[[/note]]

* Several in ''TheElderScrolls''. The Dwemer language is mostly lost, rediscovering the dragon language is a plot point in ''{{Skyrim}}'', as is the Falmer language. The closest example to a language of the educated, possibly, is Old High Elven or Aldmeris.