02/11/2016
Which is the closest living form of Latin language?
According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardinian_language) Sardinian (Sardo, for local people) is considered the most conservative Romance language. A 1949 study by Italian-American linguist Mario Pei, analyzing the degree of difference from a language's parent by comparing phonology, inflection, syntax, vocabulary, and intonation, indicated the following percentages: Sardinian 8%, Italian 12%, Spanish 20%, Romanian 23.5%, Occitan 25%, Portuguese 31%, and French 44%. For example, Latin "Pone mihi tres panes in bertula" (put three loaves of bread [from home] in the bag for me) would be the very similar "Ponemi tres panes in bertula" in Sardinian.
"It can be said that Sardinian has no relationship whatsoever with any dialect of mainland Italy; it is an archaic Romance speech with its own distinctive characteristics, showing a very original vocabulary in addition to morphology and syntax rather different from the Italian dialects." — Max Leopold Wagner, La lingua sarda, 1951 – Ilisso, pp. 90–91
Another prominent source is considered Dante Alighieri (the famous Florentine medieval poet and author of the Divina Commedia). In his tratise in Latin, the "De Vulgari Eloquentia" (1303-1305), Dante research an illustrious vernacular that could take on literary language feature within the diverse panorama of Italian language. Dante wrote: "grammaticam tanquam simiae homines imitantes; nam domus nova et dominus meus locuntur" (They mimic the grammar, as do monkeys men; because they say 'domus nova' and 'dominus meus' [as the same in Latin]). This means that even in the Middle Ages the Sardo was still very similar to Latin than any other Italian laguages which in the meanwhile were already becoming vernaculars.
This affinity is most likely due to insularity that has preserved the language as many traditions. Many of these traditions are now Christian but it is quite clear their ancient or even prehistoric origins.
