Editing Old Latin (section)

{{Short description|Latin language in the period before 70 BC}}
{{for|the "Old Latin" Biblical texts| Vetus Latina}}
{{Use dmy dates|date= November 2015}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Old Latin
| altname = Priscan Latin 
| nativename = <!-- The name speakers of Old Latin used for their language. -->
| image = Duenos inscription.jpg
| imagecaption = The [[Duenos inscription]], one of the earliest Old Latin texts
| ethnicity = [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]], [[Roman people|Romans]]
| region = [[Italy]]
| states = [[Latium]], later the [[Roman Kingdom]] and [[Roman Republic|Republic]]
| nation = [[Rome]]
| script = [[Old Italic script]] before it evolved into the [[Latin alphabet]]&nbsp;<!--(&nbsp; needed to prevent default link to Latin script)-->
| era = Attested since 7th century BC. Developed into [[Vulgar Latin]] as colloquial form, and [[Classical Latin]] as literary form, around 75 BC.
| agency = Schools of grammar and rhetoric
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3 = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
| ancestor = [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2  = [[Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]]
| ancestor3 = [[Latino-Faliscan languages#Phonology|Proto-Latino-Faliscan]]
| iso3 = none
| isoexception = historical 
| linglist = qbb
| glotto = oldl1238
| glottorefname = Old Latin
| map = Expansion of Rome, 2nd century BC.gif
| mapcaption = Expansion of the Roman Republic during the 2nd century BC. Very little Latin is likely to have been spoken beyond the green area, and other languages were spoken even within it.
| notice = IPA
}}

'''Old Latin''', also known as '''Early''', '''Archaic''' or '''Priscan Latin''' (Classical {{langx|la|prīsca Latīnitās|lit=ancient Latinity}}), was the [[Latin|Latin language]] in the period roughly before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of [[Classical Latin]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Archaic Latin|encyclopedia=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition}}</ref> A member of the [[Italic languages]], it descends from a common [[Proto-Italic language]]; [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]] is likely a separate branch from [[Osco-Umbrian languages|Osco-Umbrian]]. All these languages may be relatively closely related to [[Venetic language|Venetic]] and possibly further to [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] (see the [[Italo-Celtic]] hypothesis).

The use of "old", "early" and "archaic" has been standard in publications of Old Latin writings since at least the 18th century. The definition is not arbitrary, but the terms refer to spelling conventions and word forms not generally found in works written under the [[Roman Empire]]. This article presents some of the major differences.

The earliest known specimen of [[Latin]] seems to be on the [[Praeneste fibula]]. An analysis done in 2011 declared it to be genuine "beyond any reasonable doubt"<ref name="maras">{{cite journal|first= Daniele F.|last=Maras|title=Scientists declare the Fibula Praenestina and its inscription to be genuine 'beyond any reasonable doubt'|url=http://ancientstudies.fas.nyu.edu/docs/CP/963/EtruscanNewsVol14_2012_winter.pdf|journal=Etruscan News|volume=14|date=Winter 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224195235/http://ancientstudies.fas.nyu.edu/docs/CP/963/EtruscanNewsVol14_2012_winter.pdf|archive-date=24 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and dating from the [[Orientalizing period]], in the first half of the seventh century BC.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/1290713|title=Scientists declare the Fibula Prenestina and its inscription to be genuine 'beyond any reasonable doubt'|first=Daniele Federico|last=Maras|website=academia.edu|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019032942/http://www.academia.edu/1290713/Scientists_declare_the_Fibula_Prenestina_and_its_inscription_to_be_genuine_beyond_any_reasonable_doubt_|archive-date=19 October 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Other Old Latin inscriptions dated to either the late [[Roman Kingdom]] or early [[Roman Republic]] include the [[Lapis Niger]] stone, the [[Duenos Inscription]] on a ''[[kernos]]'' vase, and the [[Garigliano bowl]] of [[Bucchero]] type.