Editing Literary language

{{Short description|Form of a language used in written literature}}
{{refimprove|date=March 2022}}

'''Literary language''' is the [[Register (sociolinguistics)|register]] of a [[language]] used when writing in a formal, [[academic writing|academic]], or particularly polite tone; when speaking or writing in such a tone, it can also be known as '''formal language'''. It may be the [[Standard language|standardized variety]] of a language. It can sometimes differ noticeably from the various [[spoken language|spoken]] [[Variety (linguistics)|lects]], but the difference between literary and non-literary forms is greater in some languages than in others. If there is a strong divergence between a written form and the spoken [[vernacular]], the language is said to exhibit [[diglossia]].

The understanding of the term differs from one linguistic tradition to another and is dependent on the terminological conventions adopted.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Siatkowska|first=Ewa|title=Standaryzacja po kurpiowsku|journal=Polonica|year=2017|issn=0137-9712|volume=37|page=5|doi=10.17651/polon.37.12 |language=pl|url=http://rcin.org.pl/Content/64464}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= Encyklopedia językoznawstwa ogólnego |editor-last=Polański|editor-first=Kazimierz|publisher=Ossolineum |location= Wrocław |year= 1999 |isbn =83-04-04445-5 |page=271 |language=pl}}</ref>

==Literary English==
{{For|literary uses of English|Literary technique}}
{{For|normative English|Standard English}}
{{For|written English|Standard Written English}}
For much of its history, there has been a distinction in the English language between an elevated literary language (written) and a [[colloquialism|colloquial]] or [[vernacular language]] (spoken, but sometimes also represented in writing).<ref name=Rissanen9>Matti Rissanen, ''History of Englishes: New Methods and Interpretations in Historical Linguistics'', Walter de Gruyter, 1992, p9. {{ISBN|3-11-013216-8}}</ref> After the [[Norman conquest of England]], for instance, Latin and French displaced English as the official and literary languages,<ref>Elaine M. Treharne, ''Old and Middle English C.890-c.1400: An Anthology'', Blackwell Publishing, 2004, pxxi. {{ISBN|1-4051-1313-8}}</ref> and standardized literary English did not emerge until the end of the [[Middle Ages]].<ref>Pat Rogers, ''The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature'', Oxford University Press, 2001, p3. {{ISBN|0-19-285437-2}}</ref> At this time and into the [[Renaissance]], the practice of [[aureation]] (the introduction of terms from [[classical language]]s, often through poetry) was an important part of the reclamation of status for the English language, and many historically aureate terms are now part of general [[usus|common usage]]. Modern English no longer has quite the same distinction between literary and colloquial registers.<ref name=Rissanen9/>

English has been used as a literary language in countries that were formerly part of the [[British Empire]], for instance in [[Indian English literature|India]] up to the present day,<ref>R.R.Mehrotra in Ofelia García, Ricardo Otheguy, ''English Across Cultures, Cultures Across English: A Reader in Cross-cultural Communication'', Walter de Gruyter, 1989, p422. {{ISBN|0-89925-513-2}}</ref> [[Languages of Malaysia|Malaysia]] in the early 20th century<ref>David Crystal, ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, p104. {{ISBN|0-521-53033-4}}</ref> and [[Languages of Nigeria|Nigeria]], where English remains the official language.

Written in [[Early Modern English]], the [[King James Bible]] and works by [[William Shakespeare]] from the 17th century are defined as prototype mediums of literary English and are taught in [[Academic English|advanced English]] classes.<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-eloquence-of-the-king-james-version-of-the-bible/10781354 The art of biblical translation, part one: On the eloquence of the King James Version] by Robert Alter, [[ABC (Australia)|ABC]],  5 February 2019</ref> Furthermore, many literary words that are used today are found in abundance in the works of Shakespeare and as well as in King James Bible, hence the literary importance of early modern English in contemporary [[English literature]] and [[English studies]].<ref>Keller, Stefan Daniel. The Development of Shakespeare's Rhetoric: A Study of Nine Plays. Volume 136 of Schweizer anglistische Arbeiten. Narr Francke Attempto, 2009. {{ISBN|9783772083242}}. p54</ref>

==Other languages==
{{See also|Standard language}}

===Arabic===
{{main article|Modern Standard Arabic}}

[[Modern Standard Arabic]] is the contemporary literary and standard register of [[Classical Arabic]] used in writing across all [[The Arab World|Arabic]]-speaking countries and any governing body with Arabic as an official language. Many western scholars distinguish two varieties: the Classical Arabic of the [[Qur'an]] and early Islamic (7th to 9th centuries) [[Arabic literature|literature]]; and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the [[standard language]] in use today. The modern standard language is closely based on the Classical language, and most Arabs consider the two varieties to be two registers of the same language. Literary Arabic or classical Arabic is the official language of all Arab countries and is the only form of Arabic taught in schools at all stages {{Clarify|date=September 2014}}{{Citation needed|date=September 2014}}.

The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of [[diglossia]]—the use of two distinct varieties of the same language, usually in different social contexts. Educated Arabic speakers are usually able to communicate in MSA in formal situations. This diglossic situation facilitates [[code-switching]] in which a speaker switches back and forth between the two varieties of the language, sometimes even within the same sentence. In instances in which highly educated Arabic-speakers of different nationalities engage in conversation but find their dialects mutually unintelligible (e.g. a Moroccan speaking with a Kuwaiti), they are able to code switch into MSA for the sake of communication.

===Aramaic===

The [[Aramaic language]] has been diglossic for much of its history, with many different literary standards serving as the "high" liturgical languages, including [[Syriac language]], [[Jewish Palestinian Aramaic]], [[Jewish Babylonian Aramaic]], [[Samaritan Aramaic language]] and [[Mandaic language]], while the vernacular [[Neo-Aramaic languages]] serve as the vernacular language spoken by the common people like [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]] ([[Sureth]], [[Bohtan Neo-Aramaic]], [[Hértevin language]], [[Koy Sanjaq Syriac language]], [[Senaya language]]), [[Western Neo-Aramaic]], [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]], [[Central Neo-Aramaic]] ([[Mlahsô language]], [[Turoyo language]]), [[Neo-Mandaic]], [[Hulaulá language]], [[Lishana Deni]], [[Lishanid Noshan]], [[Lishán Didán]], [[Betanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic]], and [[Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic]].

===Armenian===
The [[Armenian language]] was a diglossic language for much of its history, with [[Classical Armenian]] serving as the "high" literary standard and liturgical language, and the [[Western Armenian]] and [[Eastern Armenian]] dialects serving as the vernacular language of the Armenian people. Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian were eventually standardized into their own literary forms.

===Bengali===

Standard [[Bengali language|Bengali]] has two forms:

*'''Chôlitôbhasha''' ({{lang|bn|চলিত ভাষা}} {{transliteration|bn|ISO|calita bhāṣā}}), the vernacular standard based on the elite speech of [[Kolkata]].
*'''[[Sadhu bhasha|Shadhubhasha]]''' ({{lang|bn|সাধু ভাষা}} {{transliteration|bn|ISO|sādhu bhāṣā}}), the literary standard, which employs more [[Sanskrit]]ized vocabulary and longer prefixes and suffixes.

Grammatically, the two forms are identical; differing forms, such as verb conjugations, are easily converted from one form to another. However, the vocabulary is quite different from one form to the other and must be learned separately. Among the works of [[Rabindranath Tagore]] are examples of both shadhubhasha (especially among his earlier works) and chôlitôbhasha (especially among his later works). The [[national anthem of India]] was originally written in the shadhubhasha form of Bengali.

===Chinese===
{{main article|Classical Chinese}}

Literary Chinese ({{lang-zh|p=wényánwén|c=文言文|l=written-speech writing|labels=no}}) is the form of written [[Chinese language|Chinese]] used from the end of the [[Han dynasty]] to the early 20th century. Literary Chinese continually diverged from [[Classical Chinese]], as the dialects of China became more disparate and as the classical written language became less representative of the [[Chinese spoken languages|spoken language]]. At the same time, Literary Chinese was based largely upon the Classical Chinese, and writers frequently borrowed from the classical language into their literary writings. Literary Chinese therefore shows a great deal of similarity to Classical Chinese, even though the similarity decreased over the centuries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Li |first1=Chris Wen-chao |title=The Routledge encyclopedia of the Chinese language |date=2016 |location=Oxon |isbn=9781317382492 |pages=408–409 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3D7CwAAQBAJ |access-date=3 April 2023}}</ref>

Starting from early 20th century, [[written vernacular Chinese]] ({{lang-zh|t=白話文|s=白话文|p=báihuàwén}}) became the literary standard. This is mostly aligned with a [[standard Chinese|standardized form of Mandarin Chinese]], which however means there exists considerable divergence between written vernacular Chinese and other Chinese variants like [[Cantonese]], [[Shanghainese]], [[Hokkien]] and [[Sichuanese Mandarin|Sichuanese]]. Some of these variants have their own literary form, but none of them are currently used in official formal registers, although they may be used in legal transcription, and in certain media and entertainment settings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chan |first1=Marjorie K.M. |title=Studies in colloquial Chinese and its history : dialect and text |date=2022 |location=Hong Kong |isbn=9789888754090 |pages=36–37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcqPEAAAQBAJ |access-date=3 April 2023}}</ref>

===Finnish===
The [[Finnish language]] has a literary variant, literary Finnish, and a spoken variant, [[spoken Finnish]]. Both are considered a form of non-dialectal standard language, and are used throughout the country. Literary Finnish is a consciously created fusion of dialects for use as a literary language, which is rarely spoken at all, being confined to writing and official speeches.

===Georgian===
The [[Georgian language]] has a literary liturgical form, the [[Old Georgian language]], while the vernacular spoken varieties are the [[Georgian dialects]] and other related [[Kartvelian languages]] like [[Svan language]], [[Mingrelian language]], and [[Laz language]].

=== German ===
{{main article|Standard German}}

[[German language|German]] differentiates between ''Hochdeutsch''/''Standarddeutsch'' ([[Standard German]]) and ''Umgangssprache'' (everyday/vernacular language). Amongst the differences are the regular use of the [[genitive case]] and the simple past tense ''[[preterite|Präteritum]]'' in written language. In vernacular German, genitive phrases ("des Tages") are frequently replaced with a construction of "von" + [[dative case|dative]] object ("von dem Tag") — comparable to English "the dog's tail" vs. "the tail of the dog". Likewise, the ''Präteritum'' ("ich ging") can be substituted with the [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]] ("ich bin gegangen") to a certain degree. Nevertheless, neither the use of the ''Präteritum'', nor especially the genitive case , are totally unusual in daily language, though it{{Fix|text=what??}} is considered rare, and might be dependent on a region's dialect and/or the grade of education of the speaker. People of higher education use the genitive more regularly in their casual speech, and the use of perfect instead of ''Präteritum'' is especially common in southern Germany, where the ''Präteritum'' is considered somewhat declamatory{{clarify|date=May 2025}}. The German ''Konjunktiv I / II'' ("er habe" / "er hätte") is also used more often in written form, and is replaced by the conditional ("er würde geben") in spoken language, although in some southern German dialects the ''Konjunktiv II'' is used more often. Generally there is a continuum between more dialectical varieties and more standard varieties in German, while colloquial German nonetheless tends to increase [[Analytic language|analytic elements]] at the expense of [[Synthetic language|synthetic elements]].

===Greek===
{{main article|Katharevousa}}

From the early nineteenth century until the mid-20th century, ''[[Katharevousa]]'', a form of [[Greek language|Greek]], was used for literary purposes. In later years, ''Katharevousa'' was used only for official and formal purposes (such as politics, letters, official documents, and newscasting) while ''[[Modern Greek|Dimotiki]]'', 'demotic' or popular Greek, was the daily language. This created a [[diglossia|diglossic situation]] until in 1976, ''Dimotiki'' was made the official language.

===Hebrew===
During the [[revival of the Hebrew language]], spoken and literary Hebrew were revived separately, causing a dispersion between the two. The dispersion started to narrow sometime after the two movements merged, but substantial differences between the two still exist.

===Irish and Scottish Gaelic===
[[File:Alexander III and Ollamh Rígh.JPG|thumb|Coronation of [[Alexander III of Scotland]] at [[Scone, Perth and Kinross|Scone]] in 1249. He is greeted by the ''[[ollamh]] rígh'', the royal poet, who is addressing him with the proclamation {{Lang|ghc|Benach De Re Albanne}} ("God Bless the King of Scotland"); the poet goes on to recite Alexander's [[genealogy]]. Poets of this kind composed in Classical Gaelic, a literary form separate from the [[Scottish Gaelic]] or [[Irish language|Irish]] vernaculars.]]
[[Early Modern Irish]], also called Classical Gaelic or Classical Irish ({{lang|ghc|Gaoidhealg}}) was a shared [[Gaelic literature|literary form of Gaelic]] that was in use by poets in [[Scotland]] and [[Ireland]] from the 13th century to the 18th century. 

Before that time, the vernacular dialects of Ireland and Scotland were considered to belong to a single language, and in the late 12th century a highly formalized standard variant of that language was created for the use in [[Irish bardic poetry]]. The standard was created by medieval Gaelic poets based on the vernacular usage of the late 12th century and allowed a lot of dialectal forms that existed at that point in time,<ref>{{cite book|author=Brian Ó Cuív|title=The linguistic training of the mediaeval Irish poet|year=1973|publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies|isbn=978-0901282-699|quote=But what was achieved in the second half of the twelfth century was something completely radical: the formal adoption of vernacular speech as the basis for a new literary standard. (...) If what they observed of the language at that time had been written down and identified according to regions, and if the manuscripts containing their observations had survived the vicissitudes of the intervening centuries, we would have to-day a fascinating and unique collection of descriptive linguistic material. However, what the poets did was to co-ordinate this material to produce a prescriptive grammar.}}</ref> but was kept [[Conservative and innovative language|conservative]] and was taught virtually unchanged throughout later centuries. The grammar and metrical rules were described in a series of grammatical tracts and linguistic poems used for teaching in bardic schools.<ref name="linguistic-training">{{cite book|author=Brian Ó Cuív|title=The linguistic training of the mediaeval Irish poet|year=1973|publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies|isbn=978-0901282-699}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Eoin Mac Cárthaigh|title=The Art of Bardic Poetry: A new Edition of Irish Grammatical Tracts I|year=2014|publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies|isbn=978-1-85500-226-5}}</ref>

===Italian===
{{see also|Questione della lingua}}
[[Italian language|Standard Italian]] evolved as a literary language, based principally on the [[Tuscan dialect]], in part due to the prestige enjoyed by Florentine authors like [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], [[Petrarch]], [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]], [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavelli]], and [[Francesco Guicciardini]]. [[Languages of Italy|Different languages]] were spoken throughout Italy, almost all of which were [[Romance languages]] which had developed in every region, due to the political and cultural fragmentation of the peninsula. 

Now, it is the [[standard language]] of Italy, due to modern media and education, and many of Italy's other languages and dialects are dying out.

===Japanese===
Until the late 1940s, the prominent literary language in Japan was the  {{nihongo|[[Classical Japanese language]]|文語|bungo}}, which is based on the language spoken in [[Heian period]] ([[Late Old Japanese]]) and is different from the [[Japanese language|contemporary Japanese language]] in grammar and some vocabulary. It still has relevance for historians, literary scholars, and lawyers (many Japanese laws that survived [[World War II]] are still written in ''bungo'', although there are ongoing efforts to modernize their language). Bungo grammar and vocabulary are occasionally used in modern Japanese for effect, and fixed form poetries like [[Haiku]] and [[Waka (poetry)|Tanka]] are still mainly written in this form.

In the [[Meiji period]], some authors started to use the colloquial form of the language in their literature. Following the government policy after the [[World War II]], the standard form of contemporary Japanese language is used for most literature published since the 1950s. The standard language is based on the colloquial language in [[Tokyo]] area, and its literary stylistics in polite form differs little from its formal speech. Notable characteristics of literary language in contemporary Japanese would include more frequent use of Chinese origin words, less use of expressions against [[prescriptive grammar]] (such as "{{lang|ja|ら抜き言葉}}"), and use of non-polite normal form ("{{lang|ja|-だ}}/{{lang|ja|-である}}") stylistics that are rarely used in colloquial language.

===Javanese===
In the [[Javanese language]], [[alphabet]] characters derived from the alphabets used to write [[Sanskrit]], no longer in ordinary use, are used in literary words as a mark of respect.

===Kannada===

[[Kannada language|Kannada]] exhibits a strong [[diglossia]], like [[Tamil language|Tamil]], also characterised by three styles: a classical literary style modelled on the ancient language, a modern literary and formal style, and a modern [[colloquial]] form. These styles shade into each other, forming a diglossic continuum.

The formal style is generally used in formal writing and speech. It is, for example, the language of textbooks, of much of [[Kannada literature]] and of public speaking and debate. Novels, even popular ones, will use the literary style for all description and narration and use the colloquial form only for dialogue, if they use it at all. In recent times, however, the modern colloquial form has been making inroads into areas that have traditionally been considered the province of the modern literary style: for instance most [[film|cinema]], [[theatre]] and popular entertainment on television and radio.

There are also many dialects of Kannada, Which are ''Dharwad Kannada'' of [[North Karnataka]], [[Arebhashe]] of [[Dakshina Kannada]] and Kodagu, [[Kundagannada dialect|Kundakannada]] of Kundapura, [[Havyaka]] Kannada are major dialects.

=== Latin ===
[[Classical Latin]] was the literary register used in writing from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, while [[Vulgar Latin]] was the common, spoken variety used across the [[Roman Empire]]. The Latin brought by Roman soldiers to [[Gaul]], [[Hispania|Iberia]], or [[Dacia]] was not identical to the Latin of [[Cicero]], and differed from it in vocabulary, syntax, and grammar.<ref name="Palmer">[[L.R. Palmer]] The Latin Language (repr. Univ. Oklahoma 1988, {{ISBN|0-8061-2136-X}})</ref> Some literary works with [[Register (sociolinguistics)|low-register language]] from the Classical Latin period give a glimpse into the world of early Vulgar Latin. The works of [[Plautus]] and [[Terence]], being [[comedy|comedies]] with many characters who were [[Slavery|slave]]s, preserve some early [[basilectal]] Latin features, as does the recorded speech of the freedmen in the ''[[Cena Trimalchionis]]'' by [[Petronius Arbiter]]. At the [[Third Council of Tours]] in 813, [[priest]]s were ordered to preach in the vernacular language—either in the ''rustica lingua romanica'' (Vulgar Latin), or in the [[Old High German|Germanic vernaculars]]—since the common people could no longer understand formal Latin.

===Malay===
The [[Malay language]] exists in a classical variety, two modern standard variety and several vernacular dialects.

===Maltese===
[[Maltese language|Maltese]] has a variety of dialects (including the [[Żejtun dialect]], [[Qormi dialect]] and [[Gozitan]] amongst others) that co-exist alongside Standard Maltese. Literary Maltese, unlike Standard Maltese, features a preponderance of [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] vocabulary and grammatical patterns; however, this traditional separation between Semitic and [[romance language|Romance]] influences in [[Maltese literature]] (especially Maltese poetry<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aboutmalta.com/language/poetry.html|title=AccountSupport|website=aboutmalta.com|access-date=14 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514050021/http://aboutmalta.com/language/poetry.html|archive-date=14 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Catholic liturgy]] on the island) is changing.

===Manchu===
Standard [[Manchu language|Manchu]] was based on the language spoken by the [[Jianzhou Jurchens]] during [[Nurhaci|Nurhaci's]] time, while other unwritten Manchu dialects, such as that of [[Aigun]] and [[Sanjiazi]], were spoken in addition to the related [[Xibe language]].

===Mongolian===
The [[Classical Mongolian language]] was the high register used for religious and official purposes, while the various Mongolian dialects served as the low register, like [[Khalkha Mongolian]], [[Chakhar Mongolian]], [[Khorchin Mongolian]], [[Khorchin Mongolian|Kharchin Mongolian]], [[Baarin Mongolian]], [[Ordos Mongolian]] and the [[Buryat language]]. The [[Tibetan Buddhist canon]] was translated into Classical Mongolian. The [[Oirats|Oirat Mongols]] who spoke the [[Oirat language]] and dialects like [[Kalmyk Oirat|Kalmyk language]] or [[Torgut Oirat]] used a separate standard written with the [[Clear Script|Clear script]].

The [[Mongolian language]], based on Khalkha Mongolian, now serves as the high register in [[Mongolia]] itself while in [[Inner Mongolia]] a standard Mongolian based on Chakhar Mongolian serves as the high register for all Mongols in China. The Buryat language, which is seen as part of the Mongolian language, has been turned into a standard literary form in Russia.

===N'Ko===
[[N'Ko language|N'Ko]] is a literary language devised by [[Solomana Kante]] in 1949 as a writing system for the [[Mande languages]] of [[West Africa]]. It blends the principal elements of the partially mutually intelligible<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Donaldson|first=Coleman|date=2019-03-01|title=Linguistic and Civic Refinement in the N'ko Movement of Manding-Speaking West Africa|journal=Signs and Society|volume=7|issue=2|pages=156–185; 181|doi=10.1086/702554|s2cid=181625415|issn=2326-4489}}</ref> [[Manding languages]]. The movement promoting N'Ko literacy was instrumental in shaping the [[Maninka]] cultural identity in Guinea, and has also strengthened the Mande identity in other parts of West Africa.<ref>Oyler, Dianne White (1994) ''Mande identity through literacy, the N'ko writing system as an agent of cultural nationalism''. Toronto : African Studies Association.</ref> N'Ko publications include a translation of the [[Qur'an]], a variety of textbooks on subjects such as [[physics]] and [[geography]], poetic and philosophical works, descriptions of traditional medicine, a dictionary, and several local newspapers.

===Persian===
[[Persian language|Persian]] or New Persian has been used continually as the literary language of major areas in [[Western Asia]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Central Asia]] and [[South Asia]]. The language written today remains essentially the same as that used by [[Ferdowsi]] despite variant colloquial dialects and forms. For many centuries, people belonging to the educated classes from the [[Bosphorus]] to the [[Bay of Bengal]] would be expected to know some Persian. It was once the language of culture (especially of poetry), from the [[Balkans]] to the [[Deccan]], functioning as a [[List of lingua francas#Persian|lingua franca]].{{sfn|Matthee|2009|page=244}} Until the late 18th century, Persian was the dominant literary language of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]'s elite.{{sfn|Gould|2018|page=798}} Persian was the second major vehicle after Arabic in transmitting Islamic culture and has a particularly prominent place in Sufism.

===Serbian===
 {{main article|Slavonic-Serbian}}
[[Slavonic-Serbian]] (''slavenosrpski'') was the literary language of [[Serbs]] in the [[Habsburg monarchy]] used from the mid-18th century to 1825. It was a linguistic blend of [[Church Slavonic]] of the Russian recension, [[vernacular]] Serbian ([[Štokavian dialect]]), and [[Russian language|Russian]]. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was severely attacked by [[Vuk Karadžić]] and his followers, whose reformatory efforts formed modern literary Serbian based on the popular language, known as [[Serbo-Croatian]].

===Tagalog===
[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] was the basis of the [[Filipino language]]; both share the same vocabulary and grammatical system and are mutually intelligible. However, there is a significant political and social history that underlies the reasons for differentiating between Tagalog and Filipino.

Modern Tagalog is derived from [[Archaic Tagalog]], which was likely spoken during the [[History of the Philippines (900-1521)|Classical period]], it was the language of the [[Ma-i|Mai State]], [[Kingdom of Tondo|Tondo Dynasty]] (according to the [[Laguna Copperplate Inscription]]) and southern [[Luzon]]. It was written using [[Baybayin]], a syllabary which is a member of the [[Brahmic scripts|Brahmic]] family, before the Spanish Romanised the alphabet beginning in the late 15th century. Tagalog was also the spoken language of the 1896 [[Philippine Revolution]].

The [[1987 Constitution]] maintains that Filipino is the country's national language and one of two official languages, alongside English. Today, Filipino is considered the proper term for the language of the Philippines, especially by Filipino-speakers who are not of Tagalog origin, with many referring to the Filipino language as "Tagalog-based". The language is taught in schools throughout the country and is the official language of education and business. Native Tagalog-speakers meanwhile comprise one of the largest linguistic and cultural groups of the Philippines, numbering an estimated 14 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Tagalog/|title=Tagalog - Language Information & Resources|website=www.alsintl.com|access-date=14 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620092129/https://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Tagalog/|archive-date=20 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Slavic languages===
Notably, in Eastern European and [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] linguistics, the term "literary language" has also been used as a synonym of "[[standard language]]".<ref>{{Cite book|first=Bogusław|last=Dunaj|title=Język mieszkańców Krakowa, część I|location=Warszawa-Kraków|year=1989|pages=134|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Літературна мова (стандарт)|url=https://stud.com.ua/76146/sotsiologiya/literaturna_mova_standart|work=Соціологія|access-date=2019-01-13|language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first1=Keith|last1=Langston|first2=Anita|last2=Peti-Stantić|title=Language Planning and National Identity in Croatia|series=Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities|publisher=Springer|year=2014|isbn=9781137390608|pages=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1TtvBAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Mate|last=Kapović|title=Čiji je jezik|publisher=Algoritam|location=Zagreb|edition=1|year=2010|isbn=9789533162829|pages=55–74|url=https://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/503036.Kapovic_Ciji_je_jezik.pdf|language=sh}}</ref>

===Tamil===
[[Tamil language|Tamil]] exhibits a strong [[diglossia]], characterised by three styles: a classical literary style modelled on the ancient language, a modern literary and formal style and a modern [[colloquial]] form. These styles shade into each other, forming a diglossic continuum.<ref>Harold Schiffman, "[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/messeas/diglossia/handbuk.html Diglossia as a Sociolinguistic Situation]", in Florian Coulmas (ed.), ''The Handbook of Sociolinguistics''. London: Basil Blackwell, Ltd., 1997 at pp. 205 et seq.</ref>

The modern literary style is generally used in formal writing and speech. It is, for example, the language of textbooks, of much of [[Tamil literature]] and of public speaking and debate. Novels, even popular ones, will use the literary style for all description and narration and use the colloquial form only for dialogue, if they use it at all. In recent times, however, the modern colloquial form has been making inroads into areas that have traditionally been considered the province of the modern literary style: for instance most [[film|cinema]], [[theatre]] and popular entertainment on television and radio.

===Tibetan===
[[Classical Tibetan]] was the high register used universally by all Tibetans while the various mutually unintelligible [[Tibetic languages]] serve as the low register vernacular, like [[Central Tibetan language]] in [[Ü-Tsang]] (Tibet proper), [[Khams Tibetan]] in [[Kham]], [[Amdo Tibetan]] in [[Amdo]], [[Ladakhi language]] in [[Ladakh]] and [[Dzongkha]] in [[Bhutan]]. Classical Tibetan was used for official and religious purposes, such as in Tibetan Buddhist religious texts like the [[Tibetan Buddhist canon]] and taught and learned in monasteries and schools in Tibetan Buddhist regions.

Now, [[Standard Tibetan]], based on the Lhasa dialect, serves as the high register in China. In Bhutan, the Tibetan [[Dzongkha]] language has been standardised and replaced Classical Tibetan for official purposes and education, in [[Ladakh]], the standard official language learned are now the unrelated languages [[Urdu]] and English, and in [[Baltistan]], the Tibetan [[Balti language]] serves as the low register while the unrelated Urdu is the official language.

===Uzbek and Uyghur===
The Turkic [[Chagatai language]] served as the high register literary standard for Central Asian Turkic peoples, while the vernacular low register languages were the [[Uzbek language]] and [[Uyghur language|Eastern Turki (Modern Uyghur)]]. The [[Soviet Union]] abolished Chagatai as the literary standard and had the [[Uzbek language]] standardized as a literary language for, and the [[Taranchi]] dialect of Ili was chosen as the literary standard for Modern Uyghur, while other dialects like the Kashgar and Turpan dialects continue to be spoken.
===Welsh===
Like other languages, the modern spoken language tends to use simplified forms, for example using auxiliary verbs, as in English, to form tenses, in contrast to verb forms for each tense etc., similar to Latin.

===Yorùbá===
{{main article|Standard Yoruba}}
[[File:Samuel Adjai Crowther 1888.jpg|thumb|right|100px|[[Samuel Ajayi Crowther|Samuel Crowther]]'s Yorùbá grammar led to [[Standard Yoruba]] becoming a literary language.]]
[[Standard Yoruba]] is the literary form of the [[Yoruba language]] of [[West Africa]], the standard variety learnt at school and that spoken by newsreaders on the radio. Standard Yoruba has its origin in the 1850s, when [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther|Samuel A. Crowther]], native Yoruba and the first African Anglican Bishop in Nigeria, published a Yoruba grammar and started his translation of the Bible. Though for a large part based on the [[Oyo State|Ọyọ]] and [[Ibadan]] dialects, Standard Yoruba incorporates several features from other dialects.<ref>Cf. for example the following remark by Adetugbọ (1967, as cited in Fagborun 1994:25): "While the orthography agreed upon by the missionaries represented to a very large degree the phonemes of the Abẹokuta dialect, the morpho-syntax reflected the Ọyọ-Ibadan dialects".</ref> Additionally, it has some features peculiar to itself only, for example the simplified vowel harmony system, as well as foreign structures, such as [[calque]]s from English which originated in early translations of religious works. The first novel in the Yorùbá language was ''[[Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmale]]'' (''The Forest of A Thousand Demons''), written in 1938 by Chief [[Daniel O. Fagunwa]] (1903–1963). Other writers in the Yorùbá language include: Senator [[Afolabi Olabimtan]] (1932–1992) and [[Akinwunmi Isola]].

== See also ==
{{Wiktionary|literary language}}
* [[Aureation]]
* [[Classical language]]
* [[Official language]]
* [[Sacred language]]
* [[Standard language]]
* [[Written language]]
* [[Acrolect]]
* [[List of languages by first written accounts]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Crystal, David (ed.), ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language'' (Cambridge, 2003) {{ISBN|0-521-53033-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Gould|first=Rebecca Ruth|authorlink=Rebecca Gould|chapter=Sweetening the Heavy Georgian Tongue: Jāmī in the Georgian-Persianate World|title=Jāmī in Regional Contexts: The Reception of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī's Works in the Islamicate World, ca. 9th/15th-14th/20th Century|publisher=Brill|year=2018|isbn=978-9004386600| editor-given1 = Thibaut | editor-surname1 = d'Hubert | editor-given2 = Alexandre | editor-surname2 = Papas }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Matthee |first1=Rudi |title=Was Safavid Iran an Empire? |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |date=2009 |volume=53 |issue=1–2 |pages=233–265 |publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/002249910X12573963244449 |s2cid=55237025 }}
*McArthur, Tom (ed.), ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (Oxford, 1992), {{ISBN|0-19-280637-8}}
*McArthur, Tom, ''The English Languages'' (Cambridge, 1998) {{ISBN|0-521-48582-7}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Literary Language}}
[[Category:Language varieties and styles]]
[[Category:Literature|Language]]

[[ky:Адабий тил]]
[[fi:Kirjoitettu kieli]]