Historical Background
Until modern times it was common in most cultures to translate names into the language being used with little regard for the culture from which the name came. During the age of the Roman Empire, translation of names into Latin (in the West) or Greek (in the East) was common. During the Medieval Period, following the collapse of the Empire in Western Europe, the main bastion of scholarship was the Roman Catholic Church, for whom Latin was the primary written language. Medieval priests, in fact, were almost exclusively the only scholars and scientists in Europe and, as a result, Latin became firmly established as the scholarly language for the West. Though during modern times Europe has largely abandoned Latin as a scholarly language, a variety of fields still use Latin terminology as the norm and, by tradition, it is still common in some fields to name new discoveries in Latin. And because Western science became dominant during the 18th and 19th centuries, the use of Latin naming in many scholarly fields has gained worldwide acceptance, at least when European languages are being used for communication.
Read more about this topic: Latinisation Of Names
Famous quotes containing the words historical and/or background:
“Some minds are as little logical or argumentative as nature; they can offer no reason or “guess,” but they exhibit the solemn and incontrovertible fact. If a historical question arises, they cause the tombs to be opened. Their silent and practical logic convinces the reason and the understanding at the same time. Of such sort is always the only pertinent question and the only satisfactory reply.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)