A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such as Latin, Attic Greek, Sanskrit, and Classical Chinese, which are studied for their cultural or linguistic value.
Read more about Modern Language: The Teaching of Modern Languages
Famous quotes containing the words modern and/or language:
“All modern revolutions have ended in a reinforcement of the power of the state.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“It is impossible to dissociate language from science or science from language, because every natural science always involves three things: the sequence of phenomena on which the science is based; the abstract concepts which call these phenomena to mind; and the words in which the concepts are expressed. To call forth a concept, a word is needed; to portray a phenomenon, a concept is needed. All three mirror one and the same reality.”
—Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794)