A liturgical language is a Langue used by the believers of a Religion at the time of their religious ceremonies. She is often regarded as having a religious value higher than the daily language.

One uses especially the term of “liturgical language” when the religious language is different from the vernacular Language. Sometimes, the believers do not understand the liturgical language of their religion.

All the religions do not have a liturgical language.

This one can have several origins, and in particular:

  • a different geographic origin: it is the language of the group which developed the first the religion considered;
  • a historical origin: it is the spoken language at the time where the religion considered initially developed.
These two origins are of course not excluded.

Liturgical examples of languages

  • the English élisabethain of the Anglican S;

  • the Arab traditional of the Moslem S and some Christian Eastern, (different from the modern dialects);
  • the medieval Greek of the orthodoxe Greek and some Eastern catholics;
  • the Copte of the Christian Copte S of Egypt, derived from the old Egyptian .
  • the Guèze of the Christian Copte S of Ethiopia, but also of the Falashas, Jews of Ethiopia;
  • the Hebrew of the religious Jews - Hebrew spoken in Israel was recreated at the end of the 19th century on the basis of liturgical Hebrew, but it does not merge completely with him;
  • the Latin of the Catholic S Romans;
  • the traditional Mandéen of the mandéens;
  • the Sanskrit of the hindouists;
  • the Old Slavic of the orthodoxe Slavic;
  • the Sumérien of the Babylonian and Assyrian;
  • the Syriaque of the Christian of the East, derived from the Araméen.

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