classical language; dead language
Refers to languages no longer spoken as a native tongue, studied through historical texts, such as Latin, Sanskrit, or Classical Japanese.
Latin is studied at universities as a classical language.
The grammar of classical languages often differs greatly from that of modern languages.
古語 (archaic word) refers to individual old words, whereas 古典語 refers to the entire classical language system.
Compound of 古典 (classics) and 語 (language).