Why is the Greek and Latin language used for scientific naming?

I always thought it was different languages that correspond to the different animals, I never knew it was just Greek and Latin

Why is the Greek and Latin language used for scientific naming?
In the 17th century when Carl Linnaeus thought up the idea of naming plants and animals in Latin, the only people who were rather familiar with this language would have been those that were educated and upper class. These people went on to become scientists and doctors etc etc. So two doctors or scientists could speak two totally different languages YET still understand which plant or animal the other scientist was referring to by the Latin name. Latin provided a base language which all scientists, botanists and doctors could understand.


Also, another reason is that Latin being a "dead" language the terms can never change. See, we could never use English for scientific terms because it is "alive" and constantly changing. Words are given new slang meanings every few years. For example, in the 1930's "acid" referred to vinegar or acidic substances, in the 1960's "acid" became the slang term for the hallucinogenic drug LSD.





However, I believe that most of the botanical terms actually derive from ancient Greek not Latin.





Hope this helps you!!
Reply:One reason is because there dead languages and they change very little in structure, grammar, vocabulary, etc. (Latin is dead and the Greek used in sciences is ancient). There are effects by the times like modern languages are.





When Latin and Greek were being established as a form of nomenclature, Europe was the center of political, economic, and more importantly scientific power. So, they chose these languages also because of their similarities with their own languages.





Additionally, Latin and Greek have been languages of the aristocrats and upper class and scholars and the (Catholic) Church since after the Renissance. It was a language admired by these people because of its culture and history, and because of the culture and history of those who you the language before them (Roman Empire, Athens, Plato, Virgil), people that they looked upon.
Reply:Those names, 'scientific name' or 'binomial nomenclature', were designed by the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century, when Latin and Greek were the official languages for scientists all over the Western World.





"Carl Linnaeus" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linaeus





"Linnaean taxonomy" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnaean_ta...
Reply:so everyone that speaks different languages learns latin and they can all understand each other