OLD TONGUE is a term used to refer to two ancient languages: ERSE and LATIN. ERSE, also known as Irish Gaelic, is an Indo-European language that originated in Ireland and is still spoken by some people today. LATIN is an ancient language of the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family, which was once the language of the Roman Empire. Both ERSE and LATIN are considered to be old tongues, as they have been around for centuries.