Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction.... written in the languages of Europe
Languages of Europe
Most of the many languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European languages language family. Another major family is the Finno-Ugric languages. The Turkic languages family also has several European members.... , including the ones belonging to the Indo-European language family
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a Language family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau , Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent .... as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque
Basque language
Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France.... , Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries.... , and so forth. Western literature is considered one of the defining elements of Western civilization
Western culture
File:Clash of Civilizations map.pngWestern culture are terms which are used to refer to cultures of European origin. This terminology originated as a way of describing what was different about the Graeco-Roman culture and its descendants, in contrast to the older neighboring civilizations of the Middle East, which in many ways continued... .
The best of Western literature is considered to be the Western Canon
Western canon
The Western canon is a term used to denote a wiktionary:canon of Western literatures, and, more widely, European classical music and Western art history, that has been the most Power in shaping Western culture.... . The list of works in the Western Canon varies according to the critic's opinions on Western culture and the relative importance of its defining characteristics.
Western literature includes literature in many languages:
American literature refers to written or literature produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States....
The Literature of Brazil refers to literature written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822....
Similar to other literary traditions Dutch literature is not restricted to the Netherlands alone. Dutch language authors do not necessarily have to be from the Netherlands, as Dutch literature is or was also produced in other Dutch-speaking regions, such as Belgium, Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles, French Flanders, South Africa and the for...
The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S....
German literature comprises those literature texts written in the German language.This includes literature written in Germany itself as well as German-language Swiss literature and Austrian literature, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora....
Greek literature refers to those writings autochthonic to the areas of Greeks influence, typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects, throughout the whole period in which the Greek language people have existed....
French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak other traditional languages of France....
Italian literature is literature written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italian people or in Italy in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian....
Latin literature, the body of literature in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of ancient Rome of ancient Rome. The Romans produced many works of poetry, comedy, tragedy, satire, history, and rhetoric, drawing heavily on the traditions of other cultures and particularly on the more matured Greek literature....
Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. The majority of Polish literature was written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions....
This is a survey of Portuguese literature.The Portuguese language was developed gradually from the Vulgar language spoken in the countries which formed part of the Roman Empire and, both in morphology and syntax, it represents an organic transformation of Latin without the direct intervention of any foreign tongue....
This article is about literature from Russia. For the song by Max?mo Park, see Our Earthly Pleasures.Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its ?migr?s, and to the Russian language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union....
This article refers to the literature of Spain. It includes Spanish poetry, prose and novels. For Spanish American literature specifically, see Latin American literature....
Welsh literature may be used to refer to any literature originating from Wales or by List of Welsh writers:*See Literature of Wales for literature in the Welsh language...
Please consult the separate entries for more specifics on literature in each language.
