The official language until 1472 was Latin. Later, the Senate of the Republic decided that the official language of the Republic would be the Ragusan dialect of the Romance Dalmatian language, and forbade the use of the Slavic language in senatorial debate. The Gospari (the Aristocracy) held on to their language for many centuries, while it slowly disappeared.
Although the Latin language was in official use, inhabitants of the republic were mostly native speakers of Slavonic languages (as confirmed by P. A. Tolstoj in 1698, when he noted In Dalmatia… Dubrovnikans….called themselves as Ragusan(Raguseos) and always have proud in the Republic) Dalmatian language was also spoken in the city. Italian language as spoken in the republic was heavily influenced by Venetian language and Tuscan dialect. Italian took root among the Dalmatian Romance-speaking merchant upper classes, as a result of Venetian influence.