The Punic language was a descendant of the ancient Phoenician language, a member of the Semitic language family. It was brought to North Africa by settlers from the city of Tyre, who founded Carthage around the ninth century BCE. As Carthage grew into a major maritime and commercial power, its language spread throughout its territories and trading networks across the western Mediterranean, including parts of modern Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Sicily, Sardinia, and southern Spain. While Punic remained closely related to Phoenician, centuries of geographic separation and local influences gradually produced distinct linguistic features.

The Punic script was an alphabet derived directly from the Phoenician writing system. Like other early Semitic scripts, it was written from right to left and primarily recorded consonants, leaving most vowels unmarked. Over time, the script evolved into several regional forms. The earliest inscriptions closely resemble those found in the Phoenician homeland, but later Carthaginian inscriptions developed more cursive and simplified letter shapes. A particularly late form, known as Neo-Punic, appeared after the destruction of Carthage by Roman Republic in 146 BCE and shows both graphical innovations and increasing influence from local North African cultures.

Despite the fall of Carthage following the Third Punic War, the Punic language did not disappear immediately. It continued to be spoken for centuries under Roman rule. Ancient writers, including Augustine of Hippo in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, mention Punic-speaking communities in North Africa. Evidence from inscriptions suggests that Neo-Punic remained in use alongside Latin, especially in rural regions. Some scholars believe that Punic survived in certain areas until at least the sixth century CE, although the exact date of its extinction remains uncertain.