Latin Linguistics

This textbook provides a detailed introduction to the study of Latin from the perspective of contemporary linguistics. It adopts some basic tenets of generative grammar in an in-depth analysis of the main phonological, morphological, and syntactic properties of Latin, and offers a step-by-step guide to the universal principles and specific parameters which shape the language, along with comparative data from English and other languages. Latin: A Linguistic Introduction is a user-friendly and essential guide to the synchronic study of Latin as a natural language. The clarity of exposition and the richness of the examples cited provide a new approach to Latin as a topic of linguistic research: although the general structure of the book is like that of a traditional Latin grammar, the discussion of grammatical rules is both more straightforward and more theoretically informed. This textbook is principally suitable for students of Latin and Romance linguistics at undergraduate level and above, but also for teachers and researchers interested in new ways of looking at the study of Latin. It differs from many other textbooks in the field by striking a valuable balance between the longstanding tradition of classical philology and the innovations of contemporary linguistics.

With contributions by R. Amacker, C. Bodelot, P. Carvalho, W. Dressler, G. Haverlin, R. Maltby

Since the 1980s, bilingualism has become one of the main themes of sociolinguistics - but there are as yet few large-scale treatments of the subject specific to the ancient world. This book is the first work to deal systematically with bilingualism during a period of antiquity (the Roman period, down to about the fourth century AD) in the light of sociolinguistic discussions of bilingual issues. The general theme of the work is the nature of the contact between Latin and numerous other languages spoken in the Roman world. Among the many issues discussed three are prominent: code-switching (the practice of switching between two languages in the course of a single utterance) and its motivation, language contact as a cause of change in one or both of the languages in contact, and the part played by language choice and language switching in the establishment of personal and group identities.

A Companion to the Latin Language presents a collection of original essays from international scholars that track the development and use of the Latin language from its origins to its modern day usage. Brings together contributions from internationally renowned classicists, linguists and Latin language specialists Offers, in a single volume, a detailed account of different literary registers of the Latin language Explores the social and political contexts of Latin Includes new accounts of the Latin language in light of modern linguistic theory Supplemented with illustrations covering the development of the Latin alphabet

The volume contains 26 articles (17 in English, 9 in French), selected from the papers presented at the 6th International Colloquim on Latin Linguistics, organized in Budapest. The authors share a common interest in applying to the study of Latin the conceptual framework of contemporary linguistics, mainly, but not exclusively, the theoretical tools of functional grammar and of the newest trends in pragmatics. Most studies envisage Latin in its synchronic functioning, but some papers embrace diachronic processes, from the archaic period to late and even pre-Romance stages.The volume is divided in several sections: “Phonology and Morpho-syntax” includes one paper on phonology (Fr. Biville) and three on morphology (G.C.L.M. Bakkum, G. Haverling, P. Manuel Suárez). Problems of the syntax of the simple sentence, often in relation to word order phenomena, are discussed in seven articles in Section 2 (Ch. Elerick, H. Fugier, Jan R. de Jong, Marius Lavency, E. Rizzi and P. Molinelli, Hannah Rosén, M.H. Somers). The grammatical problems of the complex sentence were examined by a great many participants of the colloquium, and the third section, “Subordination”, presents eight of those papers (Gu. Calboli, P. De Carvalho, P. Cuzzolin, J. Dangel, S. Mellet, J.A.H. Mensink, P. Ramat, E. Vester). The section on text cohesion and particles — an almost traditional field of research in new Latin linguistics — includes papers by A.M. Bolkestein, C. Kroon, R. Risselada, and M.E. Torrego. The final section, “Problems of the Lexicon”, devoted to the historical-comparative or semantic descriptive analysis of lexical elements, contains four articles (R. Coleman, B. García Hernández, L. Nadjo, Chr. Touratier). An Index of Names closes the volume.

The articles of this collection on Latin linguistics are representative of the kind of research that is currently carried out in the field of linguistics. Most deal with syntax or sentence structure, but they vary with respect to their emphasis on theory or description. They also vary with respect to the grammatical framework with which they are formulated, with some preponderance of transformational generative approaches. All papers are well-informed about the major developments in contemporary linguistics and make extensive use of recent methods and types of argumentation. In the introduction the volume editor briefly reviews the present state of Latin linguistics, starting with a section on the question whether it is possible to conduct up-to-date linguistic research for Latin at all. To be followed by a brief sketch of the impact of recent linguistic theories on Latin linguistics in general, and in a final third section an outline is presented of the possible interest the contributions to this volume may have for linguists working on languages other than Latin

This excellent study traces the relation of Latin to other Indo-European languages and guides the reader lucidly through Latin phonology, morphology, and syntax. It should prove fascinating not only to Latinists but also to linguists generally and, expecially, to students of Romance languages. Over the years, readers have found that Palmer’s treatment of this so-called dead language reveals Latin’s continuing vitality and "soul."