Bilingualism and the Latin Language [Paperback]

First systematic and wide-ranging treatment of problems of communication involving Latin in the Roman world.This is the first book to deal systematically with problems of communication in the Roman world, in which numerous languages apart from Latin and Greek were spoken. How did the Romans communicate with their subjects in the remoter parts of the Empire? What linguistic policies, if any, did they pursue? Differing forms of bilingualism developed, which had a significant effect on the way both the Romans and their subjects thought, spoke and wrote. Over a dozen languages are considered, and a wide range of cultural, historical and linguistic questions addressed.This is the first book to deal systematically with problems of communication in the Roman world, in which numerous languages apart from Latin and Greek were spoken. How did the Romans communicate with their subjects in the remoter parts of the Empire? What linguistic policies, if any, did they pursue? Differing forms of bilingualism developed, which had a significant effect on the way both the Romans and their subjects thought, spoke and wrote. Over a dozen languages are considered, and a wide range of cultural, historical and linguistic questions addressed.This book deals systematically with communication problems in the Roman world where numerous languages apart from Latin and Greek were spoken. How did the Romans communicate with their subjects in the remoter parts of the Empire? What linguistic policies did they pursue? Differing forms of bilingualism developed, which had a significant effect on the way the Romans and their subjects thought, spoke and wrote. A wide range of cultural, historical and linguistic questions concerning the varying developments in bilingualism are addressed.Introduction; 1. Languages in contact with Latin; 2. Code-switching; 3. Bilingualism, linguistic diversity and language change; 4. Latin in Egypt; 5. Bilingualism at Delos; 6. Bilingualism at La Graufesenque; 7. The Latin olÄ