Texts written in Latin, Greek and other languages provide ancient historians with their primary evidence, but the role of language as a source for understanding the ancient world is often overlooked. Language played a key role in state-formation and the spread of Christianity, the construction of ethnicity, and negotiating positions of social status and group membership. Language could reinforce social norms and shed light on taboos. This book presents an accessible account of ways in which linguistic evidence can illuminate topics such as imperialism, ethnicity, social mobility, religion, gender and sexuality in the ancient world, without assuming the reader has any knowledge of Greek or Latin, or of linguistic jargon. It describes the rise of Greek and Latin at the expense of other languages spoken around the Mediterranean and details the social meanings of different styles, and the attitudes of ancient speakers towards linguistic differences.
| ISBN: | 9780521192354 |
| Publication date: | 30th April 2015 |
| Author: | James University of Cambridge Clackson |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 224 pages |
| Series: | Key Themes in Ancient History |
| Genres: |
Ancient history Social and cultural history European history |
Texts written in Latin, Greek and other languages provide ancient historians with their primary evidence, but the role of language as a source for understanding the ancient world is often overlooked. Language played a key role in state-formation and the spread of Christianity, the construction of ethnicity, and negotiating positions of social status and group membership. Language could reinforce social norms and shed light on taboos. This book presents an accessible account of ways in which linguistic evidence can illuminate topics such as imperialism, ethnicity, social mobility, religion, gender and sexuality in the ancient world, without assuming the reader has any knowledge of Greek or Latin, or of linguistic jargon. It describes the rise of Greek and Latin at the expense of other languages spoken around the Mediterranean and details the social meanings of different styles, and the attitudes of ancient speakers towards linguistic differences.
Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds features in the following genres: Ancient history, Social and cultural history, European history
Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds is available in Hardback
Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds was written by James University of Cambridge Clackson and published by Cambridge University Press
Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds has 224 pages
Yes it is part of Key Themes in Ancient History series
£73.80