Language and the politics of Roman identity
This thesis examines the relationship between language and Roman identity, defined in the broadest sense as the political and cultural practices involved in being Roman. It focuses on evidence of multilingualism: Roman identity was defined through opposition and interaction, and it is at points of contact that these debates are cast into relief. It looks predominantly at evidence of Greek-Latin bilingualism, but also considers evidence of other languages to consider how their relationship to Roman identity differs. It combines historical and sociolinguistic approaches to multilingualism. Understanding bilingual language practices requires close sociolinguistic reading of evidence to understand how languages interrelate and analysis of the historical factors and contexts that determine language choices and their social, cultural and political implications. The thesis responds especially to the use of bilingualism as a model for Roman cultural relations, arguing that a closer engagement with sociolinguistic terminology and with linguistic evidence is necessary if we are to use language and bilingualism as a way into broader issues of politics and identity. Language is simultaneously a model for identity that
Elder, Olivia Laura
Bilingualism ; Multilingualism ; Sociolinguistics ; Roman History ; Language ; Identity ; Roman Identity ; Roman Empire ; Migration ; Urban Multilingualism ; Suetonius ; Pompeii ; Rome ; City of Rome ; Graffiti ; Epigraphy
Language and the politics of Roman identity. This thesis examines the relationship between language and Roman identity, defined in the broadest sense as the political and cultural practices involved in being Roman. It focuses on evidence of multilingualism: Roman identity was defined through opposition and interaction, and it is at points of contact that these debates are cast into relief. It looks predominantly at evidence of Greek-Latin bilingualism, but also considers evidence of other languages to consider how their relationship to Roman identity differs. It combines historical and sociolinguistic approaches to multilingualism. Understanding bilingual language practices requires close sociolinguistic reading of evidence to understand how languages interrelate and analysis of the historical factors and contexts that determine language choices and their social, cultural and political implications. The thesis responds especially to the use of bilingualism as a model for Roman cultural relations, arguing that a closer engagement with sociolinguistic terminology and with linguistic evidence is necessary if we are to use language and bilingualism as a way into broader issues of politics and identity. Language is simultaneously a model for identity that
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