A major history of many of the developments undergone by the Latin language as it changed into Romance languages. A distinction is made between linguistic change emanating from higher social/educational groups ('change from above') and that emanating from lower social/educational groups ('change from below').

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.

"Languages show variations according to the social class of speakers, and Latin was no exception, as readers of Petronius are aware. The Romance languages have traditionally been regarded as developing out of a 'language of the common people' (Vulgar Latin), but studies of modern languages demonstrate that linguistic change does not merely come, in the social sense, 'from below'. There is change from above, as prestige usages work their way down the social scale, and change may also occur across the social classes. This book is a history of many of the developments undergone by the Latin language as it changed into Romance, demonstrating the varying social levels at which change was initiated. About thirty topics are dealt with, many of them more systematically than ever before. Discussions often start in the early Republic with Plautus, and the book is as much about the literary language as about informal varieties"--

This book focuses on contemporary sociolinguistic approaches to Spanish dialectology. Each of the authors draws on key issues of contemporary sociolinguistics, combining theoretical approaches with empirical data collection. Overall, these chapters address topics concerning language variation and change, sound production and perception, contact linguistics, language teaching, language policy, and ideologies. The authors urge us, as linguists, to take a stand on important issues and to continue applying theory to praxis so as to advance the frontiers of research in the field. This edited volume in honor of Professor Terrell A. Morgan is a means of celebrating an amazing friend, advisor, and human being, who has dedicated his career to teaching graduate and undergraduate students, performed key research in the field, and helped to further pedagogy in the classroom through his textbooks, seminars and websites.

Classical Latin appears to be without regional dialects, yet Latin evolved in little more than a millennium into a variety of different languages. This book argues comprehensively that Latin in fact never lacked regional variations and examines the changing patterns and causes of this diversity throughout the Roman period.

"Languages show variations according to the social class of speakers, and Latin was no exception, as readers of Petronius are aware. The Romance languages have traditionally been regarded as developing out of a 'language of the common people' (Vulgar Latin), but studies of modern languages demonstrate that linguistic change does not merely come, in the social sense, 'from below'. There is change from above, as prestige usages work their way down the social scale, and change may also occur across the social classes. This book is a history of many of the developments undergone by the Latin language as it changed into Romance, demonstrating the varying social levels at which change was initiated. About thirty topics are dealt with, many of them more systematically than ever before. Discussions often start in the early Republic with Plautus, and the book is as much about the literary language as about informal varieties"--

These twenty essays examine continuity and change in the language of Latin prose, from its emergence to the twelfth century AD. Issues debated include traditional distinctions between primitive archaic and sophisticated classical Latin, and between superior classical and inferior Silver Latin. A broad range of Latin authors are covered, including Caesar and Cicero, Bede and William of Malmesbury. An extensive introduction traces the volume's recurring themes - the use of poetic diction in prose, archaism, sentence structure, and bilingualism. The diversity of approaches makes this an essential handbook for all those interested in Latin language and literature.

This book contains over fifty passages of Latin from 200 BC to AD 900, each with translation and linguistic commentary. It is not intended as an elementary reader (though suitable for university courses), but as an illustrative history of Latin covering more than a millennium, with almost every century represented. Conventional histories cite constructions out of context, whereas this work gives a sense of the period, genre, stylistic aims and idiosyncrasies of specific passages. 'Informal' texts, particularly if they portray talk, reflect linguistic variety and change better than texts adhering to classicising norms. Some of the texts are recent discoveries or little known. Writing tablets are well represented, as are literary and technical texts down to the early medieval period, when striking changes appear. The commentaries identify innovations, discontinuities and phenomena of long duration. Readers will learn much about the diversity and development of Latin.

This text makes use of contemporary work in linguistics to provide up-to-date commentary on the development of Latin, from its prehistoric origins in the Indo-European language family, through the earliest texts, to the creation of the Classical Language of Cicero and Vergil, and examines the impact of the spread of spoken Latin through the Roman Empire. The first book in English in more than 50 years to provide comprehensive coverage of the history of the Latin language Gives a full account of the transformation of the language in the context of the rise and fall of Ancient Rome Presents up-to-date commentary on the key linguistic issues Makes use of carefully selected texts, many of which have only recently come to light Includes maps and glossary as well as fully translated and annotated sample texts that illustrate the different stages of the language Accessible to readers without a formal knowledge of Latin or linguistics

This book examines grammatical changes during the transition from Latin to the Romance languages and the factors proposed to explain them. It challenges orthodoxy, presents new perspectives on language change, structure, and variation, and will appeal equally to Romance linguists, Latinists, philologists, and historical linguists of all persuasions.