Beyond Latin and Greek - The Fragmentary Languages of Ancient Italy

Catalog description

The ancient Italian poet Ennius, whose epic poetry later inspired Vergil, was said to have "three hearts" (tria corda) because he was fluent in three languages: "Greek, Oscan, and Latin." Two of these are familiar to students of antiquity, but what about the other? "Oscan" was also a major language in ancient Italy, and its speakers (as the Ennius anecdote suggests) considered it the equal of Latin and Greek. Speakers other non-Latin languages no doubt felt similarly, although the gradual dominance of Rome - and its official language, Latin - eventually pushed most of these regional tongues to extinction. Some precious evidence remains, however, and this seminar will introduce students to it, while also providing guidance on the historical, sociological, and linguistic frameworks needed to understand it. The course will survey the best-attested non-Latin languages of the region (Oscan, Umbrian, Etruscan, Venetic) as well as more ambiguous entities (e.g., South Picene, Faliscan, Sicel, Messapic). Due to the nature of the evidence, course material will be "text-forward," with heavy emphasis on linguistic/grammatical detail, but we will also take frequent dips into relevant archaeology and history. No prior experience with linguistics (etc.) is required, but a basic understanding of Latin grammar and morphology (at minimum) is *strongly* advised. The course is open to Undergraduate or Postgraduate students. In addition to regular reading assignments, coursework will entail an in-class presentation, and a final paper.