| The Language of the Freedmen in Petronius' Cena Trimalchionis Contributor(s): Boyce, B. (Author) |
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ISBN: 9004094318 ISBN-13: 9789004094314 Publisher: Brill OUR PRICE: $99.75 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: July 1991 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Ancient And Classical - Literary Criticism | Medieval - History | Ancient - General |
| Dewey: 873.01 |
| LCCN: 91018778 |
| Series: Mnemosyne, Supplements |
| Physical Information: 124 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Realistic representation of the speech of the lower classes in ancient literature is largely confined to the comic genres, and Petronius' realism in this area is more thorough-going than that of any other ancient author. A vast scholarly literature has grown up around the question of how faithfully the speeches of Petronius' freedmen reflect characteristics of actual popular speech; this literature is reviewed and evaluated. A survey of the phonological, morphological, lexical, and syntactic peculiarities in these speeches is then undertaken, in which they are compared with other 'vulgar' Latin sources such as the Pompeian inscriptions; Petronius is in fact one of our most important early sources for the study of popular Latin. The way in which Petronius used specific varieties of non-standard Latin to characterize different freedmen speakers is explored: Petronius has subtly modulated his freedmen's speeches to reflect differing emotional states and the different attitudes of the speakers toward their social position. The present study is the first comprehensive treatment of the subject undertaken in over forty years in any language and the only one in English. |