The present course aims to explore the linguistic varieties that made up what scholars usually refer to as Late Latin, i.e., Latin as written and, presumably, spoken in Late Antiquity (from the third to the seventh century CE). This will be achieved by combining, on one hand, theoretical surveys of relevant key concepts and methods used by diachronic sociolingustics in studying speech in interaction with communication settings and, on the other, practical exploration of fragments of several texts composed and circulated in Latin in Late Antiquity. The main goal of the course is to raise students' awareness of the complex and rapidly evolving linguistic situation in which speakers who used Latin found themselves in Late Antiquity and relate it to the changes that affected the makeup of Late Roman society. In doing so, we will explore the various ways in which language was associated with and used to claim power as well as constitute and patrol borders between social groups in the Late Roman world. This should ideally explain why the traditional binary opposition 'Classical' vs. 'Vulgar' has become inadequate when describing the complex linguistic landscape of the Latin-speaking parts of the Later Roman Empire.
- Instructor: Cristian-Nicolae Gaspar