Language Change in the Wake of Empire: Syriac in Its Greco-Roman Context (Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic)

It is well documented that one of the primary catalysts of intense language contact is the expansion of empire. This is true not only of recent history, but it is equally applicable to the more remote past. An exemplary case (or better: cases) of this involves Aramaic. Due to the expansions of empires, Aramaic has throughout its long history been in contact with a variety of languages, including Akkadian, Greek, Arabic, and various dialects of Iranian. This books focuses on one particular episode in the long history of Aramaic language contact: the Syriac dialect of Aramaic in contact with Greek. In this book, Butts presents a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek. Several chapters analyze the more than eight-hundred Greek loanwords that occur in Syriac texts from Late Antiquity that were not translated from Greek. Butts also dedicates several chapters to a different category of contact-induced change in which Syriac-speakers replicated inherited Aramaic material on the model of Greek. All of the changes discussed in the book are located within their broader Aramaic context and analyzed through a robust contact linguistic framework. By focusing on the Syriac language itself, Butts introduces new – and arguably more reliable – evidence for locating Syriac Christianity within its Greco-Roman context. This book, thus, is especially important for the field of Syriac studies. The book also contributes to the fields of contact linguistics and the study of ancient languages more broadly by analyzing in detail various types of contact-induced change over a relatively long period of time.

It is well documented that one of the primary catalysts of intense language contact is the expansion of empire. This is true not only of recent history, but it is equally applicable to the more remote past. An exemplary case (or better: cases) of this involves Aramaic. Due to the expansions of empires, Aramaic has throughout its long history been in contact with a variety of languages, including Akkadian, Greek, Arabic, and various dialects of Iranian. This books focuses on one particular episode in the long history of Aramaic language contact: the Syriac dialect of Aramaic in contact with Greek.

In this book, Butts presents a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek. Several chapters analyze the more than eight-hundred Greek loanwords that occur in Syriac texts from Late Antiquity that were not translated from Greek. Butts also dedicates several chapters to a different category of contact-induced change in which Syriac-speakers replicated inherited Aramaic material on the model of Greek. All of the changes discussed in the book are located within their broader Aramaic context and analyzed through a robust contact linguistic framework.

By focusing on the Syriac language itself, Butts introduces new – and arguably more reliable – evidence for locating Syriac Christianity within its Greco-Roman context. This book, thus, is especially important for the field of Syriac studies. The book also contributes to the fields of contact linguistics and the study of ancient languages more broadly by analyzing in detail various types of contact-induced change over a relatively long period of time.

Greek-Aramaic bilingualism was wide-spread throughout Late Antique Syria and Mesopotamia. Among the various Aramaic dialects, Syriac underwent a particularly intense and prolonged period of contact with Greek. This contact led to changes in both languages. The present study provides a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek, from the earliest attestations of Syriac at the turn of the Common Era up until the beginning of the eighth century when the socio-linguistic situation changed due to the Arab conquests. More specifically, the study argues that Syriac is the outcome of a particular socio-linguistic situation in which inherited Aramaic material was augmented and adapted through contact with Greek. Augmentation refers to the fact that Syriac-speakers added a large number of Greek loanwords to their inherited Aramaic vocabulary. Greek loanwords in Syriac are the subject of Chapters §4-7 of the study. Adaptation, in contrast, refers to instances in which speakers of Syriac replicated inherited Aramaic material on the pattern of Greek. This type of change, which is termed grammatical replication in this study, is the subject of Chapters §8-10. It is proposed that the augmentation and adaptation of inherited Aramaic material was a factor in the development of Syriac as it is now known Although It Is Widely Acknowledged That Syriac Was Influenced By Greek, The Specific Contours Of This Interaction Remain Unclear. This Study Aims To Present A New Analysis Of Contact-induced Changes In Syriac Due To Greek. More Specifically, The Study Intends To Show That Syriac Is The Outcome Of A Particular Socio-linguistic Situation In Which Inherited Aramaic Material Was Augmented And Adapted Through Contact With Greek. To Demonstrate This, Butts Examines The Place Of Greek Loanwords In Syriac As Well As The Way That Syriac-speakers Replicated Inherited Aramaic Material On Greek, The Latter Being Considered Grammatical Replication-- Aaron Michael Butts. Revision Of The Author's Thesis, University Of Chicago, 2013. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 226-263) And Indexes. "Although it is widely acknowledged that Syriac was influenced by Greek, the specific contours of this interaction remain unclear. This study aims to present a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek. More specifically, the study intends to show that Syriac is the outcome of a particular socio-linguistic situation in which inherited Aramaic material was augmented and adapted through contact with Greek. To demonstrate this, Butts examines the place of Greek loanwords in Syriac as well as the way that Syriac-speakers replicated inherited Aramaic material on Greek, the latter being considered "grammatical replication." "-- Provided by publisher "Although it is widely acknowledged that Syriac was influenced by Greek, the specific contours of this interaction remain unclear. This study aims to present a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek. More specifically, the study intends to show that Syriac is the outcome of a particular socio-linguistic situation in which inherited Aramaic material was augmented and adapted through contact with Greek. To demonstrate this, Butts examines the place of Greek loanwords in Syriac as well as the way that Syriac-speakers replicated inherited Aramaic material on Greek, the latter being considered "grammatical replication." "-- Résumé de l'éditeur Cet ouvrage s'inscrit dans le cycle de recherches conçu par Jean-Marie Martin, Annick Peters-Custot et Vivien Prigent autour de la question de l'héritage byzantin en Italie entre les VIIIe et XIIe siècles. Les précédents thèmes (fabrique documentaire, droit et institutions publiques, structures rurales) avaient eu pour socle documentaire fondamental les sources écrites, les sceaux et les monnaies, et l'archéologie. Ce livre est dédié aux aspects artistiques et culturels de l'héritage byzantin en Italie