The Languages of Aristophanes: Aspects of Linguistic Variation in Classical Attic Greek (Oxford Classical Monographs)

by Examining Linguistic Variation In Aristophanic Comedy, Andreas Willi Opens Up A New Perspective On Intra-dialectal Diversity In Classical Attic Greek. A Representative Range Of Registers, Technical Languages, Sociolects, And (comic) Idiolects Is Described And Analyzed. Stylistic And Statistical Observations Are Combined And Supplemented By Typological Comparisons With Material Drawn From Sociolinguistic Research On Modern Languages. The Resulting Portrayal Of The Attic Dialect Deepens Our Understanding Of Various Socio-cultural Phenomena Reflected In Aristophanes' Work. The Language of Aristophanes (2006) ......Page 1 OXFORD CLASSICAL MONOGRAPHS......Page 2 ISBN: 0199262640......Page 5 Preface......Page 8 --> Contents......Page 10 Texts, Translations, and Abbreviations......Page 11 List of Tables......Page 14 1 - Introduction......Page 16 2.1. REGISTER VARIATION......Page 23 2.2. REGISTER DIMENSIONS......Page 25 2.3. RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE......Page 26 2.4. PRAYERS AND HYMNS......Page 28 2.5. FORMS OF INVOCATION......Page 31 2.6. EPITHETS......Page 33 2.7.1. 'TO PRAY'......Page 38 2.7.2. 'TO SING A HYMN'......Page 40 2.8. REGISTER-SPECIFIC VOCABULARY IN PRAYERS......Page 42 2.9. PRAYER SYNTAX......Page 45 2.10. HYMN SYNTAX......Page 50 2.11. ARGUMENT STRUCTURE......Page 52 2.12.1. PROCLAMATION OF euphemia......Page 57 2.12.2. 'AMEN'......Page 60 2.13. CONCLUSION......Page 62 3.2.1. TECHNICAL LANGUAGES AND REGISTERS......Page 66 3.2.2. TECHNICAL LANGUAGES AS TECHNICAL VOCABULARIES......Page 68 3.2.3. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE AND SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION......Page 69 3.3.1. COMEDY AND THE NEED FOR CRITERIA OF TECHNICALITY......Page 71 3.3.2.1. Special reference, monosemy, and normalization......Page 72 3.3.2.2. Expressive neutrality......Page 73 3.3.2.3. 'Allgemeinverständlichkeit' and 'Allgemeingebräuchlichkeit'......Page 74 3.3.2.4. Lexical distribution......Page 76 3.3.2.5. Necessary technical reference and determinologization......Page 77 3.3.2.6. Explicit indication......Page 79 3.3.3.1 Comic misunderstandings......Page 80 3.3.3.2. Accumulation of formally similar words......Page 81 3.3.3.3. Characterizing passages......Page 83 3.3.4. RECAPITULATION......Page 84 3.4. TECHNICAL LANGUAGES IN CLASSICAL GREECE......Page 85 3.5. LEGAL LANGUAGE......Page 87 3.6. MEDICAL LANGUAGE......Page 94 3.7. THE LANGUAGE OF LITERARY CRITICISM......Page 102 3.8. CONCLUSION......Page 109 4.1. REPLACING TECHNICAL LANGUAGE......Page 111 4.2.1. ETYMOLOGY......Page 112 4.2.2. GRAMMAR......Page 113 4.3.1. DINOS......Page 115 4.3.2. ECHOES OF SCIENTIFIC POETRY......Page 120 4.4.1. EMPEDOCLES......Page 125 4.4.2. PYTHAGOREAN CLOUDS......Page 128 4.4.3. A COMPOSITE SOCRATES......Page 131 5.1. SOPHISTS, CLOUDS, AND LINGUISTIC INNOVATION......Page 133 5.2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: NOMINALIZATION AND TYPICALIZATION......Page 135 5.3.1. USAGE......Page 137 5.3.2. FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 139 5.4.1. USAGE......Page 141 5.4.2. FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 144 5.5.1 USAGE......Page 149 5.5.2 FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 150 5.6.1. USAGE......Page 151 5.6.2. FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 153 5.7.1. USAGE......Page 154 5.7.2. FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 157 5.8.1. USAGE......Page 160 5.8.2. FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 161 5.9. FURTHER NOMINALIZATION PROCESSES (ARTICULAR INFINITIVE, VERBAL PERIPHRASIS)......Page 164 5.10. NOMINALIZATION, TYPICALIZATION, AND LITERATE CULTURE......Page 168 5.11 CONCLUSION......Page 170 6.1. INTRODUCTION......Page 172 6.2. STANDARD, PRESTIGE, AND INNOVATION......Page 174 6.3. LANGUAGE LOYALTY......Page 178 6.5. STEREOTYPING AND DRAMATIC REALISM......Page 181 6.6. FOLK-LINGUISTIC NOTIONS AND 'SEXIST' LANGUAGE......Page 182 6.7. METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS......Page 188 6.8.1. SYNTAX AND PRAGMATICS......Page 191 6.8.2. IDIOMS AND VOCABULARY......Page 205 6.9. SUMMARY AND CLASSIFICATION OF FEATURES......Page 208 6.10. SOCIOLINGUISTIC INTERPRETATION......Page 209 6.11. THE LITERARY DIMENSION......Page 211 7.1. SIMPLIFIED REGISTERS AND 'FOREIGNER TALK'......Page 213 7.2. BROKEN LANGUAGE AND 'SECONDARY FOREIGNER TALK'......Page 214 7.3.1. VOWEL QUANTITY......Page 217 7.3.2. ASPIRATED STOPS AND ASPIRATION......Page 218 7.3.3. IOTACISM......Page 219 7.3.4. LOSS OF FINAL -v......Page 221 7.3.5. LOSS OF FINAL -s......Page 223 7.3.6. THE ORIGINS OF MODERN FOREIGNER TALK?......Page 226 7.4. FEATURES OF MODERN FOREIGNER TALK......Page 228 7.5.1. PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY......Page 229 7.5.2. MORPHOLOGY......Page 230 7.5.3. SYNTAX......Page 232 7.5.4. LEXICON......Page 234 7.6.1. TEXTUAL CRITICISM......Page 235 7.6.2. LINGUISTICS......Page 236 7.6.3. LITERARY TECHNIQUE AND SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT......Page 237 8 - Conclusion......Page 241 1. PRELIMINARY REMARKS......Page 247 2.1. VOCALISM......Page 248 2.2. CONSONANTISM......Page 252 2.3. SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES......Page 253 2.4. VARIA......Page 254 2.5. CONCLUSION: PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS......Page 255 3.1. NOUNS......Page 256 3.2. ADJECTIVES......Page 257 3.3. PRONOUNS......Page 258 3.4. VERBS......Page 260 4.1. NOUNS......Page 266 4.3. ARTICLE......Page 269 4.5. PREPOSITIONS......Page 271 4.6. VERBS......Page 272 4.7. PARTICLES......Page 275 4.8. SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES......Page 276 4.9. CONCLUSION: SYNTAX......Page 282 5. GENERAL CONCLUSION......Page 283 References......Page 286 Index of Passages......Page 320 Index of Greek......Page 352 General Index......Page 366 "By examining linguistic variation in Aristophanic comedy, The Languages of Aristophanes opens up a new perspective on intra-dialectal diversity in Classical Attic Greek. Unlike previous research, it works with more fine-grained variational categories than 'literary' versus 'colloquial/spoken' language. A representative range of registers, technical languages, sociolects, and (comic) idiolects is described and analysed. Stylistic and statistical observations are combined and supplemented by typological comparisons with material drawn from sociolinguistic research on modern languages. Thus, a methodology is developed which bypasses the difficulties caused by the literary nature of the raw material. At the same time, the resulting portrayal of the Attic dialect deepens our understanding of various socio-cultural phenomena reflected in Aristophanes' work, such as attitudes towards religion, the spread of 'sophistic' culture, the re-evaluation of gender roles, and the status of foreigners in Athenian society."--Jacket By examining linguistic variation in Aristophanic comedy, Andreas Willi opens up a new perspective on intra-dialectal diversity in Classical Attic Greek. A representative range of registers, technical languages, sociolects, and (comic) idiolects is described and analysed. Stylistic and statistical observations are combined and supplemented by typological comparisons with material drawn from sociolinguistic research on modern languages. The resulting portrayal of the Attic dialect deepens our understanding of various socio-cultural phenomena reflected in Aristophanes'work, such as the spread of'sophistic'culture, the re-evaluation of gender roles, and the status of foreigners in Athenian society. The play with linguistic styles constitutes an important ingredient of Aristophanic humour. Andreas Willi uses the stylistic diversity as a source to reconstruct the 'real' styles upon which Aristophanes based his text. Most of these 'real' styles would otherwise be lost because they are not represented in serious literature. - ;By examining linguistic variation in Aristophanic comedy, Andreas Willi opens up a new perspective on intra-dialectal diversity in Classical Attic Greek. A representative range of registers, technical languages, sociolects, and (comic) idiolects is described and analys IN THE ANCIENT Life of Aristophanes (Ar. test. I) we are told that the tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse once asked the philosopher Plato for information about the organization of public life in Athens.