Politics of Language - by Eleni Bozia (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Examining the identity and belonging of native and non-native speakers of Greek during the time of the High Roman Empire, Eleni Bozia closely studies grammarians, lexicographers and literary writers who used Attic Greek. Bozia argues that transculturalism and translingualism created a new space for both the naturalised and native citizenry. In the act of imitating, emulating and recreating Attic Greek, speakers formed a socio-politically distinct and nuanced mode of expression in the social echelons of the Roman world"--

Book Synopsis

Examining the identity and belonging of native and non-native speakers of Greek during the time of the High Roman Empire, Eleni Bozia closely studies grammarians, lexicographers and literary writers who used Attic Greek.

Bozia argues that transculturalism and translingualism created a new space for both the naturalised and native citizenry. In the act of imitating, emulating and recreating Attic Greek, speakers formed a socio-politically distinct and nuanced mode of expression in the social echelons of the Roman world.

Additionally, this is the first book to explore Greek and Latin texts from both a philological and a computational linguistics perspective. The result is a consideration of how imitation and innovation affect the social positioning of native and bilingual speakers. As such, this combined reading of data derived from classical studies in conjunction with computational linguistics, offers the context of how to serve a new interpretation of our understanding and appreciation of identity.

Review Quotes

An innovative combination of classics, sociology and computational linguistics. A sound exploration of the role of language in the creation and maintenance of identities in the High Roman Empire. Delightfully written and accessible to all readerships.

About the Author

Eleni Bozia is Professor of Classics and Digital Humanities at the University of Florida, USA.