An Anthology of Informal Latin, 200 BC-AD 900

This book contains over fifty passages of Latin from 200 BC to AD 900, each with translation and linguistic commentary. It is not intended as an elementary reader (though suitable for university courses), but as an illustrative history of Latin covering more than a millennium, with almost every century represented. Conventional histories cite constructions out of context, whereas this work gives a sense of the period, genre, stylistic aims and idiosyncrasies of specific passages. 'Informal' texts, particularly if they portray talk, reflect linguistic variety and change better than texts adhering to classicising norms. Some of the texts are recent discoveries or little known. Writing tablets are well represented, as are literary and technical texts down to the early medieval period, when striking changes appear. The commentaries identify innovations, discontinuities and phenomena of long duration. Readers will learn much about the diversity and development of Latin.
This book illustrates the changing character of Latin over 1000 years, through detailed linguistic commentaries on fifty passages, each with a translation.
J. N. Adams, CBE, FBA, is an Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an Honorary Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester. He is the author of many books and articles on the Latin language, including the trilogy Bilingualism and the Latin Language (Cambridge, 2003), The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600 (Cambridge 2007) and Social Variation and the Latin Language (Cambridge, 2013). He was awarded the Kenyon Medal for Classical Studies of the British Academy in 2009.