|
The focus of the Latin Vulgaire - Latin Tardif book series lies on the complex and multifaceted problem of late and so-called vulgar Latin. Specifically, starting out from a wide range of methodological approaches involving all levels of language, the series' main purpose is to investigate how Classical Latin (i.e. the language used in the period from ca. 100 BC to AD 100 by authors such as Cicero, Horace and Vergil) underwent the changes during the late period (i.e. mainly between the 3rd and the 7th century AD) that resulted in (the early stages of) the Romance languages. To this purpose, three main types of linguistic sources are taken into consideration. First, direct Latin sources, which include for instance texts written by people with a lesser level of literacy (e.g. inscriptions, soldiers' letters), or by fully literate authors reproducing colloquial language deliberately (e.g. Petronius, Apuleius). Second, indirect Latin sources, which consist of metalinguistic testimonies of ancient authors (mainly, but not exclusively, grammarians) dealing with the language variation typical of their time and region. And third, the Romance idioms themselves: by comparing sources in at least two Romance varieties, one may reconstruct Latin words or forms which were used widely in spoken usage but, for different reasons, are not attested in any extant source.
|