Latin Accents in the Roman Republic: Direct Evidence and SLM-r Reconstruction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.3356Keywords:
Latin, Classics, Greek, Rome, Ancient Rome, Linguistics, SLM-r, Sabellic, Oscan, Faliscan, Praeneste, PraenestineAbstract
The phonology of Republican Latin (ca. 3rd - 1st c. B.C.) has been reconstructed and documented in Allen’s Vox Latina, but Latin’s widespread use during the Republic likely produced regional diversification. This study brings to light previously obscure phonological regionalisms of Republican Latin. It draws from authors like Adams, Mancini, Peruzzi, and Coleman, among others, while applying Bohn and Flege’s Revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r) to comparatively model bilingual accents. Epigraphic evidence from Falerii reveals many “Neo-Faliscan” dialectisms, whereas previous conclusions about Praenestine regionalisms prove less secure under scrutiny. Anecdotal evidence for a Greek-Latin accent supports Bohn and Flege’s phonological approximation approach in SLM-r. With the same framework, an evidence-corroborated reconstruction of an Oscan-Latin accent shows SLM-r’s reconstructive powers. The findings indicate that Republican Latin’s phonology, contrary to the homogenized perception of Republican Latin, had many internal variations and bilingual influence from other languages.
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