The Languages of Classical Antiquity Series
Catalog of titles in the LCA series
Following on the heels of our successful ALR (American Language Reprint) Series, Evolution Publishing is proud to launch a new series which aims to document the minor languages of the Greco-Roman world.
Though ancient Mediterranean Europe is best known to us from Greek and Roman sources, the area was inhabited since earliest times by many other tribes and ethnic groups, most of whom perished, leaving but scarce record that they ever existed. Archaeology and philology are beginning to at last revive the world's knowledge of these cultures, and their languages are being recovered via inscriptions.
Much energy has been expended in the last two centuries toward correct interpretation of the ancient inscriptions, and modern linguistics has been able to reconstruct much that had been lost, particularly the idioms of the Indo-European family whose development is well known.
We are pleased to be able to provide here the fruits of extensive scholarly labor in these lesser-known languages, drawing on the researches of prominent philologists such as Carl Darling Buck and R. S. Conway. The philological research is here being reformulated and presented in the form of vocabularies, providing for the first time a single series which will eventually document the whole Classical linguistic world.
The amount of linguistic information contained in inscriptions is often scanty or undecipherable, and for some areas there are virtually no inscriptions at all. In this regard, it is fortunate that though the science of linguistics was still millenia away, ancient Greek and Roman scholars occasionally recorded individual words or "glosses" of these languages. They did not do so systematically, nor with the kind of accuracy that modern methods have taught us to expect, with the result that numerous glossed words of uncertain accuracy are scattered throughout the whole of classical literature.
Nevertheless, these glosses are unique and precious testaments to languages long since extinct. In the case of languages which are also known through inscriptions, such glosses are a good supplementary source of vocabulary items, and occasionally contain data which aid decipherment. In a few cases, the glosses are the only documentation at all of a particular language, and in these instances, they take on even greater significance, as the only linguistic material has come down to us. Scholars from various European nations have assembled compendia of the ancient glosses from the 19th century up to the present. But here, for the first time, the glosses are all collected in one series and made accessible to an EnglishÐspeaking audience.
Classicists and historical linguists will find these volumes perfect introductions to the study of these languages: each volume contains historical and linguistic background with scholarly bibliographies. And, significantly, the LCA series has also been designed with non-specialists also in mind: like our ALR series, the entries are provided in an easy-to-consult alphabetical dictionary format, and each language is organized by geography and linguistic affiliation. Each volume also features tables showing letters in the native script and their modern day transliteration.
All titles in the LCA series are bound in a durable hardcover, using a coated nonwoven cover, and Davey(tm) Binders' Board. Printed on acid-free paper, the pages are center-stitched for assured shelf longevity. Best of all, these handy reference volumes are provided at a price that makes individual titles or even the entire collection easily accessible to libraries and departments on a tight budget.
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Vol. 1
A Vocabulary of Etruscan
Approximately 250 words of Etruscan, a language isolate spoken in central Italy, on the western coast between the Arno and Tiber rivers. The entries are arranged in Etruscan-English and English-Etruscan sections, with a separate numerical table. Includes also 65 glosses attributed to the Etruscans, and a table of the Etruscan alphabet.
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A Vocabulary of Etruscan
hardcover, 45 pp.
ISBN 1-889758-05-1
1998
$24.00
Vol. 2
A Vocabulary of Oscan
Features over 200 words of Oscan, an Italic Indo-European language spoken by the Samnites of southern Italy. The entries are organized bidirectionally: Oscan-English and English-Oscan, and proper case-forms have been reconstructed for Latin-style dictionary entries (nominative and genitive singulars). Also contains glosses attributed to the Oscans, Samnites, Campanians, and other allied peoples; and the Oscan native alphabet.
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A Vocabulary of Oscan
hardcover, 41 pp.
ISBN 1-889758-06-X
1999
$24.00
Vol. 3
A Vocabulary of Umbrian
Umbrian, an Italic Indo-European language, was spoken by the Umbrii in central Italy (modern-day Umbria). This vocabulary lists over 200 words in the language in two sections: Umbrian-English and English-Umbrian, with reconstructed nominative and genitive case-forms. Also contains glosses attributed to the Umbrians, and a table of the Umbrian alphabet.
A Vocabulary of Umbrian
hardcover
ISBN 1-889758-07-8
due summer 1999
$24.00
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