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Key research themes
1. What role did Latin-Greek code-switching play in Neo-Latin literature and epistolary culture, and what sociolinguistic functions did it fulfill?
Focused on early modern bilingualism and multilingualism, this theme explores the phenomenon of Latin-Greek code-switching in Neo-Latin texts, especially in letter writing and learned poetry. Investigating sociolinguistic motivations, genre conventions, and confessional markers, it connects linguistic choices with intellectual identity, elite discourse, and cultural affiliation.
Key finding: This paper provides a detailed sociolinguistic analysis of Greek-Latin code-switching in Roman elite literature, particularly in Fronto and Marcus Aurelius' letters, establishing code-switching as a marker of cultured elite... Read more
Key finding: This linguistic study of Pompeian tavern graffiti contrasts vernacular and submerged spoken Latin with classical literary norms. By examining inscriptions that reflect conversational interactions, it offers insight into the... Read more
Key finding: By analyzing Guarino Veronese's philological restoration of Greek passages in Latin texts, this paper highlights the challenges and methodologies of integrating Greek within Renaissance Neo-Latin scholarship, illustrating how... Read more
2. How did Neo-Latin linguistic and literary practices evolve in response to new knowledge domains and cultural contexts, such as natural science and vernacular resurgence?
This theme examines Neo-Latin's adaptation and innovation in linguistic forms, terminology, and literary motifs across fields ranging from botanical science to translation methodology and pastoral poetry. It covers methodological textual studies, intellectual history of term formation, and the creative reimagination of classical motifs, elucidating Neo-Latin's dynamic response to early modern scientific expansion and vernacular interactions.
Key finding: This study details the evolution of specialized botanical Latin from classical models towards an increasingly technical lexicon accommodating new plant species and scientific observation. It documents the gradual divergence... Read more
Key finding: By analyzing German-speaking Neo-Latin grammars from the 16th to mid-19th century, this article finds Latin school grammar remarkably conservative structurally, but responsive in modifying terminology and conceptual... Read more
Key finding: This literary analysis compares two Neo-Latin pastoral poems reworking classical arboreal metamorphosis motifs, showing how authors adapted Ovidian transformations into pastoral moral allegories. It reveals Neo-Latin... Read more
Key finding: This paper's exploration of 15th-century editorial techniques for restoring Greek passages in Latin texts demonstrates how Neo-Latin philologists negotiated authenticity and linguistic hybridity. This process influenced both... Read more