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The Latin Language
This excellent study traces the relation of Latin to other Indo-European languages and guides the reader lucidly through Latin phonology, morphology, and syntax. It should prove fascinating not only to Latinists but also to linguists generally and, expecially, to students of Romance languages. Over the years, readers have found that Palmer’s treatment of this so-called dea
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Paperback, 384 pages
Published
March 15th 1988
by University of Oklahoma Press
(first published 1954)
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-30 of 51)
In my high school Latin class I memorized forms and constructions. After reading this, I finally learned the historical reasons why they were what they were.
The book begins with a history of the language, from the beginnings (the author discusses the relationship of Latin to the Italic languages, to Celtic and to Greek), what can be inferred of the spoken language, through the literary works of the classical period, late Latin, the rise of Christian Latin and ends with the end of the Roman Empi ...more
The book begins with a history of the language, from the beginnings (the author discusses the relationship of Latin to the Italic languages, to Celtic and to Greek), what can be inferred of the spoken language, through the literary works of the classical period, late Latin, the rise of Christian Latin and ends with the end of the Roman Empi ...more
Expansive and all-encompassing. He does a brilliant job changing topics, as good a reviewer of literary styles as he is of historical linguistics. His discussion of the linguistics of Latin itself, however, I found to be very thick in some parts and far too thin in others: why so much devotion to the evolution of partitive genitives but zero discussion on the appearance and evolution of deponent verbs? Otherwise, fantastic.
Not quite as good as his history of the Greek language, nevertheless Palmer's history of Latin is quite good.
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