Studies in the Linguistic Variation of Classical Attic and the Attic Orators

This thesis seeks to analyse several previously unexplored cases of morphosyntactic variation (the distribution of the two perfect stems of γίγνομαι; the dual; expressions of possession; the aorists ἤνεγκα/ἤνεγκον; complementiser selection in purpose clauses; complementiser usage with λέγω) in Attic from fifth to the fourth centuries BC and to explore the nature of this variation in oratory. It first analyses the distribution of these features in comedy to determine what the likely causes of variation were in the spoken language. These are then analysed in oratory (and, where possible, other texts) to determine how this genre reacted to these developments and whether the factors involved in variation were the same in this register as the factors in comedy and spoken Attic. It then examines how the register was constructed from the linguistic resources of the language and how orators pitched the register between the spoken language and the literary tradition.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Machado, Robert

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Thompson, Rupert

• Attic Greek
• Greek
• Greek Comedy
• Greek Oratory
• Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics

Licence

• https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/3c9607ba-e035-470d-aa33-67059fba988c/download
• https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.112634

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/374663