"Vulgar Latin" refers to those features of Latin language that were not recommended by the classical grammarians but existed nonetheless. Although "Vulgar Latin" is not well documented, evidence can be deduced from details of the spelling, grammar, and vocabulary that occur in texts of the later Roman Empire, late antiquity, and the early Middle Ages. Every aspect of "Vulgar Latin" is exemplified in this book, proving that the language is not separate in itself, but an integral part of Latin.
Originally published in French in 1967, Vulgar Latin was translated more recently into Spanish in an expanded and revised version. The English translation by Roger Wright accurately portrays "Vulgar Latin" as a complicated field of study, where little is known with absolute certainty, but a great deal can be worked out with considerable probability through careful critical analysis of the data. This text is an invaluable aid to research and understanding for all those interested in Latin, Romance languages, historical linguistics, early medieval texts, and early medieval history.
Author(s): József Herman; Roger Wright
Edition: 1
[title page]
Contents
Prologue by the Author to the English Edition
Foreword by the English Translator
A Note on the Symbols Used
Chronology of the Authors and Texts Mentioned
1 “Vulgar” Latin: Terminology and Probems
2 The Historical Context
3 Sources and Methods
4 Phonetic Evolution
Vowels
Consonants
Word-Final Consonants
Palatalization
Intervocalic Consonants
Consonant Clusters
5 Inflectional Morphology
Nominal Morphology
Verbal Morphology
6 Phrases and Sentences
Noun Phrases
The Simple Sentence
Compound Sentences
7 Vocabulary
Invariant Words
Inflected Words
Lexical Substitution
Semantic Changes
Affixation And Compounding
Foreign Words
8 More General Problems
The End of the History of Latin
The Geographical Diversification of Latin
The Main Lines of Vulgar Development
Selective Bibliography
Textual Sources
Studies
