12 Orthographic variation and register in the corpus of Greek documentary papyri (300 BCE–800 CE)
Abstract
The corpus of Greek documentary papyri from Egypt consists of various types of documents, such as letters, contracts and accounts, showing different types of linguistic variation. The concept of register is applied here to examine the relationship between the presence of non-standard orthography and the situational context according to the situational variables setting, participants, genre and production circumstances. Quantitative study shows that the participants involved and the genre of the document are predictors for the amount of orthographic variation that is found in a document. Qualitative analysis of the documents in a number of archives reveals that there are also other important factors, such as the choice of scribe, method of production and the stage of composition of the text that is preserved to us, to explain the presence of orthographic variation in the corpus of documentary papyri.
Abstract
The corpus of Greek documentary papyri from Egypt consists of various types of documents, such as letters, contracts and accounts, showing different types of linguistic variation. The concept of register is applied here to examine the relationship between the presence of non-standard orthography and the situational context according to the situational variables setting, participants, genre and production circumstances. Quantitative study shows that the participants involved and the genre of the document are predictors for the amount of orthographic variation that is found in a document. Qualitative analysis of the documents in a number of archives reveals that there are also other important factors, such as the choice of scribe, method of production and the stage of composition of the text that is preserved to us, to explain the presence of orthographic variation in the corpus of documentary papyri.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Contents VII
- List of contributors XI
- The Greek Alphabet XV
- List of abbreviations XVII
- 1 Varieties of Post-classical and Byzantine Greek: Novel questions and approaches 1
-
Part I: VARIETIES OF POST-CLASSICAL AND BYZANTINE GREEK
- 2 Tracking down lects in Roman Egypt 17
- 3 Idiolect in focus: Two brothers in the Memphis Sarapieion (II BCE) 39
- 4 Imposing psychological pressure in papyrus request letters: A case study of six Byzantine letters written in an ecclesiastical context (VI–VII CE) 75
- 5 Greek in Egypt or Egyptian Greek? Syntactic regionalisms (IV CE) 115
- 6 In search of an Egyptian Greek lexicon in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt 141
- 7 Byzantine literature in “classicised” genres: Some grammatical realities (V–XIV CE) 163
- 8 From highly classicizing to common prose (XIII–XIV CE): The Metaphrasis of Niketas Choniates’ History 179
- 9 Back to the future: Akritic light on diachronic variation in Cappadocian (East Asia Minor Greek) 201
-
Part II: DIMENSIONS OF VARIATION IN POST-CLASSICAL AND BYZANTINE GREEK
- 10 Tense variation in Ptolemaic papyri: Towards a grammar of epistolary dialogue 243
- 11 The Classical norm and varieties of Post-classical Greek: Expressions of anteriority and posteriority in a corpus of official documents (I–II CE) 265
- 12 Orthographic variation and register in the corpus of Greek documentary papyri (300 BCE–800 CE) 299
- 13 The Greek phonology of a tax collector in Egypt in the first century CE 327
- 14 Metrical variation in Byzantine colophons (XI–XV CE): The example of ἡ μὲν χεὶρ ἡ γράψασα 353
- 15 Arguing and narrating: Text type and linguistic variation in tenth-century Greek 369
- 16 The distinctiveness of syntax for varieties of Post-classical and Byzantine Greek: Linguistic upgrading from the third century BCE to the tenth century CE 381
- Index locorum 415
- Index nominum 423
- Index rerum 425
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Contents VII
- List of contributors XI
- The Greek Alphabet XV
- List of abbreviations XVII
- 1 Varieties of Post-classical and Byzantine Greek: Novel questions and approaches 1
-
Part I: VARIETIES OF POST-CLASSICAL AND BYZANTINE GREEK
- 2 Tracking down lects in Roman Egypt 17
- 3 Idiolect in focus: Two brothers in the Memphis Sarapieion (II BCE) 39
- 4 Imposing psychological pressure in papyrus request letters: A case study of six Byzantine letters written in an ecclesiastical context (VI–VII CE) 75
- 5 Greek in Egypt or Egyptian Greek? Syntactic regionalisms (IV CE) 115
- 6 In search of an Egyptian Greek lexicon in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt 141
- 7 Byzantine literature in “classicised” genres: Some grammatical realities (V–XIV CE) 163
- 8 From highly classicizing to common prose (XIII–XIV CE): The Metaphrasis of Niketas Choniates’ History 179
- 9 Back to the future: Akritic light on diachronic variation in Cappadocian (East Asia Minor Greek) 201
-
Part II: DIMENSIONS OF VARIATION IN POST-CLASSICAL AND BYZANTINE GREEK
- 10 Tense variation in Ptolemaic papyri: Towards a grammar of epistolary dialogue 243
- 11 The Classical norm and varieties of Post-classical Greek: Expressions of anteriority and posteriority in a corpus of official documents (I–II CE) 265
- 12 Orthographic variation and register in the corpus of Greek documentary papyri (300 BCE–800 CE) 299
- 13 The Greek phonology of a tax collector in Egypt in the first century CE 327
- 14 Metrical variation in Byzantine colophons (XI–XV CE): The example of ἡ μὲν χεὶρ ἡ γράψασα 353
- 15 Arguing and narrating: Text type and linguistic variation in tenth-century Greek 369
- 16 The distinctiveness of syntax for varieties of Post-classical and Byzantine Greek: Linguistic upgrading from the third century BCE to the tenth century CE 381
- Index locorum 415
- Index nominum 423
- Index rerum 425
