ἐρρωμένος μοι διατελοῖς μετὰ τῶν φιλτάτων κύριέ μου ἀσύγκριτε: The Social Semiotics of Formulaic Extravagance in the Ancient Greek Epistolary Frame
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Klaas Bentein
Abstract
This contribution explores the phenomenon of linguistic extravagance in the Ancient Greek epistolary frame, specifically examining its role in the construction of social meaning. It argues that subtle deviations from standard linguistic practices, categorized through a series of ‘discourse procedures’, not only index stable and less stable aspects of personal identity, but also actively shape aspects of interpersonal relationship. This examination not only broadens our understanding of Ancient Greek epistolography but also contributes to the wider field of social semiotics by highlighting the dynamic nature of language as a tool for social navigation and identity construction.
Abstract
This contribution explores the phenomenon of linguistic extravagance in the Ancient Greek epistolary frame, specifically examining its role in the construction of social meaning. It argues that subtle deviations from standard linguistic practices, categorized through a series of ‘discourse procedures’, not only index stable and less stable aspects of personal identity, but also actively shape aspects of interpersonal relationship. This examination not only broadens our understanding of Ancient Greek epistolography but also contributes to the wider field of social semiotics by highlighting the dynamic nature of language as a tool for social navigation and identity construction.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of Figures and Charts IX
- List of Tables XI
- Abbreviations
- In Honour of Mark Janse 1
-
Part I: Greek Through the Ages — From Homer to Byzantium
- Hyperbaton and Homeric Colometry: A First Exploration 15
- Aspect in the Gortyn Law Code: The Subjectivity of the Category 41
- Tense, Aspect, Iterativity and Related Textual Criticism: A Case Study Based on Herodotos, Historiai 4.78 65
- The Tragic Aorist: A Well-defined and Homogeneous Group? 101
- Changes in Word Order: Scribal Corrections to the Placement of Clitic Pronouns 127
- Κένταυρος, Κέρβερος and Their Possible Etymological Relatives 139
- Light from Gothic on the Post-Classical Greek Lexicon 161
- The Theory of Semantic Fields and the Greek Lexicon: The Case of ΠΟΝΗΡΟΣ and its Semantic Congeners in the History of the Greek Language 167
- Figs and the City: A Comic Cocktail (Aristophanes, fr. [dub.] 955 Kassel-Austin, PCG) 197
- Musings on an Attic Muse: Three Ancient Responses to a Passage from Xenophon’s Anabasis 215
- ἐρρωμένος μοι διατελοῖς μετὰ τῶν φιλτάτων κύριέ μου ἀσύγκριτε: The Social Semiotics of Formulaic Extravagance in the Ancient Greek Epistolary Frame 237
- Homer in Byzantium: Comment parler des livres que l’on n’a pas lus? 271
- Koineization in Ancient Epirus: Some Additional Insights from Onomastics 301
- The Papyrus of the Curse of Artemisia: Dialect and Interference 333
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Part II: Greek in Contact — Dialect and Diversity in the Modern Era
- On the So-Called Progressive in Romeyka 353
- The Exploitation of Turkish Dialectal Lexicography: Dialectal Turkish Loanwords in the Historical Dictionary of Cappadocian Dialects 381
- Investigating Derivational Borrowability in the Cappadocian Greek Dialectal Landscape: The Emergence of allo-morphomes 401
- Aivaliot Morphology: Selected Phenomena from Prefixization and Verb Borrowing 429
- Innovation and Retention in Silliot Greek 459
- The Historical Dictionary of Cappadocian Dialects as a Contribution to the Study of Variation and Change 477
- List of Contributors 503
- Index Rerum
- Index Nominum
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of Figures and Charts IX
- List of Tables XI
- Abbreviations
- In Honour of Mark Janse 1
-
Part I: Greek Through the Ages — From Homer to Byzantium
- Hyperbaton and Homeric Colometry: A First Exploration 15
- Aspect in the Gortyn Law Code: The Subjectivity of the Category 41
- Tense, Aspect, Iterativity and Related Textual Criticism: A Case Study Based on Herodotos, Historiai 4.78 65
- The Tragic Aorist: A Well-defined and Homogeneous Group? 101
- Changes in Word Order: Scribal Corrections to the Placement of Clitic Pronouns 127
- Κένταυρος, Κέρβερος and Their Possible Etymological Relatives 139
- Light from Gothic on the Post-Classical Greek Lexicon 161
- The Theory of Semantic Fields and the Greek Lexicon: The Case of ΠΟΝΗΡΟΣ and its Semantic Congeners in the History of the Greek Language 167
- Figs and the City: A Comic Cocktail (Aristophanes, fr. [dub.] 955 Kassel-Austin, PCG) 197
- Musings on an Attic Muse: Three Ancient Responses to a Passage from Xenophon’s Anabasis 215
- ἐρρωμένος μοι διατελοῖς μετὰ τῶν φιλτάτων κύριέ μου ἀσύγκριτε: The Social Semiotics of Formulaic Extravagance in the Ancient Greek Epistolary Frame 237
- Homer in Byzantium: Comment parler des livres que l’on n’a pas lus? 271
- Koineization in Ancient Epirus: Some Additional Insights from Onomastics 301
- The Papyrus of the Curse of Artemisia: Dialect and Interference 333
-
Part II: Greek in Contact — Dialect and Diversity in the Modern Era
- On the So-Called Progressive in Romeyka 353
- The Exploitation of Turkish Dialectal Lexicography: Dialectal Turkish Loanwords in the Historical Dictionary of Cappadocian Dialects 381
- Investigating Derivational Borrowability in the Cappadocian Greek Dialectal Landscape: The Emergence of allo-morphomes 401
- Aivaliot Morphology: Selected Phenomena from Prefixization and Verb Borrowing 429
- Innovation and Retention in Silliot Greek 459
- The Historical Dictionary of Cappadocian Dialects as a Contribution to the Study of Variation and Change 477
- List of Contributors 503
- Index Rerum
- Index Nominum
