A Natural History of Latin

Description

Tore Janson tells the history of Latin from origins to present. He offers persuasive arguments for its value and gives direct access to its fascinating worlds, past and present. He describes how Latin spread through the classical world, its renewed importance in the Middle Ages, and its survival into modern times. He shows how spoken and written Latin evolved in different places and its central role in European history and culture. Brilliantly conceived and written with the same light touch as the author's bestselling history of languages, this book is a masterpiece of adroit synthesis.

• First popular history of the world's most influential language
• Accessible and entertaining

About the Author(s)

Tore Janson, Emeritus Professor of Latin, University of Göteborg

Table of Contents

Part I Latin and the Romans
1:Lingua latina: a first acquaintance
2:The earliest period of Rome
3:How Latin became Latin
4:From small town to great power
5:How bad were the Romans?
6:A voice from early Rome
7:The meeting with Greece
8:Theatre for the people
9:The age of revolutions
10:Writing, reading, listening, and speaking
11:Speeches, politics, and lawsuits
12:Cicero and rhetoric
13:The language of history
14:Imperium romanum: Augustus and the Roman Empire
15:Name and family
16:Years and months
17:Latin becomes the language of Europe
18:Poets and poetry
19:Philosophy: Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca
20:The Schools and Quintilian
21:The sciences
22:Everyday language
23:Laws and legal language
24:Tacitus, the emperors, and Britain
25:Christianity: from dangerous sect to state religion
Part II Latin and Europe
26:Europe after Rome
27:From Latin to the Romance languages
28:Missionaries, Latin, and foreign languages
29:Latin in Britain
30:Latin in schools
31:Speaking and spelling
32:Books and scribes
33:Saints and heretics
34:The guardians of the heritage
35:Poetry after antiquity
36:Abelard and Heloise
37:The thinkers
38:The Renaissance
39:Doctors and their language
40:Linnaeus and Latin
41:Physicists, chemists, and others
42:Alchemy, witchcraft, and Harry Potter
43:Loanwords and neologisms
44:Latin and German
45:Latin and French
46:Latin and English
47:Latin and us
Part III About the Grammar
48:Introduction
49:Pronunciation and stress
50:Sentences, verbs and nouns
51:Words and word classes
52:Nouns
53:Adjectives
54:Pronouns
55:THe forms of the verb
56:Amandi and amanda
57:How words are formed
Glossary of words and expressions
Part IV Basic Vocabulary
Part V Common Phrases and Expressions
Suggested reading
Index

Reviews

Review from previous edition Natural History of Latin is an authoritative introduction to arguably the most influential language of all time. Chicago Tribune -

This always readable book is full of interest. The Scotsman -

It is hard to imagine how this book could be improved... From now on, if anyone who has never studied Latin askes me to recommend a short, readable book in which they can find out about the history of Latin and get a feel for the grammar, I will be able to answer unhesitatingly. Linguist List -