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PURism in Antiquity: Theories of Language in Greek Atticist Lexica and their Legacy

Project description

An in-depth analysis of linguistic purism in ancient Greece

Linguistic purism emerged during the Roman Empire aiming to protect the Greek language from the 'threat' of multilingualism. Ancient Greek purism has never been studied in a multidisciplinary perspective and remains unknown outside the realm of classics. The EU-funded PURA project will conduct the first global study of this phenomenon. It will focus on the analysis of Atticist lexica, which were composed of scholars who lived in the multilingual environment of the Roman Empire and intended to preserve the Greek language in its 5th-century form. The project combines classics, linguistics, textual philology, codicology and historical lexicography to deliver a global mapping of the purist theories expressed in lexica and produce a conclusive study of Atticism and its legacy.

Objective

Linguistic purism, the attempt to protect language against the threat of multilingualism, change and outside contact, finds an antecedent in Greek Antiquity that remains mostly unknown outside Classics and has never been studied in a multidisciplinary perspective. PURA aims to overturn this state of affairs by producing the first global study of Greek purism, the texts which upheld it, and their legacy in later ages. The focus of this analysis are Atticist lexica: collections of features to be cultivated or avoided in correct Greek. These texts were compiled by scholars who lived in the multilingual Roman Empire and wished to counter the natural evolution of Greek by freezing it at an ideal stage of purity, identified with the extinct dialect of 5th-century Athens. PURA is characterized by a multidisciplinary methodology combining Classics, linguistics, textual philology, codicology and historical lexicography which will tackle both the immaterial heritage of Atticist theories and their material history as books. Its objectives are: 1) to provide a global mapping of the purist theories expressed in the lexica and make them both accessible outside the traditional format of critical editions and approachable for non-experts in the form of a unique web-based searchable corpus; 2) to endow the corpus with an in-depth linguistic analysis that extends from Ancient to Modern Greek; 3) to bring textual transmission and book circulation into the picture by charting all the manuscripts and first printed editions of the lexica; 4) to produce the definitive study of Atticism and its legacy from a modern linguistic and philological perspective. PURA will go beyond the traditional standards of Classical studies by creating a model of textual, linguistic and philological analysis for the investigation of Ancient Greek lexicography that can be extended to the study of purism in other languages and cultures.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) ERC-2019-COG

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Host institution

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Net EU contribution
€ 1 303 437,00
Address
DORSODURO 3246
30123 Venezia
Italy
Region
Nord-Est Veneto Venezia
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 1 303 437,00

Beneficiaries (1)