Abstract

In both the modern and the ancient world, we often expect each political or ethnic group to have its own language. The ancient Greeks considered their language to be the glue which tied them together. The Romans never seemed quite sure how highly they valued Latin, but speaking anything else could be a sure sign of disloyalty. But ancient Italy did not just contain Greeks and Romans – there were many other groups and ethnicities whose literature does not survive. Was language as important to their self-image as it was to the Greeks and Romans? In this talk, Katherine McDonald will speak about the work of the AHRC -funded “Greek in Italy” project, and ask how important language was to the identity of the ancient peoples of Italy.