The Latin Dialect of the Ager Faliscus
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Annotation. Although the Ager Faliscus lay between the areas where Etruscan, Latin and Sabellic languages were spoken, the inscriptions from the area from before c.150 bce show that it used a speech of its own, known as Faliscan. Most scholars agree that Faliscan is linguistically very close to Latin, but the hypothesis that it is in fact a Latin dialect has not been the subject of a major publication until now. In this work, the linguistic data on Faliscan provided by the inscriptions are analy
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This comprehensive linguistic study offers a groundbreaking analysis of the Faliscan language, presenting compelling evidence that this ancient Italic tongue should be classified as a Latin dialect rather than a separate language. Through meticulous examination of inscriptions from the Ager Faliscus region dating before 150 BCE, the author systematically challenges longstanding assumptions about this unique speech variety that developed between Etruscan and Sabellic linguistic territories. The work provides thorough documentation of Faliscan's phonological, morphological, and syntactic features, building a detailed case for its fundamental relationship to early Latin forms.
What distinguishes this research is its status as the first major publication dedicated entirely to proving the Latin dialect hypothesis, filling a significant gap in Italic linguistics scholarship. The systematic approach to epigraphic evidence makes this essential reading for historical linguists, classical philologists, and anyone studying the complex language landscape of pre-Roman Italy. By recontextualizing Faliscan within the Latin linguistic family, this work fundamentally reshapes our understanding of language diversity and development in ancient central Italy, offering fresh perspectives on how regional variations contributed to the evolution of Latin.
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