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Old 04-08-2009, 03:48 PM   #1
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Default Query re languages used in Corinth

If you were from Rome in the first century AD and you then went to Corinth, what exotic and exciting languages might you hear that would strike your ear?

Would you hear 'Italian and Spanish'? (I really don't think you would, but some people think so - perhaps Italian and Spanish dialects of Latin?)

As for languages, apart from Greek, I think you might hear Latin, Aramaic, possibly Persian (Farsi, or whatever it was called back then). Any ideas as to what other languages might be heard spoken in Corinth in the first century AD?
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Old 04-08-2009, 07:47 PM   #2
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Latin, Koine Greek, Corinthian Greek, Coptic, Aramaic, Iberian, Berber, Illyrian, Gaulish, Parthian and maybe Sarmatian. A slim possibility of Ethiopic and whatever was spoken in western India.

Eldarion Lathria
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Old 04-10-2009, 02:42 PM   #3
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Thanks very much for your reply. You told me what I needed to know - very interesting!
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Old 04-11-2009, 10:56 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilyofthevalley View Post
If you were from Rome in the first century AD and you then went to Corinth, what exotic and exciting languages might you hear that would strike your ear?

Would you hear 'Italian and Spanish'? (I really don't think you would, but some people think so - perhaps Italian and Spanish dialects of Latin?)
Italian and Spanish do not exist in this period; they arise from corrupt late Latin.

Certainly one would meet people from Italy, and possibly people from Spain. These would both speak Latin.

Quote:
As for languages, apart from Greek, I think you might hear Latin, Aramaic, possibly Persian (Farsi, or whatever it was called back then). Any ideas as to what other languages might be heard spoken in Corinth in the first century AD?
Mainly you would hear Greek. Even the Romans spoke it, remember.

Any other languages would depend on whether anyone of any language group spoken at the time was there, and able to speak their native language. It is theoretically possible for an Indian to be there; but very unlikely. It's not very likely that Persian would be used.

All the best,

Roger Pearse
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Old 04-11-2009, 11:45 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Roger Pearse View Post
Certainly one would meet people from Italy, and possibly people from Spain. These would both speak Latin.
But I wonder how divergent the dialects would be, since geographical separation in the ancient world would surely cause greater linguistic divergence than it does in the modern world... no?

razly
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Old 04-12-2009, 01:00 AM   #6
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Quote:
It's not very likely that Persian would be used.
Sorry?


Why not? The language of a major local empire in an area with excellent trading routes for probably thousands of years?

The other possible languages would be North African, Phoenician.
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