🗣️Bilingualism in History Unit 2 – Ancient Bilingualism: Mesopotamia to Rome

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Bilingualism refers to the ability to speak, read, and write in two languages fluently
• Multilingualism involves proficiency in more than two languages, often due to cultural, economic, or political factors
• Diglossia is a situation where two languages or dialects are used by a single language community, each with distinct social functions
• Language contact occurs when speakers of different languages interact, leading to linguistic borrowing, code-switching, and the emergence of pidgins and creoles
• Lingua franca is a common language used for communication between people who speak different native languages (Greek, Aramaic, Latin)
• Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or language varieties in a single conversation or utterance
• Substrate and superstrate languages refer to the languages involved in the formation of a new language, with the substrate language (often the native language) influencing the superstrate language (often the dominant language)

Historical Context and Timeline

• Ancient bilingualism and multilingualism were shaped by factors such as trade, conquest, colonization, and migration
• Mesopotamia (3500 BCE - 539 BCE) was a region of linguistic diversity, with Sumerian, Akkadian, and Aramaic as major languages
• Ancient Egypt (3000 BCE - 332 BCE) had a long history of language contact, with Egyptian, Semitic languages, and later, Greek as important languages
• The Greek-speaking world (800 BCE - 146 BCE) expanded through colonization and trade, leading to the spread of Greek as a lingua franca
• The Roman Empire (27 BCE - 476 CE) was characterized by widespread multilingualism, with Latin as the official language coexisting with various local languages
• The Rosetta Stone (196 BCE) is a famous example of ancient multilingualism, featuring inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script, and Ancient Greek
• The rise of Christianity and the decline of the Roman Empire (4th-5th centuries CE) led to significant changes in the linguistic landscape of the ancient world

Ancient Mesopotamian Bilingualism

• Sumerian and Akkadian were the two main languages in ancient Mesopotamia, with Sumerian gradually replaced by Akkadian as the dominant language
• Akkadian, a Semitic language, adopted the Sumerian cuneiform script and borrowed many Sumerian loanwords
  • Cuneiform is a writing system that uses wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets
• Bilingual scribes played a crucial role in Mesopotamian administration, diplomacy, and record-keeping
• The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary works, exists in both Sumerian and Akkadian versions, reflecting the bilingual nature of Mesopotamian literature
• Aramaic, another Semitic language, gained prominence in the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods (934 BCE - 539 BCE) as a lingua franca
• The Behistun Inscription (522 BCE) is a multilingual text in Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian, demonstrating the linguistic diversity of the Achaemenid Empire

Bilingualism in Ancient Egypt

• Ancient Egyptian, an Afro-Asiatic language, was the primary language of ancient Egypt, with several stages of development (Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian)
• Egyptian hieroglyphs, hieratic, and demotic were the main writing systems used in ancient Egypt
• Language contact between Egyptian and Semitic languages (Canaanite, Aramaic) occurred due to trade, migration, and conquest
• During the Ptolemaic period (305 BCE - 30 BCE), Greek became the language of the ruling elite and administration, leading to widespread bilingualism
  • The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great
• Coptic, a later stage of the Egyptian language written in the Greek alphabet, emerged in the early Christian era (2nd-3rd centuries CE)
• The Narmouthis Ostraca (2nd century CE) are bilingual texts in Greek and Demotic, providing insights into language use and education in Roman Egypt

Greek-Speaking World and Bilingualism

• The spread of Greek through colonization and trade led to the emergence of Greek as a lingua franca in the Mediterranean world
• The conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BCE - 323 BCE) and the subsequent Hellenistic period (323 BCE - 31 BCE) further expanded the influence of Greek language and culture
• Koine Greek, a standardized form of Greek, became the common language of administration, literature, and trade in the Hellenistic world
• Bilingualism was common in Greek colonies and cities, with local languages coexisting with Greek (Lycian, Lydian, Carian in Asia Minor; Phoenician, Aramaic in the Levant)
• The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (3rd-2nd centuries BCE), reflects the Jewish community's adoption of Greek in the Hellenistic period
• The New Testament, written in Koine Greek, contains evidence of language contact and bilingualism in the early Christian era (Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin loanwords and influences)

Roman Empire and Multilingualism

• Latin, an Italic language, became the official language of the Roman Empire, coexisting with various local languages in the provinces
• The Roman Empire's expansion led to widespread multilingualism, with Latin as the language of administration, law, and the military
  • Local languages such as Punic, Gaulish, and Aramaic continued to be spoken in the provinces
• Greek remained an important language in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, particularly in the domains of philosophy, science, and literature
• The Roman elite were often bilingual in Latin and Greek, with Greek seen as a language of culture and education
• Inscriptions, graffiti, and private letters from the Roman period provide evidence of language contact, code-switching, and multilingualism
  • The Vindolanda Tablets (1st-2nd centuries CE) are a collection of Latin documents that also contain borrowings and influences from Celtic and Germanic languages
• The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire contributed to the spread of Greek and Latin as liturgical and scholarly languages

Writing Systems and Language Contact

• The adoption and adaptation of writing systems played a significant role in ancient bilingualism and language contact
• The Sumerian cuneiform script was adopted and adapted by Akkadian and other languages in the ancient Near East
• The Phoenician alphabet, a consonantal writing system, was adapted by the Greeks, who added vowels to create the Greek alphabet
• The Greek alphabet was later adapted by the Etruscans and Romans to write their respective languages
• The Coptic alphabet, based on the Greek alphabet with additional Demotic characters, was used to write the Coptic language in early Christian Egypt
• Bilingual and multilingual inscriptions, such as the Rosetta Stone and the Behistun Inscription, demonstrate the use of multiple writing systems in official contexts
• The spread of writing systems through cultural contact and adaptation facilitated the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and literary traditions across linguistic boundaries

Cultural and Social Impacts of Ancient Bilingualism

• Bilingualism and multilingualism had significant cultural and social impacts in the ancient world, facilitating the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and traditions
• Translation and interpretation played crucial roles in diplomacy, trade, and cultural exchange between different linguistic communities
• Bilingual education was common among the elite in many ancient societies, with proficiency in multiple languages seen as a mark of cultural sophistication
  • The Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero emphasized the importance of learning Greek for intellectual and cultural pursuits
• Language contact led to the borrowing of loanwords, literary genres, and cultural concepts across linguistic boundaries
  • The Greek language borrowed many loanwords from Persian, Aramaic, and other languages during the Hellenistic period
• Bilingualism and multilingualism also had implications for identity, with individuals and communities negotiating their linguistic and cultural affiliations
• The spread of religions, such as Christianity and Manichaeism, was facilitated by the use of multiple languages in proselytization and scripture translation
• The linguistic diversity of the ancient world laid the foundation for the development of modern languages and the continued study of language contact and bilingualism