Monthly Muse

'Very, Very Old Latin' or Ancient Greek?

               On Tuesday, October 28th, the Classics Department presented the Austin Murray Lecture series with guest lecturer Joshua T. Katz, professor of Classics at Princeton University and distinguished linguist. Professor Katz gave a brief introduction to the study of linguistics at a brown bag held in the Classics Center (Lawrence 114). During the brown bag, he explained that the key to understanding linguistics lies in a full grasp of etymology, phonetics, semantics, and the distinction between dialect and idiolect. Granted, this is much easier said than done unless you are "a linguist by training, a classicist by profession, and a comparative philologist at heart" as Professor Katz describes himself. Yet, Katz acknowledges that it's not surprising if one struggles to fully understand any lecture on linguistics, as the subject matter truly highlights the complexities of Indo-European language.  This very academic philosophy was repeated during Professor Katz's lecture on 'Very, Very Old Latin', which focused on the etymology of the word Latium. Despite the name, his lecture focused on supporting evidence of the word first appearing in Greek text prior to recorded contact with the Romans. Katz provided a handout with general information of the Latin and Greek words he used to support his theory so that the audience could easily follow along with him. This talk was especially enjoyed by Prof. Seth Holm, who sat from and center during the lecture.