Historical Linguistics and Comparative Philology

Available to all Mods candidates

This paper provides an introduction to the study of the origins of Greek and Latin and their development from a common ancestor, Indo-European (which is also the ancestor of English). The option is taught by the specialists in the field, and the teaching begins in lectures from the first term onwards; anyone who is even considering doing this paper must attend these lectures from the start. The lectures and classes cover the methods of historical and comparative linguistics, the reconstruction of the (unattested) Indo-European proto-language, the numerous changes in sounds and forms that resulted in the Greek and Latin languages as we know them, and some of the ways in which these languages continued to change down to the classical period. Selected passages of Homer and some archaic Latin inscriptions are examined in detail with regard to points of linguistic interest, to show how an understanding of the prehistory of Greek and Latin, and of the processes of change, can illuminate early records of the languages.

The questions set will require specific competence in ONE of the two classical languages but not necessarily in both; an opportunity will be given for (optional) commentary on the Greek and Latin texts covered in the classes.