Bilingualism in Cicero? : the evidence of code-switching

Author: Swain, Simon C. R.
Title: Bilingualism in Cicero? : the evidence of code-switching
Review/Collection: in: Adams, James N. & Janse, Mark & Swain, Simon C. R. (Ed.), Bilingualism in ancient society: language contact and the written text
Place edition: Oxford & New York
Editor: Oxford University Press
Year edition: 2002
Pages: 128-167
Keywords: Histoire - Storia - History, Stylistique et genres littéraires - Stilistica e generi letterari - Stylistics and literary genre
Review:

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Samama, É., "Revue des Études Grecques", 118, 2, 2005, 622-623

Description: [Swain, Simon C. R.] [Abstract] This chapter explores the problem of Roman Latin-Greek bilingualism in the Late Republic. There is an abundance of evidence to show that Romans at this time knew classical Greek literature well enough. Some of them, like Cicero, knew key parts of it extremely well. Cicero himself was able to compose Greek prose and verse and to deliver set speeches in Greek before a Greek audience. No one would deny that he could speak Greek well. It is a commonly held view that Cicero’s peers were fluent in Greek and regularly used it in conversation with each other. There are, however, no grounds for the latter belief. This chapter places Cicero’s choices against the general background and function of bilingualism in Rome.
Works:
Author initials: Swain 2002