The documents that were written, in Latin, during the Middle Ages constitute an exceptionally rich textual corpus, not only from a historical point of view but also from a linguistic one. As is well known, medieval diplomatic Latin, taking here the terminology proposed by Professor Maurilio Pérez, is a Latin written -and even spoken in certain situations when it is no longer the mother tongue of the speakers. For this reason, the language that is read in the texts is full of borrowings from the vernacular language, making it a primary source for understanding the early steps of the Romance languages.
Following recent discussions on the presence of Romance elements in medieval Latin documents, we propose this meeting, which aims at offering a new opportunity to reflect on all forms of manifestation of Romance languages in the mentioned texts, as well as to present the latest scientific advances made in their study in the wider European context. Thus, issues related to how, both morphologically and syntactically, the diplomas show the transition from Latin to Romance languages, the mechanisms for Latinizing Romance elements, or the presence of borrowings from other languages that were assumed by Romance languages, may be subject to analysis. Similarly, contributions will be welcomed regarding the role that medieval Latin lexicography plays in relation to Romance language and how dictionaries and lexical databases contribute to their study.
Accepted presentations will have a maximum duration of 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for discussion.
Keynote speakers
José António Souto Cabo (USC)
Maurilio Pérez González (ULE)
Pere J. Quetglas Nicolau (UB)
Steven Dworkin (U. Michigan)
