Living Latin: Everyday Language and Popular Culture

What kind of language is Latin, and who is it for? Contrary to most accounts, this book tells the story of Latin as a language of ordinary people. Surveying the whole span of the language's history, it explores the evidence that exists for ordinary Latin around the Roman world, arguing that this material is just as worthy of readers' attention as the famous classics. Those classics are reassessed in the light of popular concerns, as works of art that evoke ancient, sustainable, and communal...