Présentation du dossier : faire parler l’Antiquité tardive

An Overview of the Dossier

Changes in the linguistic situation have been a major element in the complex and fascinating process of transition from the ancient to the medieval world, but for too long they had to wait to receive the attention they deserve. The last fifty years have done much to make up for this delay, taking the full measure of the intensity of the phenomena of linguistic renewal and diversification, in particular an increase in multilingualism encouraged by the break-up of the Empire, amplified and diversified by ‘barbarisation’ and Christianisation.

These scientific advances were made possible by a methodological revolution that drew on contemporary research in linguistics, sociolinguistics and communication sciences. The linguistic map of this world in transition has been largely redrawn, and several previously dominant theories have been refuted or even reversed. Without aiming to be exhaustive, this thematic dossier of Antiquité Tardive sets out to make a provisional assessment of this research.