Latino volgare, latino tardo: un bilancio delle definizioni alla luce di incontri teorici (pragmatica e sociolinguistica) e dibattiti scientifici

Vulgar and Late Latin: A Review of Definitions in the Light of (Pragmatic and Sociolinguistic) Theory and Scientific Debates

Nowadays, the traditional notion of Latin as a monolithic language has been abandoned in favor of a multilayered view that recognizes the existence of different varieties within the same language. Two fundamental varieties that have long captured the attention of scholars are ‘Vulgar Latin’ and ‘Late Latin’. The past few decades have witnessed significant advancements in research on these two topics due to the adoption of both new theoretical frameworks and new research methodologies. Nonetheless, within the scholarly community, there still exists a certain inconsistency and vagueness in the way the concepts of ‘Late Latin’ or ‘Vulgar Latin’ are defined, as well as in the way these labels are used. This work, therefore, seeks to provide an overview of the various ways in which linguists have recently elaborated and defined these notions, highlighting their limitations and critical aspects. Inspiration is drawn from the results of sociolinguistic and sociopragmatic research on contemporary languages.