My research
lies at the intersection of Classics and
Linguistics. My past and current research spans four research strands in the
study of the Greek, Latin and Indo-European languages.
Linguistic typology. In
particular, I have tried to show how typologically well-known morphosyntactic
patterns of modality and tense & aspect are (or are not) reflected in the
diachronic data of Greek and Latin. To this end, I have investigated moods and modal verbs
(e.g. 2019, 2020, 2022, forthc),
insubordination (e.g. 2021, 2022, forthc, in prep), counterfactuality (e.g. 2022, 2022, forthc, in prep), and habituality (e.g. 2020, 2022, in prep).
Historical linguistics. I have been
involved in grammaticalization research on the Greek language, its potential
improvement with collocationist analyses (e.g. 2020 on using collocations to
identify the grammaticalization of habitual auxiliaries), typology (e.g. 2022
on diachronic pathways into past habituality) and its intersection with related
historical processes such as intersubjectification (e.g. 2022 on the
intersubjectification and grammaticalization of ‘imperative’ particles).
Pragmatics. There
are many more pragmatic patterns in Ancient Greek and Latin which will be
familiar to us from modern languages. Thus far, I have tried to
explain the pragmatics of conditional and counterfactual reasoning patterns (e.g.
2022), the pragmatics of non-standard wishes (e.g. 2020; 2023) in Ancient Greek or insubordinate patterns in Latin (e.g. 2022). At the same time, I have
tried to show the utility of pragmatic methodologies such as Conversation Analysis for our
understanding of ancient dialogical and non-dialogical texts (e.g. 2022,
forthc).
Ancient scholarship and ancient languages. We
possess many sources about ancient sources and their language from antiquity,
some of which can provide useful perspectives on ancient language variation and
change. To illustrate, I have recently collected the metalinguistic evaluations
of morphosyntactic changes in Post-Classical Greek from the Atticist lexica
(2022).
Edited Volumes
- In progress. K. Bentein, E. Cattafi and E. la Roi (eds.). (In)subordination in Postclassical Greek:Syntax, Context and Complexity. De Gruyter.
- 2020 (ed.). Lingua graeca als lingua franca! De griekse taal door de eeuwen heen. Tetradio.[Lingua Graeca as Lingua Franca! The Greek language through the Centuries.Classics journal for public outreach, specifically aimed at disseminating the latest research into Antiquity to a wider public]
Papers in peer-reviewed Journals
- 2023. Polarity Reversal Constructions and Counterfactuals in Ancient Greek: Between Implicature and Conventionalization. Journal of Historical Linguistics.
- (2022). The Pragmatics of the Past: a Novel Typology of Conditionals with Past Tenses in Ancient Greek, Listy Filologicke 144 (3-4).
- 2022. Towards a chronology of the Modal Particles: The Diachronic Spread in the Ancient Greek Mood System. Graeco-Latina Brunensia 27(2), 113-135.
- 2022. The Secondary Interjections εἶεν and εἶἑν as Fossilized Wish Optatives: a Conversation Analysis Approach. Emerita: Revista de Lingüística y Filología Clásica 90 (2), 253–280.
- 2022. The Atticist lexica as Metalinguistic Resource for Morphosyntactic change in Post-Classical Greek. Journal of Greek Linguistics 22(2), 199–231.
- 2022. Down the Paths to the Past Habitual: its Historical Connections with counterfactual Pasts, Future in the Pasts, Iteratives and Lexical Sources in Ancient Greek. Folia Linguistica Historica 56 (44).
- 2022. Interlocked Life Cycles of Counterfactual Mood Forms from Archaic to Classical Greek: Aspect, Actionality and Changing Temporal Reference. Indogermanische Forschungen 127, 235–282.
- 2022. Insubordination in Archaic and Classical Latin: Commands, Requests, Wishes and Assertives. Journal of Latin Linguistics 21 (1), 23–45.
- 2022. Weaving Together the Diverse Threads of Category Change: Intersubjective Ἀμέλει ‘of course!’ and Imperative Particles in Ancient Greek. Diachronica 39 (2), 151–192.
- 2021. The Insubordination of If- and That-Clauses from Archaic to Post-Classical Greek: ADiachronic Constructional Typology. Symbolae Osloenses 95, 2–64.
- 2020. The Development of Εὑρίσκω ‘Find’ as Evidence towards a Diachronic Solution of the Matching-Problem in Ancient Greek Complementation. Philologia Classica 15 (2), 191–207.
- 2020. A Rephilologized Diachronic Analysis of ‘Post-Classical Greek’: Pitfalls and Principles for Progress. Journal of Greek Linguistics 20 (2), 213–38.
- 2020. Habitual Auxiliaries in Ancient Greek: Grammaticalization and Diachronic Collocation Shifts, Indogermanische Forschungen 125 (1), 135–64.
- 2020. The Variation of Classical Greek Wishes: A Functional Discourse Grammar and Common Ground approach. Glotta 96 (1), 213–45.
- 2019. Epistemic Modality, Particles and the Potential Optative in Classical Greek. Journal of Greek Linguistics 19 (1), 58–89.
- 2018. with M. Kruijer. Paradigmatic Possibilities as Perspective for Absolute Constructions: Exploring Linguistic Differences between the Greek Genitive and Latin Ablative Absolute. Mnemosyne 71 (5), 799–822.
Book Chapters
- in prep. Correlating Syntactic Change and Register in the Diachrony of Post-Classical Insubordinate wishes. (In)subordination in Post-classical Greek: Syntax, Context and Complexity. K. Bentein, E. Cattafi, E. la Roi (eds.). De Gruyter.
- in prep. The histories of the optative in the papyri and Post-Classical Greek literary texts. In K. Bentein & M. Vierros (eds.), New light from the East: Linguistic Perspectives on Non-Literary Papyri and Related Sources. Helsinki University Press.
- (2023). A Pragmatic Syntax of Counterfactual Mood Attraction and Mood (A)Symmetry from Archaic to Classical Greek. Building Modality with Syntax. Focus on Ancient Greek, C. Denizot & L. Tronci (eds.). De Gruyter.
- (2023). Between Dialogic and Diachronic Syntax: the Insubordination of Directive ὅπως in Classical Greek drama. Conversation Analysis and Classics. Talk-in-Interaction in Greek and Latin Literature, R. Verano Liaño (ed.), Brill.
- 2018. Shifting Responsibilities. Thucydides on Losing to Brasidas. Conflicts in Antiquity: Textual and Material Perspectives, D. van Diemen, D. van Dokkum, A. van Leuken, A. Nijenhuis, and F. A. van der Sande (eds.), 41–61. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Encyclopedia Entries
- forthc. Counterfactuals in Ancient Greek; Counterfactuals in Post Classical Greek; Habituals in Ancient Greek; Insubordination. Encyclopedia of Greek Language and Linguistics. G. Giannakis, P. Filos, M. Janse, B. D. Joseph, and I. Manolessou (eds.). Brill.
- forthc. g. with K. Bentein. Mood and modality in Post-Classical Greek. Encyclopedia of Greek Language and Linguistics. G. Giannakis, P. Filos, M. Janse, B.D. Joseph, and I.Manolessou (eds.), Brill.
Blog
- 2022. Writing Wishes. Back to the future with the papyri. Public outreach blogpost for ERC project Everyday Writing in Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt.
Review
- 2022. T. Givón. 2021. The Life Cycle of Adpositions. Linguistlist
- 2020. A Rephilologized Diachronic Analysis of ‘Post-Classical Greek’: Pitfalls and Principles for Progress. Journal of Greek Linguistics 20 (2), 213–38.