French Literature Reviews - 2026

(Linguistics) Ambiguity in Greece and Rome
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

Ambiguity in Greece and Rome: A Linguistic Approach

Edited by Claude Moussy and Anna Orlandini

PUPS

Lingua Latina No. 10

05/04/2007
144 p.
ISBN: 978-2-84050-507-5

€22

Publisher's overview:

In Greco-Roman antiquity, the question of ambiguity—a phenomenon that constitutes an essential property of language—already generated significant interest. Since Aristotle, a distinction has been made between lexical ambiguity, linked to homonymy or polysemy, and syntactic ambiguity, which affects phrases. The linguistic studies gathered in this volume illustrate both types of ambiguity in Greek and Latin, employing diverse approaches ranging from lexicon, syntax, and pragmatics, across varied contexts such as poetry, theatre, rhetoric, philosophy, and divination.

The study of ambiguity has long been a central concern in the history of linguistics, tracing its roots back to Aristotelian distinctions between lexical and syntactic forms. By examining how words and phrases can hold multiple meanings, scholars seek to understand the flexibility of language. This volume, Ambiguity in Greece and Rome: A Linguistic Approach, addresses these mechanisms within the classical tradition. Readers interested in the intersection of classical philology and linguistic analysis may find this collection relevant to their research.

The contributions gathered in this volume investigate how ambiguity manifests across diverse genres, including philosophy, theatre, and divination. By applying linguistic frameworks such as lexicon, syntax, and pragmatics to ancient Greek and Latin sources, the studies illustrate how ambiguity functions within these contexts. These analyses examine both lexical ambiguity, linked to homonymy or polysemy, and syntactic ambiguity, which affects phrases.