Olivia Cockburn to publish book on translation and bilingualism in the ancient world

Olivia Cockburn is having her first book published by Ediciones Clásicas in Madrid this autumn. The book is based on her doctoral thesis and subsequent research into translation and bilingualism in the ancient world. Entitled Los verbos latinos en –izare (-issare, -idiare) en el latín antiguo, it tracks the adaptation, use and development of a common Greek verbal suffix in Latin over nearly a millennium, from the c. 3rd BC to the c. 6th AD. Found primarily in the speech of bilingual Latin speakers and in translations of technical treatises and Christian literature, the suffix goes on to become a productive means of creating new verbs in Latin and its derived languages. By tracking the evolution of the suffix in Latin, the book covers a wide range of literary genres in Latin and analyses translations of Greek texts. It also provides a classification of the semantic classes in which –izare verbs are most productive. Taking into account sociolinguistic factors and the relationship between the Greek and Roman languages in Antiquity, through a study of one verbal suffix the book examines how the colloquial language of bilinguals and the choices of translators in the ancient world have shaped the languages we speak today.