Barbarismus nostri temporis: Interpretation einer umstritten gewordenen Wendung in der Grammatik des Sacerdos

According to Herman (2000: 28) "in the late third century the grammarian Sacerdos mentions the tendency to shorten long vowels in the final syllable of words and calls it a barbarism of our time, barbarismus nostri temporis (GL, VI. 493-94)." In the opinion of Adams (2007: 264), however, "this passage and its surrounds are misinterpreted by [...] Herman (2000: 28). [...] The passage of Sacerdos has nothing to do with the loss of vowel length or with the shortening of long final vowels. It is about clausulae acceptable in an earlier age and those acceptable at the time of Sacerdos. In the context the expression structura nostri temporis (493.16) means a clausula approved at the present time, and barbarismus nostri temporis (several times) means a clausula not approved at the present time (i.e. one now considered a barbarism)." In this paper, surveying all the related passages of Sacerdos in detail, it will be demonstrated that (1) the expression barbarismus nostri temporis does indeed refer to the loss of phonemic length (vowel quantity), i.e. the shortening of long unstressed (final) vowels and the lengthening of short stressed vowels in Sacerdos' age and (2) Sacerdos' expression for a clausula not approved at his present time is vitiosa structura.