Sociolinguistics in the pre-Roman Periods

This chapter addresses the linguistic varieties spoken in Sicily in the pre-Roman period (Greek and its dialects, Sikel, Elymian, and Phoenician Punic) and their linguistic interaction. Based on the analysis of the epigraphic evidence, the chapter discusses the adoption of the Greek alphabet by the indigenous communities, the evidence of contact between the different languages and the first signs of dialectal convergence, focusing on three case studies: the Sikel inscriptions from Montagna di Marzo and Castiglione di Ragusa, the ownership formulas in indigenous inscriptions, and the distribution of abecedaries. Through this methodology, the chapter aims to overcome the somewhat rigid subdivision of ancient Sicilian society into discrete ethne and languages in order to emphasize the forms of interaction, hybridization, and osmosis that permeate the epigraphic record and allow us to identify pre-Roman Sicily as a dynamic and unique society that anticipated by a few centuries trends that would later be fully at work in the broader and multicultural Hellenistic world.