COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR LATIN

The COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR LATIN course falls within the "Core educational activities" of the study plan of the Master's Degree Programmes in Ancient Civilisations: Literature, History and Archaeology and in Italian Philology, Linguistics and Literature (Medieval and Renaissance program) and within the “Additional educational activities” of the Master’s Degree in Italian Philology, Linguistics and Literature (European and Contemporary program). The aim of the course is to provide sufficient user knowledge, as well as to deepen any existing user knowledge, of digital-informatics tools and databases that significantly facilitate the study, analysis and research of various aspects, features and varieties of the Latin language.

The outcome of the training activity is the acquisition by the students of detailed knowledge of computer tools or digital databases which, when applied to the analysis of a specific text corpus, can help to improve the knowledge and linguistic research of the varieties of Latin. In this way, students will acquire both the necessary user skills to use digital Latin dictionaries, digital Latin text databases and more complex database software to support Latin linguistic research, and the necessary linguistic-analytical experience to interpret texts representing different varieties of Latin. This will significantly strengthen students' awareness of digital Latin linguistics and their knowledge of texts representing the different varieties of Latin.

The exam of COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR LATIN requires a general knowledge of the history of Latin language and literature and a linguistic competence of Latin at least intermediate level. To access the exam students must also certify their knowledge of Latin language by passing the Test of Latin 2 (Laboratorio della Lingua latina 2)

Throughout the course, students will interactively learn about the most important digital databases that support the study of Latin: at the word level, they will learn about Latin dictionary databases (e.g. ThLL, DLD etc.), at the text level, they will learn about Latin text databases (e.g. LLT, BTL, PHI LT, MQDQ etc.), and at the level of linguistic analysis, they will learn about the most important linguistic-analytical databases (e.g. LILA, LASLA OP, AGLDT etc.), with particular reference to databases supporting research on varieties of Latin (e.g. LLDB, CLaSSES etc.). Using all these digital tools in practice, students will read and interpret texts representing different varieties of Latin from different periods.

Readings in original language (Latin):
1) List of texts translated and commented during the course: Adams 2016: no. 6 (p 107ff), no. 13 (p 197ff), no. 14 (p 202ff), no. 15 (210ff), no. 16 (p 221ff), no. 18 (p 237ff), no. 19 (p 247ff), no. 20 (p 253ff), no. 21 (p 256ff), no. 22 (p 265ff), no. 24 (p 289ff), no. 25 (p 293ff), no. 26 (p 307ff), no. 28 (p 354ff), no. 32 (p 398.ff), no. 33 (p 403ff), no. 34 (p 409ff), no. 35 (p 413ff), no. 36 (p 418ff), no. 37 (p 423ff), no. 46 (p 565ff).
2) home readings 1: Kramer 2007: no. 1 (p 39ff), no. 2 (p 47ff), no. 4 (p 75ff), no. 5 (p 89ff), no. 6 (p 105ff), no. 7 (p 115ff), no. 8 (p 121ff), no. 9 (p 127), no. 10 (p 137).
3) home readings 2: Rohlfs 1969: no. III (p 5ff), no. IV (p 10f), no. V (p 11ff), no. XV (p 28f), no. XXIX (p 42f); Iliescu – Slusanski 1991: no. II (p 17-47), no. IV (p 75ff), no. VI (p 103ff), no VIII (p 132ff), no. IX (p 167ff),, no. XXXI (p 259ff),

Bibliography:
Adams, J. N. An Anthology of Informal Latin, 200 BC – AD 900. Cambridge 2016.
Alvoni, G., Scienze dell’antichità per via informatica. Banche dati, Internet e risorse elettroniche nello studio dell’antichità classica. Bologna 2002.
Iliescu, M. – Slusanski, D., Du latin aux langues romanes. Choix de textes traduits et commentés (du II2 siècle avant J.C. jusqu’au Xe siècle après J.C.). Wilhelmsfeld 1991.
Kramer, J., Vulgärlateinische Alltagsdokumente auf Papyri, Ostraka, Täfelchen und Inschriften. Berlin 2007.
McGillivray, B., Methods in Latin Computational Linguistics. Brill, Leiden – Boston 2014.
Rohlfs, G., Sermo Vulgaris Latinus. Vulgärlateinisches Lesebuch. Tübingen 1969.

Databases:
AGLDT = The Ancient Greek and Latin Dependency Treebank (http://perseusdl.github.io/treebank_data/ )
BTL = Bibliotheca Teubneriana Latina Online (https://www.degruyter.com/database/btl/html ),
CLaSSES = Corpus for Latin Sociolinguistic Studies on Epigraphic textS (https://classes-latin-linguistics.fileli.unipi.it/en )
DLD = Database of Latin Dictionaries (https://about.brepolis.net/database-of-latin-dictionaries-2/ )
LASLA OP = Laboratoire d’Analyse Statistique des Langues Anciennes Opera Latina (https://lasladb.uliege.be/OperaLatina/ )
LILA = LiLa: Linking Latin, Building a Knowledge Base of Linguistic Resources for Latin (https://lila-erc.eu/
LLDB = Computerized Historical Linguistic Database of the Latin Inscriptions of the Imperial Age (https://lldb.elte.hu/ )
LLT = Library of Latin Texts (https://about.brepolis.net/library-of-latin-texts/ )
MQDQ = Musisque Deoque A digital archive of Latin poetry (https://www.mqdq.it/public/ )
PHI CLT = Packard Humanities Institute Classical Latin Texts (https://latin.packhum.org/ )
ThLL = Thesaurus linguae Latinae (https://tll.degruyter.com/ )

The assessment of learning is done through a written test in which students must demonstrate their knowledge of digital databases for the study and research of Latin and their ability to use them to analyse specific Latin texts. They will also have to demonstrate, in the test, their ability to translate (into English or Italian) and provide linguistic commentary (in English or Italian) on one or more of the original Latin texts listed in the previous section.

A traditional class based mainly on the presentation and use of selected databases, with an introduction to the related research tools and methods, in relation to the linguistic analysis of selected Latin texts. During the lessons, students will learn to use the databases in an interactive way, linked to the linguistic analysis of specific Latin texts.

English

written