Black Doves Speak: Herodotus and the Languages of Barbarians (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780674017900)

In Greek thought, barbaroi are utterers of unintelligible or inarticulate sounds. What importance does the text of Herodotus's Histories attribute to language as a criterion of ethnic identity? The answer to this question illuminates the empirical foundations of Herodotus's pluralistic worldview. The first translator of cultures also translates, describes, and evaluates foreign speech to a degree unparalleled by other Greek ancient authors. For Herodotus, language is an area of interesting but surprisingly unproblematic difference, which he offers to his audience as a model for coming to terms in a neutral way with other, more emotionally charged, cultural differences.

Author: Rosaria Vignolo Munson
ISBN-10: 0674017900
ISBN-13: 9780674017900
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Language: English
Published: 07/29/2005
Pages: 121
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.47lbs
Size: 9.00h x 5.62w x 0.40d