When looking at
the Roman Empire and the role language played in the assimilation of the people
conquered by the Romans throughout their long and expansive history, on might originally
presume that Latin, the language of Rome, would play a role similar to how
English was utilized when colonizing large portions of the world. However (pointing back to the previous
sentence, thereby connecting original presumption and actual conclusion), Latin
was not a major aspect of Roman assimilation, in fact the process of Roman
assimilation almost worked counter to what we traditionally see with Empires
and conquest. Instead of enforcing Roman culture unto those people conquered by
Rome, many of the cultures of the native people were incorporated into Roman culture. Obviously there is a give
and take between cultures, but the Roman Empire is curiously characterized with
a surprisingly large amount of “take”, especially when it comes to language. By
looking at how Roman cultural, language included, shifted in order to adapt to
the people and culture, it can be concluded that the longevity and success of
Rome was at least in part due to its acceptance and inclusion of those that
they conquered.
While this paper’s
primary focus is to look at language, it is first important to have a firm
understanding of what the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire where, their
growth, their culture, and their success. Rome was a major power for nearly six
centuries, from around 200 BC to 400 AD. While we traditionally talk about the
fall of Rome, it is important to remember that this culture lasted an
incredibly long time, especially considering how large of an area Rome
controlled. By comparison, the British Empire really only lasted 400 years, and
that is generous. Rome changed to incorporate the people it conquered. It bent
where other Empires broke. Yes, the great Roman Empire would eventually fall,
but because of how it did not overtly push its culture unto those people it
conquered, it managed to prevail for a long period of time.
Religion for example
illustrates this idea well. Take Christianity, a foreign religion that, despite
being fought for an extended period of time, actually replaced the official
religion of the state. The Egyptian pantheon of Gods was also incorporated into
the Roman religion long before Christianity came to be. The very belief system
of this great state morphed and changed with the people of time.
More
interestingly, this reverse flow of influence also relates to language. At the height
of the Roman Empire, Greek was almost as common a language, and just as
accepted, as Latin. Image the language of a defeated foe not only being free
from persecution, but accepted as an equal
to the language of the Roman state! I thought that Rome would use language
as a way to oppress, but rather it has shown itself to be a way to include.
Stay tuned for the exciting
conclusion to Tim’s research paper…
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