Choosing how to say ‘a letter’ in a letter: variation between epistula and litterae in the corpus of Ciceronian epistolography

Abstract

Abstract This paper focuses on lexical variation between the two Latin words for epistolary letter , epistula and litterae , gathering data from the corpus of Ciceronian epistolography. It aims to serve as a case-study of how one might use literary material to analyse sociolinguistic variation in Latin, focusing on the connection between an author᾽s social background and his linguistic output. Twenty of Cicero᾽s correspondents use either variant and their usage is considered with respect to macrosocial categories such as age and social status. However, by looking at Cicero᾽s own usage of the two variants to different individuals, factors such as social relationships and linguistic attitudes are also taken into consideration. By examining the distribution of the two nouns in Early and imperial Latin, we see that the late Republic appears to be unusual with regards to many writers᾽ apparent avoidance of the noun epistula . I suggest that this avoidance of epistula may stem from the linguistic attitudes and debates of the period, and I show that the stigma posited for epistula affectected authors of particular background more than others. Further, we see that the relationship between a correspondent and his addressee was an important factor when it came to choosing how to say ‘a letter’ in a letter.