akritas
01-11-2006, 03:44 PM
As you know there is a passage in the history of Livius (6.9.31) that could be considered as an FYROMian argument which distinguishes Macedonian and Greek lannguages.
Livius describes Filotas’ trial in front of Macedonian army. Alexander asks him if he is to apologize in Macedonian speech as the heritage says. Filotas answers:
Latin
"Praeter Macedones plerique adsunt, quos facilius quae dicam percepturos arbitror, si eadem lingua fuero usus qua tu egisti; non ob aliud, credo, quam ut oratio tua intelligi posset a pluribus".
Greek
Apart Macedonians, there are many people around (who will understand me more easyli if I speak in the language you have spoken for the same reason.
I think Pr Kapetanopoulos Elias give one from the most accurate answer as about this FYROMian argyment in
http://www.history.ccsu.edu/elias/AlexandrosPatrius.htm
or in pdf
http://www.history.ccsu.edu/elias/PhilotasPatriusSermo.pdf
His conclusion is
These instances of evidence of a Makedonian mode of speech date, more or less, from the Roman imperial period and later, although their roots may possibly go back to the time of Alexander and after.
In any event, the significance that could be attached to Curtius' patrius sermo as testimony of a separate Makedonian language23 is compromised by its lateness and by its introduction in a highly charged context, as also observed above. Moreover, with the contradiction noted above Curtius' patrius sermo motif is cancelled out and is of no particular importance as to the Makedones' mode of speech. 24 And this is the more true because of the overwhelming evidence, principally onomastic and epigraphic, that the speech of the Makedones was Greek. 25
Livius describes Filotas’ trial in front of Macedonian army. Alexander asks him if he is to apologize in Macedonian speech as the heritage says. Filotas answers:
Latin
"Praeter Macedones plerique adsunt, quos facilius quae dicam percepturos arbitror, si eadem lingua fuero usus qua tu egisti; non ob aliud, credo, quam ut oratio tua intelligi posset a pluribus".
Greek
Apart Macedonians, there are many people around (who will understand me more easyli if I speak in the language you have spoken for the same reason.
I think Pr Kapetanopoulos Elias give one from the most accurate answer as about this FYROMian argyment in
http://www.history.ccsu.edu/elias/AlexandrosPatrius.htm
or in pdf
http://www.history.ccsu.edu/elias/PhilotasPatriusSermo.pdf
His conclusion is
These instances of evidence of a Makedonian mode of speech date, more or less, from the Roman imperial period and later, although their roots may possibly go back to the time of Alexander and after.
In any event, the significance that could be attached to Curtius' patrius sermo as testimony of a separate Makedonian language23 is compromised by its lateness and by its introduction in a highly charged context, as also observed above. Moreover, with the contradiction noted above Curtius' patrius sermo motif is cancelled out and is of no particular importance as to the Makedones' mode of speech. 24 And this is the more true because of the overwhelming evidence, principally onomastic and epigraphic, that the speech of the Makedones was Greek. 25