Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius]
The article proposes a linguistic analysis of the two epistles of Pliny the Younger, addressed to the historian Tacitus, in which the author recalls and describes the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 AD. Pliny had witnessed this event from Misenus, where he was dwelling with his uncl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Universitas Studiorum
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Open Journal of Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://osf.io/t9b3y/ |
| _version_ | 1811324602624770048 |
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| author | Edoardo Scarpanti |
| author_facet | Edoardo Scarpanti |
| author_sort | Edoardo Scarpanti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article proposes a linguistic analysis of the two epistles of Pliny the Younger, addressed to the historian Tacitus, in which the author recalls and describes the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 AD. Pliny had witnessed this event from Misenus, where he was dwelling with his uncle Pliny the Elder, and with his mother. The lexical choices made by the author, certainly not casual but rather carefully meditated and studied, in a complex rhetorical exercise (i.e. Asian style), draw up a lexicon that is able to describe what is normally difficult to describe. The lack of adequate signifiers, in fact, with respect to such an extraordinary fact must have forced Pliny to carefully choose the words to use, by isolating those that possessed precise semantic traits. In this way, he was able to build a “lexical reservoir of catastrophes” which, in all probability, inspired who later found themselves in the same need to tell in words what could hardly be told. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:18:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2d9fe76d4e2648abaa2024ecc2915ca2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2612-6966 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:18:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Universitas Studiorum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Journal of Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-2d9fe76d4e2648abaa2024ecc2915ca22022-12-22T02:43:35ZdeuUniversitas StudiorumOpen Journal of Humanities2612-69662021-12-019396010.17605/OSF.IO/6DMZ2Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius]Edoardo Scarpanti0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1888-162XAccademia Nazionale VirgilianaThe article proposes a linguistic analysis of the two epistles of Pliny the Younger, addressed to the historian Tacitus, in which the author recalls and describes the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 AD. Pliny had witnessed this event from Misenus, where he was dwelling with his uncle Pliny the Elder, and with his mother. The lexical choices made by the author, certainly not casual but rather carefully meditated and studied, in a complex rhetorical exercise (i.e. Asian style), draw up a lexicon that is able to describe what is normally difficult to describe. The lack of adequate signifiers, in fact, with respect to such an extraordinary fact must have forced Pliny to carefully choose the words to use, by isolating those that possessed precise semantic traits. In this way, he was able to build a “lexical reservoir of catastrophes” which, in all probability, inspired who later found themselves in the same need to tell in words what could hardly be told.https://osf.io/t9b3y/catastrophelexical choicelexical analysislatin languagepliny the youngereruptionvesuviusapplied linguisticssemantics |
| spellingShingle | Edoardo Scarpanti Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius] Open Journal of Humanities catastrophe lexical choice lexical analysis latin language pliny the younger eruption vesuvius applied linguistics semantics |
| title | Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius] |
| title_full | Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius] |
| title_fullStr | Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius] |
| title_short | Descrivere l’indescrivibile. Il lessico di Plinio il Giovane nelle epistole sull’eruzione del Vesuvio [Describing the indescribable. The lexicon of Pliny the Younger in the epistles on the eruption of Vesuvius] |
| title_sort | descrivere l indescrivibile il lessico di plinio il giovane nelle epistole sull eruzione del vesuvio describing the indescribable the lexicon of pliny the younger in the epistles on the eruption of vesuvius |
| topic | catastrophe lexical choice lexical analysis latin language pliny the younger eruption vesuvius applied linguistics semantics |
| url | https://osf.io/t9b3y/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT edoardoscarpanti descriverelindescrivibileillessicodiplinioilgiovanenelleepistolesulleruzionedelvesuviodescribingtheindescribablethelexiconofplinytheyoungerintheepistlesontheeruptionofvesuvius |