Staff Profile:Professor Eleanor Dickey, F.B.A.
- Name:
- Professor Eleanor Dickey
- Job Title:
- Professor of Classics
- Responsibilities:
Study Abroad, Placements
Teaching:
Texts, Readers and Writers in the Ancient World (CL1TR): an introduction to Greek and Latin literature, inscriptions, papyri, Linear B tablets, etc., and what we can do with these texts.
Approaches to Classics and Ancient History (CLMACAH): an introduction to graduate-level work on the ancient world, focussing on topics chosen by the new MA students.
Other modules on an occasional basis.
Background:
I grew up in the US and attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania (BA and MA 1989) before doing doctoral work with Anna Morpurgo Davies at Oxford (MPhil Balliol 1991, DPhil Merton 1994). I began studying Greek at age 18; this gives me particular sympathy with students who begin languages at university. After Oxford I taught at the University of Ottawa in Canada (1995-9), Columbia University in New York (1999-2007), and the University of Exeter (2007-13) before coming to Reading in 2013. I have spent periods of leave at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1998-9), the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington DC (2002-3), All Souls College Oxford (2005-6) and Merton College Oxford (2006), to all of which institutions I am very grateful; I am also very grateful to the Mellon Foundation, the government of Ontario, the AHRC, the British Academy, and Leverhulme for additional funding. I am married to Philomen Probert, a classical linguist at Wolfson College Oxford - and I'm very grateful to her too!
- Areas of Interest:
I am interested in pretty much everything, especially the ancient world and its languages and literatures; the common thread connecting my different research projects is a desire to use rigorous, fact-based analysis (often, but by no means always, of language) to shed new light on literary texts and on the world and thought processes of the people who wrote those texts. Over the years my research has focused on the sociolinguistics of Greek and Latin (how factors like age, gender, and social class influenced the language that ancient speakers used), the history of Greek and Latin (their development from Indo-European through the ancient languages we usually study to the modern Romance languages and modern Greek), how those languages were taught and analysed in antiquity (ancient scholarship and language teaching in antiquity), and language contact in antiquity (especially Greek speakers learning Latin and the influence of Latin on Greek). Some of my work is interdisciplinary, involving both Classics and linguistics.
My first book (Greek Forms of Address, Oxford University Press 1996) concerns the forms of address (vocatives) one ancient Greek would use to another and attempts to answer questions such as: who used which vocatives, and to whom? What overtones did particular addresses convey? Why could men but not women be addressed as 'human being'? What extant literary works give us the closest approximation of ordinary conversational usage in this respect?
My second book (Latin Forms of Address, Oxford University Press 2002, paperback 2007) deals with similar questions in Latin - but the answers are usually different.
My third book (Ancient Greek Scholarship, Oxford University Press 2007) concerns the dictionaries, commentaries, and grammars written by ancient Greek scholars, and the marginalia via which they come down to us. It is a textbook designed to teach anyone with a basic reading knowledge of Greek to deal with this material, so it contains not only a narrative history of ancient scholarship and where that scholarship can be found, but also a detailed explanation of its linguistic peculiarities, a glossary of grammatical terminology, and a reader containing numerous passages with commentary for translation practice.
My fourth and fifth books (The Colloquia of the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana, Cambridge University Press 2012-15) are an edition, translation, and commentary on a text that is much more fun than its name makes it sound. The colloquia are an elementary Latin reader composed for ancient Greeks learning Latin during the Roman empire; they contain little dialogues on topics like how to buy food, borrow money, hold a dinner party, or have an argument. They provide a rare insight into daily life in the Roman empire but have long been neglected because they had never been translated and because even the editions of the text in the original languages were flawed. I have located the best manuscripts, which had not previously been used, and produced a new edition based on a comprehensive study of the entire Hermeneumata tradition, as well as a translation and commentary.
I have also produced two smaller and more accessible works on the Colloquia. One (Learning Latin the Ancient Way, Cambridge University Press 2016) is a version of these texts for modern Latin teachers and students at an intermediate or advanced level who would like to try out the ancient Latin-learning materials and methods. The other (Stories of Daily Life from the Roman World, Cambridge University Press 2017) is an English-only version of the Colloquia with illustrations and explanation designed for readers with little or no background in the ancient world. This book has been translated into Dutch by Arian Verheij and Vincent Hunink as ‘In een Romeins klaslokaal’ (Athenaeum 2017).
In a continuing quest to make the Latin and Greek languages themselves as widely available as possible, I have also written an elementary Latin textbook using the Colloquia (Learn Latin from the Romans, Cambridge University Press 2018) and a Greek prose composition textbook (An Introduction to the Composition and Analysis of Greek Prose, Cambridge University Press 2016 -- this for once, has absolutely nothing to do with the colloquia). When I was an undergraduate no-one wanted to teach me to write Greek, which made me desperately sad; I hope that this book will allow anyone who finds themselves in a similarly sad position to teach themselves.
My main current research project is a study of the influence of Latin on Greek during the Roman empire, particularly Latin loanwords that were integrated into Greek to the extent of being used by Greek speakers who did not speak Latin; I am trying to understand what types of words the Greeks borrowed as well as when, why, and how those borrowings occurred and what they tell us about Greek and Roman culture at the time when the borrowing occurred.
I love research and am proud of my books, but I love teaching even more, because it enables me to pass on to others the precious gift my teachers gave me, namely knowing Latin and Greek really well. In addition to Reading, I teach regularly at the JACT Greek summer school in Bryanston, where in 2010 I co-directed a student performance of Alcestis in Greek. I also run the Reading Ancient Schoolroom, an annual re-creation of the ancient school experience for modern students (see www.readingancientschoolroom.com).
Note: the list of publications below is not complete. For a full list see https://reading.academia.edu/EleanorDickey.
- Research groups / Centres:
- Language, Text, and Power
- Publications:
-
YNumber of items: 80.
2020
-
Dickey, E.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4272-4803 (2020) Comment les hellénophones anciens apprenaient-ils le latin? Cahiers du CLSL, 62. pp. 17-40. ISSN 1019-9446
-
Dickey, E.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4272-4803 (2020) The ideal child does not play: insights from Europe's oldest children's book. Pallas, 114. pp. 85-94.
- Dickey, E. (2020) Apodidomi. M. Aberson, F. Dell’ Oro, M. de Vaan, and A. Viredaz (edd.), [vø:rtǝr]: Mélanges de linguistique, de philologie et d’histoire ancienne offerts à Rudolf Wachter. pp. 27-32.
2019
- Dickey, E. (2019) When “please” ceases to be polite: the use of sis in early Latin. Journal of Historical Pragmatics, 20 (2). pp. 204-224. ISSN 1569-9854 doi: https://doi.org/10.1075/jhp.00029.dic
-
Dickey, E.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4272-4803 (2019) What does a linguistic expert know? The conflict between analogy and Atticism. In: Adams, S. A. (ed.) Scholastic Culture in the Hellenistic and Roman Eras. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 103-118. ISBN 9783110657876 doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110660982-008
- Dickey, E. (2019) The history of bilingual dictionaries reconsidered: an ancient fragment related to pseudo-Philoxenus (P.Vars. 6) and its significance. Classical Quarterly. ISSN 1471-6844 (In Press)
- Dickey, E. (2019) A re-examination of New Testament papyrus P99 (Vetus Latina AN glo Paul). New Testament Studies, 65 (1). pp. 103-121. ISSN 0028-6885 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0028688518000243
2018
- Dickey, E. (2018) Learn Latin from the Romans: a complete introductory course using textbooks from the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp526. ISBN 9781107140844
- Dickey, E. (2018) What is a loanword? The case of Latin borrowings and codeswitches in ancient Greek. Lingue e Linguaggio, 17 (1). pp. 7-36. ISSN 1720-9331 doi: https://doi.org/10.1418/90421
2017
- Dickey, E. (2017) Classical scholarship: the Byzantine contribution. In: Kaldellis, A. and Siniossoglou, N. (eds.) Cambridge Intellectual History of Byzantium. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 63-78. ISBN 9781107041813 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107300859.005
- Dickey, E. (2017) Stories of daily life from the Roman World: extracts from the ancient colloquia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 9781107176805
- Dickey, E. (2017) The Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana in the Greek East. Linguarum Varietas, 6. pp. 211-229. ISSN 2281-1435 doi: https://doi.org/10.19272/201711601012
- Dickey, E. and Probert, P. (2017) Houses in which a serf living in the country does not reside: a reconsideration of Gortyn Laws column 4 lines 31–37. In: Willi, A. (ed.) Sprachgeschichte und Epigraphik. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft, pp. 57-81.
- Dickey, E. (2017) Who used the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana? Evidence for Greek speakers in the medieval West. In: I graeca nei libri latini: tra medioevo e umanesimo. Centro Internazionale di Studi Umanistici, pp. 47-71.
- Dickey, E. (2017) Word division in bilingual texts. In: Nocchi Macedo, G. and Scappaticcio, M. C. (eds.) Signes dans les textes, textes sur les signes. Papyrologica Leodiensia (6). Presses universitaires de Liège, Liège, Belgium, pp. 159-175. ISBN 9782875621191
2016
- Probert, P. and Dickey, E. (2016) Six notes on Latin correlatives. In: Adams, J. N. and Vincent, N. (eds.) Early and Late Latin: Continuity or Change? Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 390-419. ISBN 9781107132252
- Dickey, E. (2016) Politeness in ancient Rome: can it help us evaluate modern politeness theories? Journal of Politeness Research, 12 (2). pp. 197-220. ISSN 1613-4877 doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2016-0008
- Dickey, E. (2016) Emotional language and formulae of persuasion in Greek papyrus letters. In: Sanders, E. and Johncock, M. (eds.) Emotion and Persuasion in Classical Antiquity. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, pp. 237-262. ISBN 9783515113618
- Dickey, E. (2016) The authorship of the Greek version of Dositheus’ grammar and what it tells us about the grammar’s original use. In: Ferri, R. and Zago, A. (eds.) The Latin of the Grammarians: reflections about language in the Roman world. Brepols, Turnhout, pp. 205-235. ISBN 9782503566276
- Dickey, E. (2016) An introduction to the composition and analysis of Greek prose. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp312. ISBN 9780521761420
- Dickey, E. (2016) Learning Latin the ancient way: Latin textbooks from the ancient world. Cambridge University Press, pp197. ISBN 9781107093607
2015
- Dickey, E. (2015) Columnar translation: an ancient interpretive tool that the Romans gave the Greeks. Classical Quarterly, 65 (2). pp. 807-821. ISSN 0009-8388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838815000087
- Dickey, E. (2015) The sources of our knowledge of ancient scholarship. In: Montanari, F., Matthaios, S. and Rengakos, A. (eds.) Brill's Companion to Ancient Greek Scholarship. Brill, pp. 459-514. ISBN 9789004245945
- Dickey, E. (2015) Teaching Latin to Greek speakers in antiquity. In: Archibald, E.P., Brockliss, W. and Gnoza, J. (eds.) Learning Latin and Greek from antiquity to the present. Yale Classical Studies, 37. Cambridge University Press, pp. 30-51. ISBN 9781107051645
- Dickey, E. (2015) The Colloquia of the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana II:Colloquium Harleianum, Colloquium Montepessulanum, Colloquium Celtis, and fragments. Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 9781107065390
- Dickey, E. (2015) How Coptic speakers learned Latin? A reconsideration of P. Berol. inv 10582. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 193. pp. 65-77. ISSN 0084-5388
- Dickey, E. (2015) How to say 'please' in post-Classical Latin: Fronto and the importance of archaism. Journal of Latin Linguistics, 14 (1). pp. 17-31. ISSN 2194-8747 doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/joll-2015-0002
- Probert, P. and Dickey, E. (2015) The ϝhεδιέστας inscription from archaic Argos (SEG 11:314): a reconsideration. Journal of Hellenic Studies, 135. pp. 110-131. ISSN 0075-4269 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0075426915000099
2014
- Dickey, E. (2014) New legal texts from the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana. Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis, 82 (1-2). pp. 30-44. ISSN 0040-7585 doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718190-08212p04
- Dickey, E. (2014) A catalogue of works attributed to the grammarian Herodian. Classical Philology, 109 (4). pp. 325-345. ISSN 0009-837X doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/677859
2013
- Dickey, E., Ferri, R. and Scappaticcio, M. C. (2013) The origins of grammatical tables: a reconsideration of P.Louvre inv. E 7332. Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 187. pp. 173-189. ISSN 0084-5388
2012
- Dickey, E., ed. (2012) The Colloquia of the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheanaa: volume 1 Colloquia Monacensia-Einsidlensia, Leidense-Stephani, and Stephani. Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107020108
- Dickey, E. (2012) How to say 'please' in Classical Latin. Classical Quarterly, 62 (2). pp. 731-748. ISSN 1471-6844 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838812000286
- Dickey, E. (2012) Latin loanwords in Greek: a preliminary analysis. In: Leiwo, M., Halla-aho, H. and Vierros, M. (eds.) Variation and Change in Greek and Latin. Papers and Monographs of the Finnish Institute at Athens (17). The Finnish Institute at Athens, Helsinki, pp. 57-70. ISBN 9789526721149
- Xenis, G. and Dickey, E. (2012) Philemon Fr. 193 K.A. Hermes, 140 (3). pp. 386-389. ISSN 0018-0777
- Dickey, E. and Ferri, R. (2012) A new edition of the Colloquium Harleianum fragment in P.Prag. 2.118. Zeitschrift fuyrologie und Epigraphik, 180. pp. 127-132. ISSN 0084-5388
- Dickey, E. (2012) The rules of politeness and Latin request formulae. In: Probert, P. and Willi, A. (eds.) Laws and Rules in Indo-European. Oxford University Press, pp. 313-328. ISBN 9780199609925
2011
- Dickey, E. (2011) Epimerismi Homerici. In: Finkelberg, M. (ed.) The Homer Encyclopedia. Wiley Blackwell, pp. 764-768. ISBN 9781405177689
- Dickey, E. (2011) Mabel Lang: a biographical sketch. In: Rusten, J. S. and Hamilton, R. (eds.) Thucydidean Narrative and Discourse. Michigan Classical Press, pp. 197-212. ISBN 9780979971341
- Dickey, E. (2011) Scholarship, ancient. In: Finkelberg, M. (ed.) The Homer Encyclopedia. Wiley Blackwell, pp. 255-256. ISBN 9781405177689
2010
- Dickey, E. and Chahoud, A., eds. (2010) Colloquial and literary Latin. Cambridge University Press, pp534. ISBN 9780521513951
- Dickey, E. (2010) Classical scholarship: antiquity. In: Gargarin, M. (ed.) Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press, pp. 167-173. ISBN 9780195170726
- Dickey, E. (2010) Classical scholarship: modern classical scholarship. In: Gargarin, M. (ed.) Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press, pp. 181-190. ISBN 9780195170726
- Dickey, E. (2010) Forms of address and markers of status. In: Bakker, E. (ed.) A Companion to the Ancient Greek Language. Blackwell, pp. 327-337. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444317398.ch22
- Dickey, E. (2010) Greek dictionaries ancient and modern. In: Stray, C. (ed.) Classical Dictionaries: Past, Present and Future. Duckworth, London, pp. 5-24. ISBN 9780715639160
- Dickey, E. (2010) Literary criticism, ancient. In: Gagarin, M. (ed.) Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press, pp. 262-267. ISBN 9780195170726
- Dickey, E. (2010) Longinus. In: Gagarin, M. (ed.) Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press, pp. 281-282. ISBN 9780195170726
- Dickey, E. (2010) The creation of Latin teaching materials in antiquity: A re-interpretation of P.Sorb. inv. 2069. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 175. pp. 188-208. ISSN 0084-5388
- Dickey, E. (2010) A new edition of the Latin-Greek glossary on P.Sorb. inv.2069 (verso). Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 175. pp. 177-187. ISSN 0084-5388
2009
- Dickey, E. (2009) The Greek and Latin languages in the Papyri. In: Bagnall, R.S. (ed.) Oxford Handbook of Papyrology. Oxford University Press, pp. 149-169. ISBN 9780195178388
- Dickey, E. (2009) Latin influence and Greek request formulae. In: Evans, T.V. and Obbink, D. (eds.) The Language of the Papyri. Oxford University Press, pp. 208-220. ISBN 9780199237081
2007
- Dickey, E. (2007) Ancient Greek scholarship: A Guide to finding, reading, and understanding scholia, commentaries, lexica, and grammatical treatises, from their beginnings to the Byzantine Period. Oxford University Press, New York USA, pp368. ISBN 9780195312928
2006
- Dickey, E. (2006) Homer. In: Wilson, N. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge, pp. 366-368. ISBN 9780415973342
- Dickey, E. (2006) Josephus Flavius. In: Wilson, N. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge, pp. 399-400. ISBN 9780415973342
- Dickey, E. (2006) Language. In: Wilson, N. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge, pp. 413-416. ISBN 9780415973342
- Dickey, E. (2006) Lucian. In: Wilson, N. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge, pp. 430-431. ISBN 9780415973342
- Dickey, E. (2006) Satyr Play. In: Wilson, N. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge, pp. 642-643. ISBN 9780415973342
- Dickey, E. (2006) The Use of Latin (sis) as a focus-marking clitic particle. Oxford University Working Papers in Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics, 11. pp. 21-25.
2004
- Dickey, E. (2004) The Greek Address system of the Roman period and its relationship to Latin. Classical Quarterly, 54 (2). pp. 494-527. ISSN 0009-8388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/clquaj/bmh055
- Dickey, E. (2004) Literal and extended use of kinship terms in documentary papryi. Mnemosyne, 57 (2). pp. 131-176. ISSN 0026-7074 doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/156852504773399169
- Dickey, E. (2004) Rules without reasons? Words for children in papyrus letters. In: Penney, J. H. W. (ed.) Indo-European Perspectives. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 119-130.
- Dickey, E. (2004) SBXIV 11273: no vocative. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 146. pp. 170-172. ISSN 0084-5388
2003
- Dickey, E. (2003) Ancient Bilingualism. Journal of Roman Studies, 93. pp. 295-302. ISSN 1753-528X doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3184645
- Dickey, E. (2003) Latin influence on the Greek of documentary Papyri: an analysis of its chronological distribution. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 145. pp. 249-257. ISSN 0084-5388
2002
- Dickey, E. (2002) Latin forms of address: from Plautus to Apuleius. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199239054
- Dickey, E. (2002) O dee ree pie: the vocative problems of Latin words ending in -eus. Glotta, 76. pp. 32-49.
2001
- Dickey, E. (2001) Κύριε, Δέσποτα, Domine: Greek Politeness in the Roman Empire. Journal of Hellenic Studies, 121. pp. 1-11. ISSN 0075-4269 doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/631824
- Dickey, E. (2001) What good is a rebellious teenager? classics and linguistics in the twentieth century. Transactions of the American Philological Association, 131. pp. 289-296. ISSN 1533-0699
2000
- Dickey, E. (2000) Homer. In: Speake, G. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Greece and Hellenic Tradition. Volume 1. Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 768-771. ISBN 9781579581411
- Dickey, E. (2000) Josephus Flavius. In: Speake, G. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Greece and Hellenic Tradition. Volume 2. Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 858-859.
- Dickey, E. (2000) Language. In: Speake, G. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition. Volume 2. Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 920-925.
- Dickey, E. (2000) Lucian. In: Speake, G. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Greece and Hellenic Tradition. Volume 2. Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 960-961.
- Dickey, E. (2000) O egregie grammatice: The Vocative Problems of Latin Words ending in -ius. Classical Quarterly, 50 (2). pp. 548-562. ISSN 0009-8388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/cq/50.2.548
- Dickey, E. (2000) Satyr Play. In: Speake, G. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Greece and Hellenic Tradition. Volume 2. Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 1475-1477.
1997
- Dickey, E. (1997) Forms of addresses and terms of reference. Journal of Linguistics, 33. pp. 255-274. ISSN 0022-2267 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022226797006488
- Dickey, E. (1997) Me autem nomine appellabat - Avoidance of Cicero's Name in his Dialogues. Classical Quarterly, 47 (2). pp. 584-588. ISSN 0009-8388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/cq/47.2.584
- Dickey, E. (1997) The ancient Greek address system and some proposed sociolinguistic universals. Language in Society, 26 (1). pp. 1-13. ISSN 0047-4045 doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500019382
1996
- Dickey, E. (1996) Greek forms of address: from Herodotus to Lucian. Oxford University Press, pp360. ISBN 9780198150541
1995
- Dickey, E. (1995) Forms of address and conversational language in Aristophanes and Menander. Mnemosyne, 43 (3). pp. 257-271. ISSN 0026-7074 doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/156852595X00167
1991
- Dickey, E. and Hamilton, R. (1991) New selected odes of Pindar. In: New selected odes of Pindar. Bryn Mawr Commentaries. Hackett Publishing Compamy. ISBN 9780929524726
-
Dickey, E.