This is the first in-depth study of the contracted forms of esse in Terence, treating them as elements which can unlock the mysteries of Latin writing and speech. Traditional Latin grammars neglect contracted spellings, while the majority of readers are not aware of their nature, considering them to be the editors' stylistic choices. P.’s intention is to reveal the linguistic significance of Latin contractions and their relationship to the nature of the most common verb in Latin, the verb ‘to be’. This book is the product of P.’s doctoral dissertation, which relies on a comprehensive analysis of a large quantity of data extending beyond Terence. Its most noteworthy feature is the examination of pure linguistic and technical topics (contraction and sigmatic ecthlipsis) with such a level of clarity and special attention to the historical development of each phenomenon that it is stimulating for both a linguist and a non-expert to follow.
The analysis is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1, ‘Introduction’, establishes the methodology and the applicability of P.’s research, inviting the reader to join him in linguistic puzzles taken from English literature. It is convincingly proposed that the Latin forms of esse, like the English ‘to be’ (it's, ’tis), could undergo phonetic reduction as stylistic markers conveying the impression of ‘real speech’, reproducing features of ‘real Latin’. P.’s aim is to recreate the natural perception of a Latin native speaker by assuming the perspective of a non-native who identifies the phonological context and factors affecting contraction. P.’s approach is both linguistic and philological as he examines Terence and other republican authors to determine the factors conditioning the contraction of es, est (-’s, -st) in relation to sigmatic ecthlipsis (prosodic omission of final -s). P. uses clear text-formatting for speech intonation, combines traditional scholarship with the use of digital resources, refers to manuals for technical terminology and prepares his reader for a journey into the foggy land of ‘real’ Latin (p. 25). It is essential that, in view of the complexity of his topic, P. explains methodological issues in practical terms by considering phenomena familiar to English speakers (variant spellings, phonetic spellings, register, genre, diachronic analysis, linguistic intertextuality, syntax and pragmatics).
Chapter 2, ‘Contraction of esse: Collection of Evidence’, examines the evidence for contracted spellings found in a variety of sources, both in verse and in prose (manuscripts of Terence, Plautus, Lucretius, Virgil, Gellius, Horace, Lucan, Cicero, Sabellian languages, late-antique grammarians, inscriptions and metrical corpora), providing translations as well as a clear system of explanatory boxes and tables; sections have already appeared in article form (TPhS 109 [2011]). This chapter takes its starting point from the meaning of the term ‘contraction’ (prodelision or aphaeresis of e-) to specify the phonological patterns of the transmitted forms of es/est (following a word ending in a vowel; in elidible -m; in short vowel preceding -s). In his analysis, however, P. takes into account only the contracted spelling of est since the contracted form of es is less evident (pp. 36, 90–7). He finds different ways of dealing with the evidence, and based on metrical reasons, linguistic observations of ancient grammars and problematic uncontracted forms in the manuscripts, he determines contracted forms that should have been restored in Latin texts.
Chapter 3, ‘Contraction of esse: Phonological Analysis and Historical Appraisal’, specifies the distinction between contracted forms as utterances of speech and spellings attested in writing. This chapter summarises conclusions on the phonological analysis of contracted forms to build up a new theory for the nature of esse. For P., contracted forms of est/es are neither abbreviations nor the result of a sandhi phenomenon (phonetic spelling involving alteration at word boundaries), but instead, the result of the clitic nature of the verb esse, which is defined as ‘idiosyncratic’ (p. 241). In other words, P. departs from the conventional view for the meaning of ‘prodelision’ (vowel-deletion in a pre-vocalic context), considering it inadequate to describe the contracted pattern -s + (e)st, and moves on to suggest that the verb esse is by its nature exposed to a process of phonological reduction. This becomes even clearer in the subsection dedicated to enclitics (1.3), where P. argues that contracted forms are clitic forms of est and es displaying phonological reduction and univerbation to the preceding word. Therefore, P. rightly proceeds to a historical appraisal of the value of contraction and elision (Section 2) across genres and establishes the chronological boundaries of these phenomena in speech and writing, illustrating the stylistic values of colloquialism, archaism and poeticism.
Chapter 4, ‘Analysis of Contracted Forms in Terence’, is an enlightening survey which focuses on the individual factors that regulate alternation between contracted (for example, factust) and uncontracted forms (such as factus est) in Terence: metre, style, semantics, syntax and word order. P. shows that the contracted forms are preferred when the verb esse is used in auxiliary sense but are optional when the verb is used as a copula. His basic finding is that the variation between uncontracted and contracted forms confirms the connection of contraction with cliticisation of esse; he also affirms the strong bond of esse with the preceding predicate or participle. The discussion, however, of the idiomatic expression opus est in Plautus is incomplete since it does not rely on a collation of manuscripts (p. 175). A significant contribution is P.’s overview of the circumstances (for example, after monosyllables, after syntactic breaks) in which contracted forms are avoided and thus should be printed uncontracted in editions (Section 3).
The clitic nature of esse is further discussed in Chapter 5, ‘Sigmatic Ecthlipsis and Cliticisation of esse’, which concentrates on sigmatic ecthlipsis (prosodic omission of final -s before a consonant), a phenomenon which has partly been examined by J.P. Sullivan (Final -s in Early Latin [1970]). P. nonetheless makes further linguistic observations by scanning the lines of Terence (and confirming the results by a comparison with Plautus). P.’s method demonstrates that the two phenomena of contraction and sigmatic ecthlipsis are related, due to their dependence on the clitic nature of esse.
Chapter 6, ‘Conclusions’, is a summary of the connection between sigmatic ecthlipsis and the cliticisation of esse as well as of the factors determining contraction of esse. Editorial practice should therefore rely on the implications of P.’s findings to make the wisest choice in restoring original contractions based on their stylistic value (p. 123) and supporting evidence (p. 253).
From a methodological point of view, this book is exceptional and well-structured around a theme (the clitic nature of esse) which unifies the various findings of each chapter. P.’s argument is presented persuasively, paying attention to the relationship between spelling and speech. His tendency to explain every complex phenomenon through examples drawn from modern languages is valuable. Even though the focus is primarily on the plays of Terence (p. 189), the findings can be judiciously applied to reflect a wider picture of Latin. Three useful appendices and a detailed bibliography provide fertile ground for future linguistic studies on the behaviour of esse.
Nonetheless, a little too much speculation as well as a ‘risk of imprecision’ (p. 6) are the book's drawbacks. Moreover, the study of the stylistic value of contraction would have benefited from expansion to the distribution of contractions by character type in Terence's comedy (for example, for the senex), for a genre that is fruitful for such an investigation due to its imitation of colloquial features (pp. 143, 157–9). One would expect to learn P.’s view on how the contracted and uncontracted forms of esse contribute to comic characterisation, despite the fact that these figures are ‘statistically insignificant’ (p. 158); the analysis could have included the linguistic characterisation of female speech, by low-status women (for example, the meretrix). Such research would guide Latin translators to locate contracted forms in their respective translation. Finally, there are some typographical errors, but they should not detract from the overall quality of P.’s book.
This book covers an important subject and would make a recommended addition to any bookshelf of Classical Studies. The richness of analysis is of great value for scholars and advanced students, who will acknowledge the necessity to incorporate the contracted forms of esse in the paradigm of the present indicative as lexical variants of es and est. The verb esse is the core knowledge for students first learning Latin; this same verb is now being further investigated as the core to opening up hidden and unreachable aspects of the Latin language.
