Series |
Lexis Supplements
Edited book | Everyday Communication in Antiquity: Frames and Framings
Chapter | Seeing the (Smaller and) Bigger Frame: Framing Late Antique Egyptian Writers and Documents Through Bilingual and Biscriptal Choices
Seeing the (Smaller and) Bigger Frame: Framing Late Antique Egyptian Writers and Documents Through Bilingual and Biscriptal Choices
Abstract
The paper uses framing theory to explore the role of register in the occurrence of bilingual and biscriptal phenomena in different parts of late antique and early Islamic documentary papyri (fourth-eighth c. AD) with Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Arabic. Framing proves relevant on both the (con)textual and sociohistorical levels, especially at the edges of texts across registers, while ‘body’ variation is limited to more formal texts. Formulaicity is crucial, as changes pertain to fixed phrases that mark the structure of the document, often supported by (palaeo)graphic changes. Variation also serves culturally shaped symbolic functions (group membership, prestige, legal validity), building a multilayered message.
Submitted: May 22, 2024 | Accepted: Sept. 24, 2024 | Published April 24, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Register • Papyrology • Bilingualism • Framing • Late antiquity
Copyright © 2025 Antonia Apostolakou. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-886-6/007
