What Graeco-Roman Grammar Was About

This book explains how the grammarians of the Graeco-Romance world perceived the nature and structure of the languages they taught. The volume focuses primarily on the early centuries AD, a time when the Roman Empire was at its peak; in this period, a grammarian not only had a secure place in the ancient system of education, but could take for granted an established technical understanding of language. By delineating what that ancient model of grammar was, P. H. Matthews highlights both those aspects that have persisted to this day and seem reassuringly familiar, such as 'parts of speech', as well as those aspects that are wholly dissimilar to our present understanding of grammar and language. The volume is written to be accessible to students of linguistics from undergraduate level upwards, and assumes no knowledge of Latin or Ancient Greek.

Review: Matthews' book is a good, entertaining and highly informative read, coming in a dozen chapters, each about 15 pages in length. The book is discursive in that it offers insight to all who do not comprehend Latin or Ancient Greek... * Stefan Dollinger, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Journal of Greek Linguistics *

More than a book of popularization, this book is a kind of manual for the contemporary linguist, non-specialist ofClassics. (translated) * Lionel Dumarty, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

The book is a successful introduction to ancient Greek and Roman thinking about language. * M.L. Goldman, CHOICE *

Matthews has undertaken a massive endeavor and has acquitted himself well. He has not only scrupulously provided refrences to many of the original Greek and Latin texts but has also quoted and translated them - accurately I might add - and has used them as points of departure for his analyses, exactly as he should have. That I would beg to differ with him on occasion is only to be expected and does not detract from his accomplishment. * Daniel J. Taylor, Historiographia Linguistica *