Classical Studies : Classical Languages :
a guide to library resources

Contents:

Greek resources | Latin resources | Finding books|Finding journal articles etc. | Web resources |

GREEK RESOURCES

Some starting points

Greek : a history of the language and its speakers (1997) [print]
[Traces the development of Greek from the Mycenaean period of the second millennium BC to the present day]

Greek language (1980) [print]
[Overview of the history, culture & grammar of the Greek language]

History of ancient Greek (2007) [print]

[A comprehensive account of the history of the Greek language from its beginnings to late antiquity]

Vox Graeca: a guide to the pronunciation of Classical Greek (2nd edition, 1974) [print]
[Standard work in English on the pronunciation of ancient Greek]

Dictionaries

Greek-English lexicon (9th edition, 1940) [web access]
[Liddell & Scott's lexicon is the standard classical Greek-English dictionary. Also available in various print formats. The 1996 printing contains supplementary material not found in the Web version]

Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (1957) [print] 
[A standard lexicon for New Testament Greek]

Greek lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine periods (2 volumes, 1957) [print]
[Greek-English lexicon for the Byzantine period]

Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch (3 volumes, 1960-72) [print]
[Standard etymological dictionary of Classical Greek]

Lexicon of Greek personal names (1987-) [print]
[This work in progress provides a list of personal names accompanied by evidence from literature, inscriptions, papyri, vases, coins etc. A web site accompanies the series & includes an on-line index to published volumes]

Patristic Greek lexicon (2 volumes, 1961) [print]
[Lampe's lexicon is the standard for patristic literature]

Grammar

Oxford grammar of classical Greek (2001) [print]
[Provides the essentials for the beginning studient]

Greek grammar (1920) [web access]
[Smyth's work is the standard grammar for English-speaking students. Also available in print format]

Greek grammar on the Web [web access]
[A listing of web sites on ancient Greek language and grammar, together with a description and appraisal of the contents]

New comparative grammar of Greek and Latin (1995) [print]
[Standard work in the field of comparative grammar]

Researchers may also want to consult:

Ausfuhrliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache  [web access]
Teil I, Bd. 1-2
Teil II, Bd. 1
Teil II, Bd. 2  
[Descriptive grammar of Greek. Also available in print format. An Index locorum is also available in print format]

Griechische Grammatik (4 volumes, 1939-53) [print]
[Standard grammar for Greek]

LATIN RESOURCES

Some starting points

Latin language (1954) [print]
[Overview of the history, culture & grammar of the Latin language]

Vox Latina : a guide to the pronunciation of classical Latin  (2nd edition, 1978) [print]
[Standard work in English on the pronunciation of Latin]

Wheelock's Latin (5th edition, 1995) [print]
[Standard text  for beginning Latin students]

  Dictionaries

Oxford Latin dictionary (8 volumes, 1968-1982) [print]
[The Oxford Latin dictionary is a comprehensive and authoritative Latin-English dictionary]

Latin dictionary (1879) [web access]
[Lewis & Short's Latin-English dictionary is superceded by the Oxford Latin dictionary but  it is still serviceable & freely available via the web]

Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine : histoire des mots (4th edition, 1985) [print]
[A standard etymological dictionary of Latin]

Glossary of later Latin to 600 A.D (1949) [print]
[Acts as a companion to the Oxford Latin Dictionary by covering the period from 180CE to 600CE]

Thesaurus linguae Latinae (TLL) (on-going) [print]
[Issued in parts and complete up to the letter P, the TLL is the most important historical dictionary of the Latin language. Information about the TLL can be found via the web]

Popular phrase books & quotations

Amo, amas, amat, and more (1985) [print]
[A compendium of Latin expressions with English translations]

Latin phrase book (1989) [print]  
[Covers Latin idioms and phrases]

Routledge dictionary of Latin quotations (2005) [print]
[A collection of quotations and proverbs]

Grammar

Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges (1903) [web access]
[Serviceable & freely available 19th century grammar now freely available via the web]

Lateinische Grammatik (3 volumes, 1972-79) [print]
[Standard work for Latin grammar]

New comparative grammar of Greek and Latin (1995) [print]
[Standard work in the field of comparative grammar]

FINDING BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE

Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are terms which can be browsed using the Subject Heading option:  

Greek language Dictionaries
Greek language Etymology
Greek language Glossaries, vocabularies, etc
Greek language Grammar
Greek language, Hellenistic
Greek language History
Latin language Dictionaries
Latin language Etymology
Latin language Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.
Latin language Grammar
Latin language History
Classical philology
Greek philology
Latin philology

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES, MONOGRAPHS ETC.

For most topics the databases listed in the Databases for Classics guide should be sufficient for finding journal articles, but those researchers needing to undertake a more comprehensive literature search should note the following additional bibliographical sources:

L'Annee philologique [print]
[The premier index for Classics - if it's unfamiliar, read this description before attempting to use it. See See Section II: Linguistique in each annual printed volume]

Bibliografia della lingua latina [print]
[Covers the period from 1949 to 1991]

Bibliographie de la langue latine [print]  
[Covers the period from 1880 to 1948]

Greek : a survey of recent work  (1972) [print]
[No longer recent but it remains a useful survey of studies on significant work done on the Greek language in the 20th century to 1972]

Greek Grammar and Linguistics Bibliography [web access]
[Compiled by Rodney J. Decker in 1994, this bibliography does not contain the standard New Testament grammars and lexicons. It focuses rather on journal articles and lesser known books]

Pinax online bibliographies: Linguistics [web access]
[Links to bibliographies on language topics]

WEB RESOURCES

Greek and Latin language resources
[Provides links to useful language sites]

Greek language & linguistics
[A gateway designed to facilitate the study of Ancient Greek and to promote the application of methodologies from the field of Linguistics to the study of Classical and Hellenistic Greek]

This page maintained by Jennifer Osborn
Last update:  30 August 2007