Imperialism, Identity, and Language Choice in Persian Yehud: Towards Understanding the Socio-political Implications in the Achaemenid Empire
Scholars have long connected the Achaemenid Empire and its use of Imperial Aramaic—spanning the empire’s space and duration—with processes of social identity formation. Yet the details and mechanisms of this supposed link for the elites within the empire remains hazily theorized at best. Taking the...
| Published in: | Advances in ancient Biblical and Near Eastern research |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek
2021
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| In: |
Advances in ancient Biblical and Near Eastern research
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| Further subjects: | B
Persian Empire
B Imperialism B Identity B Nehemiah B Yehud B Sociology of language |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Scholars have long connected the Achaemenid Empire and its use of Imperial Aramaic—spanning the empire’s space and duration—with processes of social identity formation. Yet the details and mechanisms of this supposed link for the elites within the empire remains hazily theorized at best. Taking the famous complaint about language loss in Nehemiah as a starting point, this paper explores the various social and status implications involved in the local use of scripts and languages. Using sociolinguistic literature around ‘code-mixing’ and ‘code-switching,’ Communication Accommodation Theory, and diglossia, this paper tries to map some early ways the social implications of languages choices within Persian period marginal regions could be understood, with a specific focus on Yehud. These tools indicate a wider array of variables are relevant than have sometimes been entertained and suggest that language choice in Yehud related more to inter-elite rivalries than reaction to the Persians. |
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| ISSN: | 2748-6419 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Advances in ancient Biblical and Near Eastern research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.35068/aabner.v1i2.838 |