A Critical Afterword

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores some of the implications of the work presented in the chapters in this volume. The aim of the volume was to bridge the gap between linguists and historians in thinking about the social dimensions of language in the later-Roman and post-imperial West and the story of Latinization. In practice, while useful conversations can take place, the highly detailed and technical approach of linguists is difficult to integrate with broader wide-ranging historical approaches. This afterword argues that historians and linguists have much to learn from each other, but at the same time they should develop a better understanding of the different methodologies involved in the various kinds of work being undertaken.