Error On Samnites

[Danno]

http://www.unrv.com/empire/samnite-wars.php

 

"The language of the Samnites was called osco. It became a self-contained language with its own strict rules of spelling and grammar, officially used throughout most of all Italy in 500 BC. "

 

This looks like it must have been poorly translated from Italian. The language of the Samnites should in English be "Oscan". I'm not sure what's meant by "self-contained language" etc... what exactly makes a language "self-contained"?

[Primus Pilus]

Osco = typo not a translation. I don't speak Italian.

 

As for self-contained... meaning exactly what it says. Its rules and structures were completely within Oscan, and not necesarilly filled with borrowed or adapted pieces of other cultures. Basically a poor choice of words me thinks. Help me out with an edit and I'll be happy to change it.

[Primus Pilus]

Ahh, took me a bit to find it, but it was in a 'did you know'. I honestly can't remember if I wrote that. Those are just little tidbits that we find for a little added thing on each page. Some are written, some are borrowed from existing documents. Still if you have a suggestion for an edit I'd be glad to update it

[Danno]

Hmm, there are few languages I can think of which don't show some sort of influence from elsewhere. Certainly Samnite culture had lots of influence from other places; the very fact that it was written down was an Etruscan and before that a Greek influence. As far as strictness of spelling and grammar... both grammar and spelling are liable to fluctuate in pretty much any language, including Oscan.

 

Here's a suggestion of roughly comparable length:

 

"The language of the Samnites was called Oscan. A relative of Latin, it was the dominant language of Italy from ca. 500 BC until the spread of Latin with the Roman conquest."

[Primus Pilus]

Thanks, Danno. Sounds good to me.

 

Btw, just as a reminder to anyone who visits UNRV. Please keep in mind that the articles are written without the input from an outside proofreader or editor. If anyone has ever written anything before, you know how difficult it can be to sometimes spot what seems like the most obvious errors. Self-proofreading just doesn't always do the trick, so corrections, whether they be spelling, grammar or blatant historical issues, are encouraged and welcome.