Genera Verborum Quot Sunt?: Observations on the Roman Grammatical Tradition

SUMMARYThis article is a study of how Roman grammarians treated a specific grammatical problem, viz., the description and classification of verbal gender in Latin. The results show that various theories were put forward and various possibilities for systematizing and explaining the data were proposed in the works of the grammarians of the 3rd and 4th centuries. Out of the discussion of these grammarians there emerged in the works of the grammarians of the 5th and 6th centuries (notably Phocas, Pompeius, and Priscian) a rather adequate description. While morphological and semantic criteria were intermingled in the earlier period, later grammarians kept them apart. We also find a tendency towards a more theoretical and less data-oriented linguistics. The picture emerging from this in scope rather limited study deviates to some extent from the theories proposed by Bar-wick (1922) concerning the history of Roman linguistics.RÉSUMÉCet article est une etude sur la maniere dont les grammairiens romains traitaient un problemejsarticulier de la grammaire: la description et le clas-sement du genre du verbe en latin. Il apparait que furent avancees diverses theories et proposees diverses possiblilites de systematisation et d'explica-tion dans les ouvrages des grammairiens des IIIe et IVe siecle. De la discussion de ces ouvrages naitra ensuite, dans les travaux des grammairiens des Ve et VIe siecles (notammant Phocas, Pompeius, et Priscien) une description assez adequate. La premiere periode melait les criteres morphologi-ques et semantiques; la seconde les distingue nettement. On note egale-ment une tendance a une linguistique plus theorique et moins orientee vers le donne. Le tableau qui ressort de cette etude a objectif assez restreint dif-fere quelque peu des theories proposees par Barwick (1922) en ce qui concerne l'histoire de la linguistique romaine.