The interrelationship between scriptal and linguistic variation in notary signatures of Greek contracts from late antique Egypt

This study investigates linguistic and scriptal variation in notary signatures found late antique contracts from Egypt, seeking to identify interpret the potential relationship between choices language script. To answer this, theoretical concepts methods sociolinguistics, social semiotics, multilingual studies are used, with objective of adding a new, more linguistically-oriented perspective existing research on notarial signatures. On one hand, this demonstrates how Latin script seems restrict notaries, resulting transliterated Greek very homogeneous content. The familiarity notaries writing is, other reflected written alphabet, which much diverse at times adjusted circumstances under specific documents were composed. Even if seem lack confidence freely producing text script, they choose do so due its functional values, conveyed perceived visually. letters create an association signatories Roman law, trustworthiness prestige Differentiating allows us understand maintained connotations that formerly accompanied language, gradually replacing it form passages, time when was disappearing papyrological documentation. In sense, especially prove useful dealing visual aspects papyri, as prevent their functions meanings being overlooked.