Multilingualism in Venetian Dalmatia: studying languages and orality in written administrative documents from Split (fifteenth/sixteenth centuries)

A complex multilingual landscape characterized by Latin, Venetian, and Slavic languages coexisted in late medieval Split under Venetian rule. This linguistic interplay, evident in administrative documents, revealed no clear division between Romance and Slavic speakers due to Dalmatia's long-standing symbiosis. The study highlights that social status often correlated with language knowledge, addressing how Venice managed this multilingualism by establishing a translator office in 1472—later than other Dalmatian towns—to facilitate communication, trade, and governance. Researchers analyzed notarial acts and case files to explore the methodological challenges of studying orality through written records.

Sadovski-Kornprobst, L. (2021). Multilingualism in Venetian Dalmatia: studying languages and orality in written administrative documents from Split (fifteenth/sixteenth centuries). Mediterranean Historical Review, 36(2), 217–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518967.2021.1964062