UZ

 

Catalogue Raisonné of J. L. Speranza’s Publications – H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: UZ

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Uziano – Ossia: Grice ed Uziano – Grex griceiana – verbalia: Uziano. H. P. GRICE E J. L. SPERANZA -- GREX -- VERBALIA: UTIANO The gens Utiana was an obscure plebeian family of ancient Rome. None of its members are known from history, but two appear in inscriptions that have attracted scholarly attention.  Origin The nomen gentilicium Utianus is probably an elaboration of the nomen Utius, and may be connected with an epithet of the Oscan goddess Mefitis, referred to as "Mefitis Utiana" in several inscriptions from Lucania.[1][2][3][4]  Members This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation. Gaius Utianus C. f. Rufus Latinianus, the son of Marcus Latinius, was adopted by a Gaius Utianus, and became one of the municipal duumvirs of the Volceiani. He married Insteia Polla, a priestess of the imperial cult, who first came to his house at the age of seven, and was married to him for fifty-five years. Latinianus was buried at Forum Popilii in Campania, along with his sister, Latinia Posilla, in a tomb dating from the reign of Tiberius, and dedicated by his wife.[i] The Decurions of the Volceiani honoured him with a public funeral and an equestrian statue.[6][7] Marcus Utianus Onesimus, dedicated a tomb at Numistro in Lucania, dating from the middle or later second century, for his wife, Ulpia Sperata.[8] Notes  The gravesite contains a depiction of a head with three protruding legs surrounded by the letters "SIC". Although the exact purpose of the artwork is unclear, the text may—according to the classicist Roger Wilson—have functioned as an abbreviation for "Sicilia".[5] References  CIL X, 131, CIL X, 132, CIL X, 133, AE 1974, 257.  Salomies 2013, p. 177.  Kajava 2023, pp. 56, 57.  Kajava 2025, pp. 151, 152.  Wilson 2023, p. 7.  Laes 2012, p. 108.  AE 1910, 191.  CIL X, 442. Bibliography René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). Kajava, Mika (2023-01-10), Naming Gods. An Onomastic Study of Divine Epithets Derived from Roman Anthroponyms, Suomen Tiedeseura, ISBN 978-951-653-491-9 Kajava, Mika (2025-08-14). Bonne, Corinne (ed.). My Name is Your Name: Anthroponyms as Divine Attributes in the Greco-Roman World. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783111647555/html. ISBN 978-3-11-164755-5. Laes, Christian (2012). "Latin Inscriptions and the Life Course. Regio III (Bruttium and Lucania ) as a Test Case". Arctos. 46: 93–111. Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). Salomies, Olli (2013). "The Nomina of the Samnites. A Checklist". Arctos: Acta Philologica Fennica. 2012 (46): 177. ISSN 0570-734X. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Wilson, Roger J. A. (2023). "A forgotten Roman marble base in the National Museum of Archaeology". Malta Archaeological Review. doi:10.46651/mar.2023.2. External links Wiktionary logo The dictionary definition of Utianus at Wiktionary Category: Roman gentes And for THIS gens? Thanks

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Uziano – Ossia: Grice ed Uziano – Grex griceiana – verbalia: Uziano. The Utiani are a tiny gens, but they contain something that would have delighted both Grice and Speranza: a case where identity itself is a conversational and legal artifact. The obvious hero is:  Gaius Utianus Rufus Latinianus. [GREXv3 | Word]  Why? Because he is simultaneously:  born a Latinius, adopted by an Utianus, becomes Utianus Rufus Latinianus, municipal duumvir, husband of Insteia Polla, honoured with a public funeral and equestrian statue. [GREXv3 | Word]  This is almost Austin before Austin and Grice before Grice. A Roman adoption is not merely a biological event. It is a juridical and conversational transformation. One day:  Marcus Latinius filium habet.  The next day:  Gaius Utianus filium habet.  The physical person is unchanged. The social reality changes. In a Grice-Speranza reconstruction: Magistrate:  In familiam Utianam recipitur. (He is received into the Utian family.)  +> A new social identity comes into existence. This is precisely the sort of thing later philosophers would call an institutional fact.  There is also the remarkable inscription concerning his wife, Insteia Polla. The inscription reports that she came into his household at the age of seven and remained married to him for fifty-five years. After his death she dedicated the monument. [GREXv3 | Word] Now that is not merely epigraphy. It is delayed conversation. The tomb says:  Remember him.  But it also says:  Remember us.  A Roman epitaph frequently has two speakers:  the dead person commemorated, the living dedicator.  In this case the second voice is especially strong.  Even more intriguing is the possible divine connection. Your dossier notes that:  Utianus may be connected with Mefitis Utiana, an epithet of the Oscan goddess Mefitis attested in Lucania. [GREXv3 | Word]  That is unusual. Most of the gentes we have discussed derive from:  places, animals, occupations, personal traits.  Here we may have a name touching the divine sphere. Indeed, if the connection is right, the direction may be:  person ↔ deity  rather than simply:  place ↔ person.  That would have interested Varro enormously. And perhaps Grice too, since it blurs the distinction between proper names and descriptive epithets.  You will also enjoy the small mystery of the tomb decoration mentioned in your source:  a head with three protruding legs accompanied by the letters "SIC." The interpretation remains uncertain; one suggestion is an abbreviation connected with "Sicilia." [GREXv3 | Word]  That immediately evokes a semiotic puzzle. A sign survives. Its interpretive community disappears. We possess:  signum.  But not reliably:  signatum.  Exactly the sort of thing that would frustrate both the grammarian Umbrius Primus and the haruspex Umbricius Melior.  If I were to cast Gaius Utianus Rufus Latinianus into a Grice seminar, it would run: Grice:  "What changed when he was adopted?"  Austin:  "A performative occurred."  Roman jurist:  Nomen mutatum est. (The name was changed.)  Grice:  "Not merely the name."  +> New rights.  +> New obligations. +> New relationships. +> New expectations.  The utterance created a social world. And that takes us back to your beloved Bologna. For the Roman jurists taught there spent centuries analysing precisely such transformations:  man and wife, adopter and adopted, testator and heir, buyer and seller.  The question was always:  What happened because certain words, acts, and intentions were recognised?  Which is not terribly far from Grice's own question:  What happens because one person means something and another recognises that meaning?  Among the obscure gentes, the Utiani therefore give us not a grammarian, not a jurist, not a philosopher, but something perhaps even more Roman: a man whose very identity depended on legal recognition and whose name preserves the memory of that recognition. (Ha.) And do you have one or more examples of words which in latin have the '-utia-' cluster and become in modern Italian '-uzia-? Thanks Yes, although one must be a little careful. The change from Latin -ti- to Italian -zi- is very common, but it is not automatic in every word. One of the characteristic developments of Italian is:  Latin -ti- before a vowel → Italian -zi- (pronounced /ts/ or /dz/ depending on context).  Classic examples are:                                  LatinItalianpatientiapazienzaprudentiaprudenzascientiascienzagratiagraziaplateapiazza (through a more complex development)pretiumprezzo The family resemblance is easy to hear:  patientia → pazienza prudentia → prudenza scientia → scienza  The cluster:  -tia-  becomes something like:  -zia-  or  -za-.  Now your question concerns specifically:  -utia- → ? -uzia-  There are a few examples. Most famous is perhaps:  Latin astutia → Italian astuzia  ("cunning", "craftiness"). This is almost textbook:  astutia → astuzia.  Another good example is:  Latin minutia → Italian minuzia  ("minuteness", "small detail"). And because you have previously discussed Grice's minutae majestatis and crimen minutionis, this one may especially appeal. So we have:                  LatinItalianastutiaastuziaminutiaminuzia These are genuine cases where:  -utia- becomes -uzia-.  Now this brings us intriguingly close to your Utianus. One must not infer an etymology from mere sound resemblance. Still, an Italian ear accustomed to:  astuzia, minuzia,  naturally hears -uzia- where a Latinist sees historical -utia-. A Gricean observation might be that the hearer reconstructs the historical form:  astuzia  +> derives from astutia. The modern Italian surface disguises the older Latin morphology. Indeed, your succession of names:  Utius Utianus Utiana  has a distinctly Italian flavour because the Latin -ti- cluster is precisely one of those places where Italian likes to produce -zi-. One could almost imagine a medieval Bolognese jurist saying:  astutia  while his descendant says:  astuzia.  The jurist is still reading Roman law; the language around him has quietly changed. And since we were discussing Grice's perspicuity, there is a nice parallel. Just as:  speculatio → speculative thought,  preserves the old Latin root spec-, so:  astuzia quietly preserves the older astutia underneath.  The history is no longer immediately visible, but it remains there for the philologist to "see through" (perspicere), which is perhaps exactly what a perspicacious reader does. (Ha.)