Sull’alternanza vocalica o ~ u nelle epigrafi latine di epoca arcaica

This paper focuses on the graphemic alternation o ~ u (e.g. Cornelio pro Cornelius) occurring in anthroponyms in Latin inscriptions of the Archaic and Early periods. The analysis presented in the paper is based on the data collected in CLaSSES, an epigraphic database specifically designed to elicit information for a systematic analysis of spelling variation in Latin inscriptions. In order to verify whether the distribution of graphemic alternations in the anthroponyms could be associated with sociolinguistic factors, the occurrences of o (alternating with u) have been analyzed with reference to three variables: the status of the person named in the inscription, the provenance place of the epigraph and the dating of the inscription. The results of the analysis show that the reconstruction of the complex sociocultural context in which the inscription has been created, as well as the analysis of specific sociolinguistic factors such as those considered here, may help us explain the distribution of these graphemic alternations.