My primary research interests lie in Ancient Grammar and Stoic Logic (in the Stoic sense, that is, including what is nowadays called logic, grammar, and rhetoric). For my doctoral thesis, written under the supervision of Jonathan Barnes and defended in May 2007, I edited, translated, and commented on the so-called pars generalis of Apollonius Dyscolus’ treatise On the Pronoun. I am now working on the second half of Apollonius’ opus, the pars specialis. It’ll be a big book, I fear…

Some other recent work of mine:

• 2010. The Birth of Grammar in Greece, in E Bakker, ed., A Companion to the Ancient Greek Language, Oxford: Blackwell
• 2010. Review of O Jungen and H Lohnstein: Geschichte der Grammatiktheorie. Von Dionysios Thrax bis Noam Chomsky, Historiographia Linguistica 37
• 2009. Le De pronomine de Priscien et son modèle grec, in M Baratin, B Colombat, and L Holtz, edd., Priscien, Turnhout: Brepols [Abstract] Priscian’s Ars is generally considered the apogee of Latin grammar. Yet he himself claims to have followed in every respect the authority of Apollonius Dyscolus (Ars 13.24.7; al.). For a proper assessment of Priscian’s place in the history of linguistic thought, it is thus indispensable to clarify the relation between his and Apollonius’ œuvre. Focusing on books 12 and 13, I first present a list of all Apollonian passages translated or paraphrased by Priscian, and discuss one of these in more detail (Ars 13.15.9–28). I then analyze the order of Priscian’s exposition, and compare it with the structure of his Greek model. Finally I give two examples—the notions of figure and of reflexivity—to illustrate how, and why, their theories differ from one another. Thence I conclude that the currently fashionable view of Priscian as a foundational thinker, almost entirely detached from the Greek tradition, is mistaken, and that, on the contrary, he can only be understood against the backdrop of Apollonian grammar.

I’m always happy to receive feedback, so if you read one of my pieces and don’t quite agree—or absolutely do agree—do let me know.