Funerary epigraphy provides evidence for names, family structures, religion and language. We only know these citizens of Catania because of their tombstones. Catania was a Greek city that became a Roman colony and many of the texts show how language and culture cross over in a multi-lingual environment: the Latin formula Dis Manibus is translated (inscription 25), and abbreviated in imitation of Roman style (inscriptions 26 and 27); Greek texts can use Roman numerals (inscription 26); Latin names are transcribed in Greek (inscriptions 22, 23 and 24). This sort of "interference" provides clues about the development of languages, and choices between them. In Catania many people will still have spoken Greek, but Latin was the higher status public language and this affected their choices.
