More than Names? Challenges and Opportunities for Ancient Named Entity Recognition

Abstract

This paper focuses on the conceptual challenges of Named Entity Recognition and Classification for Ancient Greek and Latin texts. It examines the shifting definitions of ‘name’ and ‘named entity’, their changes over time, the overlaps and differences between them, and shows how their use is often flawed by implicit assumptions on naming mechanisms in language and culture. It then offers examples of ancient place-naming practices that may challenge these assumptions, highlighting the limitations of current vocabularies and standards, and pointing to the need for a domain-specific approach to the problem of Named Entities in ancient languages.