- Office HS319
(SIP Campus-Humanities and Social Sciences Building),
8 Chongwen Road,
Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District,
Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP),
Suzhou (Jiangsu),
P. R. China
215123 - (+86) (0)51281884764
- University of Pisa, Dipartimento di Filologia, Letteratura e Linguistica, Department Memberadd
- Mycenaeology, Mycenaean Greek, Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean Philology, Mycenaean studies, Classical philology, and 40 moreLatin Literature, Greek Literature, Late Antique Latin Poetry, Comparative Literature, Historical Linguistics, Indo-European Linguistics, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, Greek Epigraphy, Roman Epigraphy, Theoretical Linguistics, General linguistics, Transformational and Generative Grammar, Historical Geography, Paleoanthropology, Romance philology, History of Latin Language, Greek Philology, Ancient Greek Medicine, Latin philology, History of Ancient Medicine, Dorians, History of Linguistics, Philology, Ancient Indo-European Languages, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Construction Grammar, Indo-european language reconstruction, Aegean Prehistory, Mycenaean period, LH IIIC Warrior Burials, Indo European Problem, Origins of Greek Language and Culture, History of Medicine, Ancient Greek Literature, Ancient Medicine, Hippocrates, Origins of the Greek Language and Culture, Origins of Linguistic Diversity, Linguistics, and Classicsedit
- Dr Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO, Ph.D. Associate Professor in Linguistics, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJT... moreDr Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Linguistics,
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU),
School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS),
Department of Applied Linguistics (LNG),
Suzhou (Jiangsu),
China
Ph.D. / Doctor of Philosophy
in Historical Linguistics, Greek and Latin Philology and Literature, and Comparative Literature,
Università degli Studi di Pisa (University of Pisa),
Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia (School of Arts and Philosophy),
Dipartimento di Filologia, Letteratura e Linguistica (Department of Philology, Literature, and Linguistics),
Pisa, Italyedit
Nepal, Aaradh, and Francesco Perono Cacciafoco. (2024). Minoan Cryptanalysis: Computational Approaches to Deciphering Linear A and Assessing Its Connections with Language Families from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Areas. In Revesz,... more
Nepal, Aaradh, and Francesco Perono Cacciafoco. (2024). Minoan Cryptanalysis: Computational Approaches to Deciphering Linear A and Assessing Its Connections with Language Families from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Areas. In Revesz, Peter Z. (Ed.). (2024). Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing. Basel: MDPI: 215-227.
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During the Bronze Age, the inhabitants of regions of Crete, mainland Greece, and Cyprus inscribed their languages using, among other scripts, a writing system called Linear A. These symbols, mainly characterized by combinations of lines, have, since their discovery, remained a mystery. Not only is the corpus very small, but it is challenging to link Minoan, the language behind Linear A, to any known language. Most decipherment attempts involve using the phonetic values of Linear B, a grammatological offspring of Linear A, to ‘read’ Linear A. However, this yields meaningless words. Recently, novel approaches to deciphering the script have emerged which involve a computational component. In this paper, two such approaches are combined to account for the biases involved in provisionally assigning Linear B phonetic values to Linear A and to shed more light on the possible connections of Linear A with other scripts and languages from the region. Additionally, the limitations inherent in such approaches are discussed. Firstly, a feature-based similarity measure is used to compare Linear A with the Carian Alphabet and the Cypriot Syllabary. A few Linear A symbols are matched with symbols from the Carian Alphabet and the Cypriot Syllabary. Finally, using the derived phonetic values, Linear A is compared with Ancient Egyptian, Luwian, Hittite, Proto-Celtic, and Uralic using a consonantal approach. Some possible word matches are identified from each language.
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Keywords: Linear A; Minoan; cryptanalysis; computational linguistics; language decipherment
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During the Bronze Age, the inhabitants of regions of Crete, mainland Greece, and Cyprus inscribed their languages using, among other scripts, a writing system called Linear A. These symbols, mainly characterized by combinations of lines, have, since their discovery, remained a mystery. Not only is the corpus very small, but it is challenging to link Minoan, the language behind Linear A, to any known language. Most decipherment attempts involve using the phonetic values of Linear B, a grammatological offspring of Linear A, to ‘read’ Linear A. However, this yields meaningless words. Recently, novel approaches to deciphering the script have emerged which involve a computational component. In this paper, two such approaches are combined to account for the biases involved in provisionally assigning Linear B phonetic values to Linear A and to shed more light on the possible connections of Linear A with other scripts and languages from the region. Additionally, the limitations inherent in such approaches are discussed. Firstly, a feature-based similarity measure is used to compare Linear A with the Carian Alphabet and the Cypriot Syllabary. A few Linear A symbols are matched with symbols from the Carian Alphabet and the Cypriot Syllabary. Finally, using the derived phonetic values, Linear A is compared with Ancient Egyptian, Luwian, Hittite, Proto-Celtic, and Uralic using a consonantal approach. Some possible word matches are identified from each language.
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Keywords: Linear A; Minoan; cryptanalysis; computational linguistics; language decipherment
Research Interests: Information Science, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Writing Systems & Decipherment, and 15 moreEtymology, Computational Linguistics, Applied Cryptography, Cryptography, Computational Linguistics & NLP, Cryptanalysis, Linear B, Aegean Scripts, Linear A, Decipherment of Unknown Languages, Cryptology, Computational Linguistics: Machine Translation, The Minoan Linear A script, Corpora and Computational Linguistics, and Computational Historical Linguistics
The article is focused on the so-called 'proper words' of the English language, very common and widespread terms, like 'boy', 'girl', 'pig', 'bird', 'dog', which, despite their apparent simplicity, have no etymology (or, better, have a... more
The article is focused on the so-called 'proper words' of the English language, very common and widespread terms, like 'boy', 'girl', 'pig', 'bird', 'dog', which, despite their apparent simplicity, have no etymology (or, better, have a very obscure etymology) in the English lexicon. This is due to the fact that we cannot find anymore cognates, for them, i.e., possibly equivalent words, in languages related to English - not being able to develop any historical comparison through the comparative method, therefore, we cannot reconstruct the etymology and, ultimately, the origins of those words, which are called 'proper words' of the English language not because they are 'originally English' (we do not know that), but because, today, apparently belong only to the English lexicon. Those 'proper words' represent a fascinating puzzle of the English language. If we'll be able to discover more about them and their origins, we'll have more chances to better understand and reconstruct the 'forma mentis' of the ancient speakers of the English language, their strategies in giving names to the 'items' of their world, the cognitive aspects behind the related naming processes, their categories of mind, and, ultimately, we'll partly fullfill the dream of every Historical Linguist - to give back their own voice to our ancestors.
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Middle English, Anglo-Saxon Studies, and 15 moreEtymology, English language, Anglo-Saxon Studies (History), English, Comparative Methods, Lexicography, Anglo-Saxon, History of English Language, Old English Language, Old English, History of the English Language, Anglo-Saxons, Naming, Anglo-Saxon England, and Language Reconstruction
The article derives from a long-running Research Project (in the past years at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and, now, at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China) I am conducting, aimed at 'returning' the missing... more
The article derives from a long-running Research Project (in the past years at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and, now, at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China) I am conducting, aimed at 'returning' the missing text of the Singapore Stone, a monument (possibly dating back to the 10th - 13th centuries), a sandstone slab originally located at the mouth of the Singapore River, which was blown up by the British in 1843. Only 3 fragments survived. They were sent to Calcutta, to be studied. In 1918, only 1 fragment was returned to the Lion City (the actual 'Singapore Stone', preserved at the local National Museum). The epigraph is unique, because its writing system, still undeciphered, is not attested anywhere else in the world and is not compatible with any other script currently discovered. This is one of the most impenetrable puzzles in contemporary Crypto-linguistics and Historical Linguistics. The 'fate' of the 2 missing fragments, which were not returned from Calcutta, is an enigma too. My Research Team and I are developing a 'machine' which is able to 'read' and 'learn' the surviving symbols of the extant fragment and the characters from the reproductions of the whole monument and other (now lost) pieces and to 'guess' the possible missing text, to 'recover' the 50/52 lines of the original inscription. If this will happen, we'll have more elements to try to understand what kind of writing system is the stone's script and to perform more comparisons, frequency analyses, and pattern recognitions, which could lead to a possible decipherment.
Research Interests: Philology, Artificial Intelligence, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Southeast Asian Studies, Historical Linguistics, and 15 moreWriting Systems & Decipherment, Etymology, Grammatology, Archaeological Decipherment, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, History of Reading and Writing, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Digital epigraphy, History of Writing Systems, Epigraphy, Decipherment of Unknown Languages, and Singapore Literature
Wu, Shiyue; Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco (2024), “Abui Botanical Dataset: Healing Plants”, Mendeley Data, V1, doi: 10.17632/mg2vrdvvth.1 This dataset collects a systematic and comprehensive list of phytonyms from the Abui language.... more
Wu, Shiyue; Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco (2024), “Abui Botanical Dataset: Healing Plants”, Mendeley Data, V1, doi: 10.17632/mg2vrdvvth.1
This dataset collects a systematic and comprehensive list of phytonyms from the Abui language. Abui is a Papuan endangered language spoken in the central territories of Alor Island (Alor-Pantar Archipelago, Southeast Indonesia, Timor area). In particular, our lexical list provides names of medicinal plants (or common plants used also for medical purposes) that have a profound cultural valency. The related plants are used not only for the treatment of wounds and diseases, but are also attested in local myths, legends, and oral traditions.
The lexical list includes:
1) the English phytonyms, with the related scientific names in binomial nomenclature. Scientific denominations were recorded when we were able to confirm and validate the identifications of the plants (English name, Abui name, specimen, botanical features, taxonomy);
2) the plant names in Abui, collected from the native speakers and validated with our consultants and a large body of volunteers from the Abui communities. In very few cases, we postulate a possible reconstructed proto-form in the Proto-Alor-Pantar proto-language;
3) a brief description of the medicinal properties of the plants according to the traditional Abui knowledge;
4) short notes on the relevance of the plants in the culture and society of the Abui people.
Data was collected over several Language Documentation fieldworks conducted between 2015 and 2022 in Alor Island, Abui territory, prevalently in the villages of Takpala and Takalelang.
This dataset collects a systematic and comprehensive list of phytonyms from the Abui language. Abui is a Papuan endangered language spoken in the central territories of Alor Island (Alor-Pantar Archipelago, Southeast Indonesia, Timor area). In particular, our lexical list provides names of medicinal plants (or common plants used also for medical purposes) that have a profound cultural valency. The related plants are used not only for the treatment of wounds and diseases, but are also attested in local myths, legends, and oral traditions.
The lexical list includes:
1) the English phytonyms, with the related scientific names in binomial nomenclature. Scientific denominations were recorded when we were able to confirm and validate the identifications of the plants (English name, Abui name, specimen, botanical features, taxonomy);
2) the plant names in Abui, collected from the native speakers and validated with our consultants and a large body of volunteers from the Abui communities. In very few cases, we postulate a possible reconstructed proto-form in the Proto-Alor-Pantar proto-language;
3) a brief description of the medicinal properties of the plants according to the traditional Abui knowledge;
4) short notes on the relevance of the plants in the culture and society of the Abui people.
Data was collected over several Language Documentation fieldworks conducted between 2015 and 2022 in Alor Island, Abui territory, prevalently in the villages of Takpala and Takalelang.
Research Interests: Botany, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Ethnobotany, and 14 moreHistory of Medicine, Indonesian Studies, Language Documentation, Medical Humanities, Indonesia, Lexicography, Fieldwork in linguistics, Descriptive Linguistics, Language Documentation, Indigenous Languages, Sociolinguistics, Field Linguistics, Language Description, Ethnobotany, Ethnobiology, Ethnoecology, Historical ethnobotany, Language Reconstruction, Field linguistics, and Health Humanities
This paper provides comprehensive and systematized lists of names of ‘moko’ drums from Alor Island, in Southeast Indonesia. ‘Moko’ drums are unique cultural objects from the Alor-Pantar Archipelago and, besides their ancient function of... more
This paper provides comprehensive and systematized lists of names of ‘moko’ drums from Alor Island, in Southeast Indonesia. ‘Moko’ drums are unique cultural objects from the Alor-Pantar Archipelago and, besides their ancient function of ritual instruments used mainly for religious purposes and in public events by the indigenous peoples of the islands, they represented and still are considered a very valuable local ‘currency’ for trade and for specific social interactions rooted in aboriginal culture, like bride price negotiations. Despite the fact that they are extremely popular and widespread among Papuan peoples in Alor and Pantar, the origins of these drums are still relatively obscure. The native speakers, indeed, cannot explain the name ‘moko’ in itself, at the etymological and semantic level, and, despite the fact that they agree upon non-local origins of the instruments, they do not know where the instruments themselves were produced and from where they came to the islands. Our paper provides the readers with comprehensive lists that systematically collect the names of the drums, with the related glosses and basic additional information, from three representative Papuan languages of Alor Island, namely Abui, Sawila, and Kula. Configured as potentially indispensable tools to develop further research, these lists enhance our knowledge and understanding of the culture of the ‘moko’ drums in the Alor-Pantar Archipelago, at the linguistic (etymology of the names), anthropological (social value of the drums), and archeological (typology and provenance of the instruments) levels. This cataloguing operation is also part of the effort of documentation of the languages and cultures, still scarcely documented and definitely endangered, of the native peoples of the Alor-Pantar Archipelago.
Keywords: ‘Moko’ kettle-drums; Alor-Pantar Archipelago; Papuan Indigenous Cultures; Abui, Sawila, and Kula; Language Documentation
Keywords: ‘Moko’ kettle-drums; Alor-Pantar Archipelago; Papuan Indigenous Cultures; Abui, Sawila, and Kula; Language Documentation
Research Interests: Anthropological Linguistics, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Etymology, and 15 moreLinguistic Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Language Documentation, Endangered Languages, Indonesia, Lexicography, Fieldwork in linguistics, Papuan linguistics, Cultural Anthropology, Language Description, Cultural and Social Anthropology, Language Documentation and Description, Alor-Pantar languages, Field linguistics, and Documentation of endangered culture and language
The spread of the alphabet in Italy occurred between the 7th and the 6th centuries BC, resulting in the appearance of texts written in so many different languages and in such limited territorial space that one can hardly observe another... more
The spread of the alphabet in Italy occurred between the 7th and the 6th centuries BC, resulting in the appearance of texts written in so many different languages and in such limited territorial space that one can hardly observe another similar event (Venetic, Raetic, Etruscan, Picenian, Faliscan, Latin, Umbrian, Oscan, Greek, etc.). In this paper, we analyzed inscriptions produced by the Veneti, the ancient inhabitants of a region located between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps, which has provided mainly short sepulchral and votive texts. After a careful analysis, some so far poorly understood texts revealed the development of symbols to represent numbers and the measurement of time. These features are connected with the experience of the Etruscans and show characteristics shared with neighboring Celtic populations. The inscriptions also highlight a focus on the supernatural and the underworld. Cultural influences from the east, especially from Egypt, which represent a prominent moment in the evolution of Greece in the 7th century BC, have left traces in figurative culture and, quite unexpectedly, even in language. Rigorous transliterations and original interpretations of the analyzed inscriptions support the proposed results.
Keywords: Venetic; base-twenty numbering system; Iron Age Italy; ansores; ekupetaris; iorobos
Keywords: Venetic; base-twenty numbering system; Iron Age Italy; ansores; ekupetaris; iorobos
Research Interests: Philology, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Indo-european language reconstruction, and 15 moreEtymology, Ancient Indo-European Languages, Indo-European Studies, Paleography, Pre-Roman Alphabets of Ancient Italy, Venetic, Archaeology of pre-Roman Italy, Indo-European Linguistics, Proto Indo-European, Numbers, Iron Age, Epigraphy, Indo-European, Pre-Roman Italy, and Venetic Inscriptions
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Research Interests:
During the Bronze Age, the inhabitants of regions of Crete, mainland Greece, and Cyprus inscribed their languages using, among other scripts, a writing system called Linear A. These symbols, mainly characterized by combinations of lines,... more
During the Bronze Age, the inhabitants of regions of Crete, mainland Greece, and Cyprus inscribed their languages using, among other scripts, a writing system called Linear A. These symbols, mainly characterized by combinations of lines, have, since their discovery, remained a mystery. Not only is the corpus very small, but it is challenging to link Minoan, the language behind Linear A, to any known language. Most decipherment attempts involve using the phonetic values of Linear B, a grammatological offspring of Linear A, to ‘read’ Linear A. However, this yields meaningless words. Recently, novel approaches to deciphering the script have emerged which involve a computational component. In this paper, two such approaches are combined to account for the biases involved in provisionally assigning Linear B phonetic values to Linear A and to shed more light on the possible connections of Linear A with other scripts and languages from the region. Additionally, the limitations inherent in such approaches are discussed. Firstly, a feature-based similarity measure is used to compare Linear A with the Carian Alphabet and the Cypriot Syllabary. A few Linear A symbols are matched with symbols from the Carian Alphabet and the Cypriot Syllabary. Finally, using the derived phonetic values, Linear A is compared with Ancient Egyptian, Luwian, Hittite, Proto-Celtic, and Uralic using a consonantal approach. Some possible word matches are identified from each language.
Keywords: Linear A; Minoan; cryptanalysis; computational linguistics; language decipherment
Keywords: Linear A; Minoan; cryptanalysis; computational linguistics; language decipherment
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Writing Systems & Decipherment, Computational Linguistics, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), and 15 morePython, Aegean Archaeology, Minoan Archaeology, Minoan Civilisation, Aegean Late Bronze Age, Aegean Bronze Age, Cryptanalysis, Linear B, Aegean Scripts, Linear A, History of Writing Systems, Cryptology, Minoan Crete, The Minoan Linear A script, and Programming in Python
Wu, Shiyue, and Francesco Perono Cacciafoco. 2024. Understanding through the Numbers: Number Systems, Their Evolution, and Their Perception among Kula People from Alor Island, Southeastern Indonesia, Humans, 4, 1: 34-49. DOI:... more
Wu, Shiyue, and Francesco Perono Cacciafoco. 2024. Understanding through the Numbers: Number Systems, Their Evolution, and Their Perception among Kula People from Alor Island, Southeastern Indonesia, Humans, 4, 1: 34-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/humans4010003
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This paper aims at documenting and reconstructing the linguistic processes generating and substantiating the use of number systems, numbers in general, elementary arithmetic, and the related concepts and notions among the Kula people from Alor Island, Southeastern Indonesia. The Kula is a Papuan population from the Alor–Pantar Archipelago (Timor area). The name of their language, Kula (or Kola), corresponds to the ethnonym. The language is, currently, endangered and not completely documented. At the level of linguistic features, numeral systems and the terms for numerals from Eastern Alor exhibit, to some extent, unique characteristics, if compared to other languages spoken in other sectors of the island. Therefore, the Kula numbering system is not only significant at the lexicological and lexicographic level, but also represents the essential role of cognitive strategies (e.g., the choice of the base for the numbering systems and the visual representation of counting with the aid of actual ‘objects’, like hands and fingers) in the coinage of numerical terms among the local speakers. Indeed, the development of numeral systems reflects the evolution of human language and the ability of humans to construct abstract numerical concepts. The way numerals are encoded and expressed in a language can impact the patterns according to which numerical notions are conceptualized and understood. Different numeral systems can indicate variations in cognitive processes involving notions of quantities and measurements. Therefore, the structure and characteristics of a numeral system may affect how numeral concepts are mentally represented and developed. This paper focuses on the number system of the Kula people and the lexical units used by the local speakers to indicate (and to explain) the numbers, with the related concepts, notions, and symbolism. The investigation delves into the degrees of abstraction of the Kula numeral system and tries to ascertain its origins and reconstruct it. Moreover, the article applies to the analysis a comparative approach, which takes into account several Papuan and Austronesian languages from Alor Island and Eastern Timor, with the dual aim of investigating, at a preliminary level, a possible common evolution and/or divergent naming processes in local numbering systems and their historical–linguistic and etymological origins.
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Keywords: anthropological linguistics; language documentation; numbering systems; Kula language (Lantoka/Lamtoka-Tanglapui); Alor Island
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This paper aims at documenting and reconstructing the linguistic processes generating and substantiating the use of number systems, numbers in general, elementary arithmetic, and the related concepts and notions among the Kula people from Alor Island, Southeastern Indonesia. The Kula is a Papuan population from the Alor–Pantar Archipelago (Timor area). The name of their language, Kula (or Kola), corresponds to the ethnonym. The language is, currently, endangered and not completely documented. At the level of linguistic features, numeral systems and the terms for numerals from Eastern Alor exhibit, to some extent, unique characteristics, if compared to other languages spoken in other sectors of the island. Therefore, the Kula numbering system is not only significant at the lexicological and lexicographic level, but also represents the essential role of cognitive strategies (e.g., the choice of the base for the numbering systems and the visual representation of counting with the aid of actual ‘objects’, like hands and fingers) in the coinage of numerical terms among the local speakers. Indeed, the development of numeral systems reflects the evolution of human language and the ability of humans to construct abstract numerical concepts. The way numerals are encoded and expressed in a language can impact the patterns according to which numerical notions are conceptualized and understood. Different numeral systems can indicate variations in cognitive processes involving notions of quantities and measurements. Therefore, the structure and characteristics of a numeral system may affect how numeral concepts are mentally represented and developed. This paper focuses on the number system of the Kula people and the lexical units used by the local speakers to indicate (and to explain) the numbers, with the related concepts, notions, and symbolism. The investigation delves into the degrees of abstraction of the Kula numeral system and tries to ascertain its origins and reconstruct it. Moreover, the article applies to the analysis a comparative approach, which takes into account several Papuan and Austronesian languages from Alor Island and Eastern Timor, with the dual aim of investigating, at a preliminary level, a possible common evolution and/or divergent naming processes in local numbering systems and their historical–linguistic and etymological origins.
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Keywords: anthropological linguistics; language documentation; numbering systems; Kula language (Lantoka/Lamtoka-Tanglapui); Alor Island
Research Interests: Anthropological Linguistics, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Linguistic Anthropology, and 15 moreLanguage Documentation, Austronesian Languages, Indonesia, Cognitive Linguistics, Fieldwork in linguistics, Papuan linguistics, Cultural Anthropology, Numbers, Timor-Leste, Papuan Languages, Austronesian linguistics, Language Description, Language Documentation and Description, Alor-Pantar languages, and Field linguistics
Wu, Shiyue; Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco (2023), “Name list of 'Moko' drums in Abui, Sawila, and Kula”, Mendeley Data, V1, doi: 10.17632/zwkbykdbrv.1 This data set includes: the original names of the different types of ‘moko’ drums from... more
Wu, Shiyue; Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco (2023), “Name list of 'Moko' drums in Abui, Sawila, and Kula”, Mendeley Data, V1, doi: 10.17632/zwkbykdbrv.1
This data set includes:
the original names of the different types of ‘moko’ drums from three ethnic groups in Alor Island, i.e., Abui, Sawila, and Kula, highly representative of the mutual diversity and consistency of the culture in the island (Abui from Central Alor and Sawila and Kula from Eastern Alor);
the related glosses, name by name, with very synthetic notes (where available) on the possible etymology and lexical interpretation.
This data set includes:
the original names of the different types of ‘moko’ drums from three ethnic groups in Alor Island, i.e., Abui, Sawila, and Kula, highly representative of the mutual diversity and consistency of the culture in the island (Abui from Central Alor and Sawila and Kula from Eastern Alor);
the related glosses, name by name, with very synthetic notes (where available) on the possible etymology and lexical interpretation.
Research Interests:
Some geographic regions in the world are dense of diachronic linguistic overlapping, making the etymological analysis of their place names complex. In this paper, we selected two villages from the mountains of Northeastern Italy, Velo... more
Some geographic regions in the world are dense of diachronic linguistic overlapping, making the etymological analysis of their place names complex. In this paper, we selected two villages from the mountains of Northeastern Italy, Velo d'Astico and Arsiero, located in an Alpine border area, as elements of a case study inherent in the naming process connected with the interactions of the local inhabitants with their territory. The Alps, a quite wide area of Europe, attracted human groups with different genetic and linguistic origins at least since the Neolithic and, probably, already from the Mesolithic. After providing a set of possible etymological solutions for the two place names, we introduce an explanation linked to archaic religion and ancestral cults in the specific border area, a territory where the transition (at the level of movements of population and of naming processes) is both an opportunity and a source of instability.
Key words: Indo-European Toponyms, Hillforts, Alps, Mines, Hydronyms, Ancient Religion, Veneto, Arsia, Artumes, Border Areas
Key words: Indo-European Toponyms, Hillforts, Alps, Mines, Hydronyms, Ancient Religion, Veneto, Arsia, Artumes, Border Areas
Research Interests: Geography, Human Geography, Historical Geography, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, and 15 moreHistorical Linguistics, Etymology, Toponomastics, Ancient Indo-European Languages, Ancient Religion, Indo-European Linguistics, Proto Indo-European, Toponymy, Language contact, Topography, Indo-European Etymology, Settlement Dynamics, Hydronymy, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, and History of the Alps
The origins of language have long been a subject of debate and speculation. Although hypotheses of how language might have originated have been formed, these hypotheses are outdated at best and no attempts have been made to improve on... more
The origins of language have long been a subject of debate and speculation. Although hypotheses of how language might have originated have been formed, these hypotheses are outdated at best and no attempts have been made to improve on these theories or to formulate new ones. This study hence aims to devise a new theory discussing the origins of language by taking into account the shortcomings of existing theories and resolving these to form a new, more comprehensive theory. The new theory is structured as a process which, rather than only suggesting a single point from which language might have originated, focuses on detailing the entire process from language origin to present day modern language. This study also aims to provide evidence to substantiate the validity of the theory through reviews of existing research and analysis of documented proto-languages such as Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and Proto-Austronesian (PAN). Several areas of research that may provide further support for the theory will also be suggested. As such, this study will demonstrate that the issue of language origin does not have to be speculative in nature and can be based on tangible evidence such as hominin anatomy, genetics, documented proto-languages, and even modern languages.
Key words: Language Evolution, Language Theories, Human Language
Key words: Language Evolution, Language Theories, Human Language
Research Interests: Languages, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Languages and Linguistics, Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, and 15 moreEtymology, Ancient Indo-European Languages, Indo-European Studies, Language Evolution, Lexicography, Theoretical Linguistics, Philosophy of Language (Humanities), Language evolution and development, Indo-European Linguistics, Proto Indo-European, Evolution of Language, Origins of Language, Austronesian linguistics, Indo-European, and Origins and evolution of language
The representations of women in ancient Tamil literature are multifarious, and the development of such perceptions is a non-linear process. While existing studies provide extensive analyses of ancient literary works, it is still unclear... more
The representations of women in ancient Tamil literature are multifarious, and the development of such perceptions is a non-linear process. While existing studies provide extensive analyses of ancient literary works, it is still unclear how the perceptions of women eventually shaped a specific rubric for modern Tamil women to follow. Ancient Tamil literature characterises the feminine identity as a constantly evolving entity, not restricted to or encapsulated by any particular archetype or trait. In order to truly understand the role of the different portrayals of women in literature in eventually forming a “Tamil” identity, it is vital to unearth the multi-faceted intentions and motivations of writers who authored esteemed literary works, such as the Tolkāppiyam. The “Tamil” identity (or the norms one accepts and adheres to in order to qualify or identify as “Tamil”) has deep roots in ancient Tamil literature. Tamil Literature was not only pregnant with meaning to Tamils back then but also now, with effects proliferating within modern Tamil society in ways more than one, especially in the social and psychological domains.
Key words: historical semantics, Tamil, ancient Tamil literature
Key words: historical semantics, Tamil, ancient Tamil literature
Research Interests: Philology, Gender Studies, Women's Studies, Literature, Indian studies, and 15 morePoetry, Gender, Tamil Literature, Women, History of Tamil Language, Tamil, Indian Literature, Dravidian Linguistics, Woman, Woman Studies, Historical Semantics, Tamil culture and literature, Ancient Literature, Tamil Poetry, and Dravidian Languages
Some geographic regions in the world are dense of diachronic linguistic overlapping. The etymological analysis of their place names is, consequently, complex. In this paper, we selected two villages from the mountains of Northeastern... more
Some geographic regions in the world are dense of diachronic linguistic overlapping. The etymological analysis of their place names is, consequently, complex. In this paper, we selected two villages from the mountains of Northeastern Italy, Velo d'Astico and Arsiero, located in an Alpine border area, as elements of a case study inherent in the naming process connected with the interactions of the local inhabitants with their territory. The Alps, a quite wide area of Europe, attracted human groups with different genetic and linguistic origins at least since the Neolithic and, probably, already from the Mesolithic. After providing a set of possible etymological solutions for the two place names, we introduce an explanation linked to archaic religion and ancestral cults in the specific border area, a territory where the transition (at the level of movements of population and of naming processes) is both an opportunity and a source of instability.
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Tocharian loans, shared features, and odd sound changes. I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean... more
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Tocharian loans, shared features, and odd sound changes. I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating them and to discuss about them with other potentially interested scholars. I also open the paper for discussion, here, on academia.edu. DISCLAIMER. I am NOT (at all) the Author of this file and its contents, Sean Whalen is the Author. I have, therefore, NO intellectual property / ownership on the file and its contents, Sean Whalen owns the intellectual property / ownership. I had NO part in writing and developing these contents, at any time. They DO NOT reflect my theoretical positions and ideas. I just post the file on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating his thoughts on Tocharian loans, shared features, and odd sound changes and to start a possibly fruitful, and surely interesting, discussion. I agree and I do not agree at the same time with Sean's theoretical positions, methods, and approaches, in the meaning that I suspend my judgement, I keep neutral, and I keep an open-mind on his assertions and statements. This is a sample / summary of Sean Whalen's work (which is exclusively his) on Tocharian loans, shared features, and odd sound changes and is NOT connected in any way with my work. However, some of Sean's possible findings are very interesting, show to have potential, and can be productively discussed by the academic community, therefore I think it is healthy, for the academic community itself, to be enabled to read them in a synthesis / summary and to develop a debate on them. I DO NOT have time to participate in the discussion, unfortunately, therefore I leave it open for Sean and for anyone who wants to comment on the file and its contents and/or ask questions and/or ask for clarifications the Author of the file. As a general norm, I'll NOT participate in the discussion and I'll NOT comment on it, but I'll read it with interest, if I'll have time. For more direct contacts with the Author, Sean's e-mail address is stlatos@yahoo.com. As an additional note, I have NOT direct links to Sean Whalen, apart from exchanges of e-mails on Etymology and Language Deciphering. I find, nonetheless, that his ideas can be positively discussed, in the hope that they can lead to some interesting and, perhaps, unexpected findings. Thank you, and happy reading!
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Indo-european language reconstruction, Etymology, and 15 moreAncient Indo-European Languages, Indo-European Studies, Tocharian, Indo-European Linguistics, Proto Indo-European, Lexical and Grammatical Borrowing, Historical-Comparative Linguistics, Sound change, Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European reconstruction, Language Reconstruction, Loanwords, Proto-Language Reconstruction, Tarim Basin, and Lexical Borrowings
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Indo-Iranian Nasal 'Sonorants' (r > n, y > ñ, w > m). I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean... more
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Indo-Iranian Nasal 'Sonorants' (r > n, y > ñ, w > m). I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating them and to discuss about them with other potentially interested scholars. I also open the paper for discussion, here, on academia.edu. DISCLAIMER. I am NOT (at all) the Author of this file and its contents, Sean Whalen is the Author. I have, therefore, NO intellectual property / ownership on the file and its contents, Sean Whalen owns the intellectual property / ownership. I had NO part in writing and developing these contents, at any time. They DO NOT reflect my theoretical positions and ideas. I just post the file on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating his thoughts on Indo-Iranian nasal 'sonorants' and to start a possibly fruitful, and surely interesting, discussion. I agree and I do not agree at the same time with Sean's theoretical positions, methods, and approaches, in the meaning that I suspend my judgement, I keep neutral, and I keep an open-mind on his assertions and statements. This is a sample / summary of Sean Whalen's work (which is exclusively his) on Indo-Iranian nasal 'sonorants' and is NOT connected in any way with my work. However, some of Sean's possible findings are very interesting, show to have potential, and can be productively discussed by the academic community, therefore I think it is healthy, for the academic community itself, to be enabled to read them in a synthesis / summary and to develop a debate on them. I DO NOT have time to participate in the discussion, unfortunately, therefore I leave it open for Sean and for anyone who wants to comment on the file and its contents and/or ask questions and/or ask for clarifications the Author of the file. As a general norm, I'll NOT participate in the discussion and I'll NOT comment on it, but I'll read it with interest, if I'll have time. For more direct contacts with the Author, Sean's e-mail address is stlatos@yahoo.com. As an additional note, I have NOT direct links to Sean Whalen, apart from exchanges of e-mails on Etymology and Language Deciphering. I find, nonetheless, that his ideas can be positively discussed, in the hope that they can lead to some interesting and, perhaps, unexpected findings. Thank you, and happy reading!
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Indo-european language reconstruction, Etymology, Ancient Indo-European Languages, and 15 moreIranian Studies, Indo-European Studies, Persian Language, Old Avestan, Avestan (Languages And Linguistics), Indo-Iranian Linguistics, Indo-Iranian Languages, Indo-European Linguistics, Proto Indo-European, Iranian Languages, Indo-European, Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Nasalization, Nasal Vowels, and Consonants
The Singapore Stone was a large monolith present at the mouth of the Singapore River, clad with a faded inscription that was a point of interest for local and foreign antiquarians and other enthusiasts, as no person—native or... more
The Singapore Stone was a large monolith present at the mouth of the Singapore River, clad with a faded inscription that was a point of interest for local and foreign antiquarians and other enthusiasts, as no person—native or otherwise—could decipher the meaning of its tongue. Tragically, the stone was blasted in 1848 by East India Company engineers as part of works to widen the mouth of the river. Only four fragments were saved; these were sent to Calcutta’s Asiatic Society of Bengal and later placed in the custody of the Indian Museum. Today, only one fragment remains, which was returned to Singapore in 1919 and at present is displayed in the National Museum of Singapore. Over the past century and a half, there has been great interest in the fate of the lost fragments and in the mysterious inscription that the fragments hold. There have been various attempts at deciphering the Stone, with a variety of suggested interpretations and languages. This research paper compiles and documents both the physical journey of the fragments and the various attempts at deciphering them, aiming to comprehensively detail the Stone’s origins and journey from its erection to its present residence while providing an analysis of the past attempts at decipherment and the future of this effort.
Keywords: Kawi; Sanskrit; Stone Inscription; Stone Fragments; Epigraphical Analysis; Southeast Asian Archaeology; National Museum of Singapore; Indian Museum; Asiatic Society of Bengal
Keywords: Kawi; Sanskrit; Stone Inscription; Stone Fragments; Epigraphical Analysis; Southeast Asian Archaeology; National Museum of Singapore; Indian Museum; Asiatic Society of Bengal
Research Interests: History, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Southeast Asian Studies, Historical Linguistics, Writing Systems & Decipherment, and 15 moreEpigraphy (Archaeology), Archaeological Decipherment, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Sanskrit, Singapore, Southeast Asian Archaeology, Southeast Asian history, Malaysian Studies, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Epigraphy, Sejarah Malaysia, Malaysian history, and Singapore History Before Raffles
The Singapore Stone, discovered in 1819, was blown up in 1843 and remains an enigma today. Several studies have suggested the script to be Kawi, a Brahmic script used between the 8th and 16th centuries in Java and other parts of Southeast... more
The Singapore Stone, discovered in 1819, was blown up in 1843 and remains an enigma today. Several studies have suggested the script to be Kawi, a Brahmic script used between the 8th and 16th centuries in Java and other parts of Southeast Asia. The language remains unknown but is thought to be Old Javanese, Sanskrit, or Tamil. There is great historical value in finding out what the script says, and it is the aim of this project to offer deeper insight into this undeciphered inscription. In this paper, an in-depth comparison of the Singapore Stone with the Calcutta Stone (1041 CE), a prominent example of a Later Kawi inscription, is performed. Brief comparisons of the Singapore Stone with other inscriptions are also conducted. Numerous characters on the Singapore Stone are matched to those on the Calcutta Stone. However, the Singapore Stone appears to have a much lower frequency of diacritics and clusters. Such a phenomenon is anomalous and could have hindered decryption efforts thus far. Nonetheless, an identification and comparison of such character signs are attempted. Overall, the two inscriptions are shown to share many stylistic similarities, suggesting that the Singapore Stone could be dated to the Later Kawi period.
Keywords: Singapore; Singapore Stone; Inscription; Kawi; Calcutta Stone; Linguistics; Decipherment
Keywords: Singapore; Singapore Stone; Inscription; Kawi; Calcutta Stone; Linguistics; Decipherment
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Writing Systems & Decipherment, South-East Asia, Archaeological Decipherment, and 15 moreMalaysia, South East Asian Archaeology, Singapore, History of Reading and Writing, Malaysian Studies, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, History of Writing Systems, Epigraphy, Inscriptions, Decipherment of Unknown Languages, South East Asian Studies, Sejarah Malaysia, Malaysian history, and Majapahit Studies
Also when most of the population was illiterate it was possible to comunicate with symbols. The preferred argument was about fears, and one was ubiquitous in the Middle Ages. .... At the entrance of some churches in Tuscany (Italy),... more
Also when most of the population was illiterate it was possible to comunicate with symbols. The preferred argument was about fears, and one was ubiquitous in the Middle Ages. ....
At the entrance of some churches in Tuscany (Italy), the reproduction of an apparently undecipherable inscription can be found. At least from the 18th century, this epigraphic puzzle has originated a debate on its interpretation. This study proposes a hypothesis based on the Latin alphabet used in texts contemporary to the churches where the inscription is reproduced and a possible interpretation of the message consistent with the official religious doctrine. The proposed deciphering is extended to the full text, including some signs that were previously considered as geometric forms or a specific elaboration of letters not attested in other contemporary documents.
At the entrance of some churches in Tuscany (Italy), the reproduction of an apparently undecipherable inscription can be found. At least from the 18th century, this epigraphic puzzle has originated a debate on its interpretation. This study proposes a hypothesis based on the Latin alphabet used in texts contemporary to the churches where the inscription is reproduced and a possible interpretation of the message consistent with the official religious doctrine. The proposed deciphering is extended to the full text, including some signs that were previously considered as geometric forms or a specific elaboration of letters not attested in other contemporary documents.
Research Interests: Historical Linguistics, Medieval History, Writing Systems & Decipherment, Epigraphy (Archaeology), Grammatology, and 15 moreGreek Epigraphy, History of Reading and Writing, Latin Epigraphy, Writing Systems (Languages And Linguistics), Roman Epigraphy, Writing systems, Undeciphered Writing Systems, Medieval Epigraphy, Ancient Greek Epigraphy, Greek and Latin Epigraphy, Cryptanalysis, Greek and Roman Epigraphy, History of Writing Systems, Epigraphy, and Histories
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Vedic words, grammar, myths, and related features in Indo-European. I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help... more
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Vedic words, grammar, myths, and related features in Indo-European. I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating them and to discuss about them with other potentially interested scholars. I also open the paper for discussion, here, on academia.edu. DISCLAIMER. I am NOT (at all) the Author of this file and its contents, Sean Whalen is the Author. I have, therefore, NO intellectual property / ownership on the file and its contents, Sean Whalen owns the intellectual property / ownership. I had NO part in writing and developing these contents, at any time. They DO NOT reflect my theoretical positions and ideas. I just post the file on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating his thoughts on Vedic culture and to start a possibly fruitful, and surely interesting, discussion. I agree and I do not agree at the same time with Sean's theoretical positions, methods, and approaches, in the meaning that I suspend my judgement, I keep neutral, and I keep an open-mind on his assertions and statements. This is a sample / summary of Sean Whalen's work (which is exclusively his) on Vedic culture and is NOT connected in any way with my work. However, some of Sean's possible findings are very interesting, show to have potential, and can be productively discussed by the academic community, therefore I think it is healthy, for the academic community itself, to be enabled to read them in a synthesis / summary and to develop a debate on them. I DO NOT have time to participate in the discussion, unfortunately, therefore I leave it open for Sean and for anyone who wants to comment on the file and its contents and/or ask questions and/or ask for clarifications the Author of the file. As a general norm, I'll NOT participate in the discussion and I'll NOT comment on it, but I'll read it with interest, if I'll have time. For more direct contacts with the Author, Sean's e-mail address is stlatos@yahoo.com. As an additional note, I have NOT direct links to Sean Whalen, apart from exchanges of e-mails on Etymology and Language Deciphering. I find, nonetheless, that his ideas can be positively discussed, in the hope that they can lead to some interesting and, perhaps, unexpected findings. Thank you very much, and happy reading!
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Ancient Indo-European Languages, and 15 moreSanskrit language and literature, Vedic Grammar and Literature, Vedic Language and Classical Sanskrit, Sanskrit, Vedic Sanskrit, Proto Indo-European, Vedic Philosophy, Religious Studies, Sanskrit Grammar and Linguistics, Rigveda, Grammar, Indo-European, Vedic Studies, Vedic religion, and Vedic Literature and Culture
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Tocharian. I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating them and to discuss about them with... more
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Tocharian. I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating them and to discuss about them with other potentially interested scholars. I also open the paper for discussion, here, on academia.edu. DISCLAIMER. I am NOT (at all) the Author of this file and its contents, Sean Whalen is the Author. I have, therefore, NO intellectual property / ownership on the file and its contents, Sean Whalen owns the intellectual property / ownership. I had NO part in writing and developing these contents, at any time. They DO NOT reflect my theoretical positions and ideas. I just post the file on my academia.edu profile to help Sean disseminating his thoughts on Tocharian and to start a possibly fruitful, and surely interesting, discussion. I agree and I do not agree at the same time with Sean's theoretical positions, methods, and approaches, in the meaning that I suspend my judgement, I keep neutral, and I keep an open-mind on his assertions and statements. This is a sample / summary of Sean Whalen's work (which is exclusively his) on Tocharian and is NOT connected in any way with my work. However, some of Sean's possible findings are very interesting, show to have potential, and can be productively discussed by the academic community, therefore I think it is healthy, for the academic community itself, to be enabled to read them in a synthesis / summary and to develop a debate on them. I DO NOT have time to participate in the discussion, unfortunately, therefore I leave it open for Sean and for anyone who wants to comment on the file and its contents and/or ask questions and/or ask for clarifications the Author of the file. As a general norm, I'll NOT participate in the discussion and I'll NOT comment on it, but I'll read it with interest, if I'll have time. For more direct contacts with the Author, Sean's e-mail address is stlatos@yahoo.com. As an additional note, I have NOT direct links to Sean Whalen, apart from exchanges of e-mails on Etymology and Language Deciphering. I find, nonetheless, that his ideas can be positively discussed, in the hope that they can lead to some interesting and, perhaps, unexpected findings. Thank you very much, and happy reading!
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Indo-european language reconstruction, Etymology, and 15 moreAncient Indo-European Languages, Indo-European Studies, Tocharian, Lexicography, Language Variation, Indo-European Linguistics, Language Change, Proto Indo-European, Language contact, Language and Etymology, Language Description, Indo-European, Historical-Comparative Linguistics, Indo-European Etymology, and Tarim Basin
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Cretan writing systems (eminently on Linear B). I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean to disseminate... more
Here is a file, by Sean Whalen, summarizing his (unpublished) ideas, theories, discoveries, hypotheses, and findings on Cretan writing systems (eminently on Linear B). I publish it on my academia.edu profile to help Sean to disseminate them and to discuss about them with other potentially interested scholars. I also open the paper for discussion, here, on academia.edu. DISCLAIMER. I am NOT (at all) the Author of this file and its contents, Sean Whalen is the Author. I have, therefore, NO intellectual property / ownership on the file and its contents, Sean Whalen owns the intellectual property / ownership. I had NO part in writing and developing these contents, at any time. They DO NOT reflect my theoretical positions and ideas. I just post the file on my academia.edu profile to help Sean to disseminate his thoughts on Cretan scripts and to start a possibly fruitful, and surely interesting, discussion. I agree and I do not agree at the same time with Sean's theoretical positions, methods, and approaches, in the meaning that I suspend my judgement, I keep neutral, and I keep an open-mind on his assertions and statements. This is a sample / summary of Sean Whalen's work (which is exclusively his) on Cretan writing systems (his work on them is way larger are definitely multi-layered) and is NOT connected in any way with my work. However, some of Sean's possible findings are very interesting, show to have potential, and can be productively discussed by the academic community, therefore I think it is healthy, for the academic community itself, to be enabled to read them in a synthesis / summary and to develop a debate on them. I DO NOT have time to participate in the discussion, unfortunately, therefore I leave it open for Sean and for anyone who wants to comment on the file and its contents and/or ask questions and/or ask for clarifications the Author of the file. As a general norm, I'll NOT participate in the discussion and I'll NOT comment on it, but I'll read it with interest, if I'll have time. For more direct contacts with the Author, Sean's e-mail address is stlatos@yahoo.com. As an additional note, I have NOT direct links to Sean Whalen, apart from exchanges of e-mails on Etymology and Language Deciphering. I find, nonetheless, that his ideas can be positively discussed, in the hope that they can lead to some interesting and, perhaps, unexpected findings. Thank you very much for your kind attention and happy reading! All the best, Francesco
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Grammatology, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), and 15 moreAegean Archaeology, Mycenaean, Aegean, Aegean Late Bronze Age, Aegean Bronze Age, Linear B, Aegean Scripts, Linear A, Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Decipherment of Unknown Languages, Minoan Crete, Cretan Hieroglyphs, The Minoan Linear A script, Cretan hieroglyphic, and Myceanean Greek
At the entrance of some churches in Tuscany (Italy), the reproduction of an apparently undecipherable inscription can be found. Beginning in the 18th century, this epigraphic puzzle has originated a debate on its interpretation. This... more
At the entrance of some churches in Tuscany (Italy), the reproduction of an apparently undecipherable inscription can be found. Beginning in the 18th century, this epigraphic puzzle has originated a debate on its interpretation. This study proposes a hypothesis based on the Latin alphabet used in texts contemporary to the churches where the inscription is reproduced and a possible interpretation of the message consistent with the official religious doctrine. The proposed deciphering is extended to the full text, including some signs that were previously considered geometric forms or a specific elaboration of letters not attested in other contemporary documents.
Keywords: Medieval symbolism; Latin inscriptions; Tuscany monuments; Saint Michael; religious epigraphy; inscription decipherment
Keywords: Medieval symbolism; Latin inscriptions; Tuscany monuments; Saint Michael; religious epigraphy; inscription decipherment
Research Interests: Historical Linguistics, Medieval History, Writing Systems & Decipherment, Epigraphy (Archaeology), Grammatology, and 15 moreGreek Epigraphy, History of Reading and Writing, Latin Epigraphy, Writing Systems (Languages And Linguistics), Roman Epigraphy, Writing systems, Undeciphered Writing Systems, Medieval Epigraphy, Ancient Greek Epigraphy, Greek and Latin Epigraphy, Cryptanalysis, Greek and Roman Epigraphy, History of Writing Systems, Epigraphy, and Tuscany (Medieval Studies)
Hawker food is a cherished element of Singapore's cultural identity. For much of Singapore's history, hawkers were itinerant salespersons who sold their dishes from place to place via pushcarts. The situation changed in the 1970s when... more
Hawker food is a cherished element of Singapore's cultural identity. For much of Singapore's history, hawkers were itinerant salespersons who sold their dishes from place to place via pushcarts. The situation changed in the 1970s when hawkers were shifted to hawker centers, and they had to name their businesses overtly. The present research focuses on naming practices in older hawker centers which comprise many stalls with itinerant pasts. More work remains to be done on the names of hawker stalls in newer hawker centers. This communication studies the naming practices of hawker stalls at Fernvale Hawker Center and Market, a new hawker center that was opened in August 2022. It finds that the naming strategy, which combines a name and food/cuisine sold, is the most common naming pattern. The authors also study how "legacy" stalls name themselves. These stalls enjoyed great success at their original outlets and hence, opened another branch at this hawker center. "Legacy" stall names allude to the geographical location where the stall's business took off, index culinary authenticity, and/or index the hawkers' cultural heritage. The last pattern is observed most notably among Chinese hawkers who use auspicious Chinese characters to articulate their desire for a thriving business.
Keywords: Singapore; hawker culture; food; street food; onomastics; toponyms
Keywords: Singapore; hawker culture; food; street food; onomastics; toponyms
Research Interests: Human Geography, Historical Geography, Historical Linguistics, Social Sciences, Etymology, and 15 moreOnomastics, Toponomastics, Singapore, Place-Names, Toponymy, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Food & Culture, Commodification, Place Names, Food and Culture, Culture and society, Street Hawkers, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, and History of Cooking and Food Culture
What are place names? From where do they originate? How are they structured? What do they signify? How important are they in our life? This groundbreaking book explores these compelling questions and more by providing a thorough... more
What are place names? From where do they originate? How are they structured? What do they signify? How important are they in our life? This groundbreaking book explores these compelling questions and more by providing a thorough introduction to the assumptions, theories, terminology, and methods in toponymy and toponomasticsthe studies of place names, or toponyms. It is the first comprehensive resource on the topic in a single volume and explores the history and development of toponyms, focusing on the conceptual and methodological issues pertinent to the study of place names around the world. It presents a wide range of examples and case studies illustrating the structure, function, and importance of toponyms from ancient times to the present day. Wide-ranging yet accessible, it is an indispensable source of knowledge for students and scholars in linguistics, toponymy and toponomastics, onomastics, etymology, and historical linguistics.
Research Interests: History, Human Geography, Historical Geography, Urban Geography, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), and 15 moreHistorical Linguistics, Etymology, Landscape Archaeology, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Language Documentation, Cultural Landscapes, Place-Names, Landscape, Toponymy, Cultural Landscape, Place Names, Hydronymy, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, and Field linguistics
This article examines the station names of 142 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations across Singapore’s five fully operational MRT lines using primary sources (digitised newspapers, maps, and press releases) and secondary sources (scholarly... more
This article examines the station names of 142 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations across Singapore’s five fully operational MRT lines using primary sources (digitised newspapers, maps, and press releases) and secondary sources (scholarly research on Singapore place names and information from government agencies). There are two research objectives: firstly, to determine the common naming strategies of Singapore’s MRT station names, and secondly, to analyse features of Singapore’s socio-political and linguistic identity by studying these names. Common naming patterns of Singapore’s station names include associative names, where the station is named after nearby physical or man-made features; descriptive names, where the name describes a particular aspect of the area; and eponymous names, where the station is named after a famous person or entity. We argue that station names reflect the state’s language and socio-political policies and shed deeper light on some of the complex and contradictory forces at play in the nation’s linguistic and socio-political identity. Singapore’s language shift towards English is evident as English is frequently used to name stations, particularly among newer MRT lines, where the public can suggest and vote on station names. At the same time, there are toponyms in local languages like Malay that serve as indexes of localness of the area around the station, showing the cultural dimension that station names have as metaphors for the area’s history and heritage. Yet, Singapore’s pragmatic socio-political identity ultimately means that the practical, referential function of names takes precedence over the cultural functions of naming.
Keywords: toponyms, transport names, Singapore, Mass Rapid Transit, identity
Keywords: toponyms, transport names, Singapore, Mass Rapid Transit, identity
Research Interests: Human Geography, Historical Geography, Urban Geography, Etymology, Public Transport, and 15 moreOnomastics, Toponomastics, Singapore, Cultural Identity, Place-Names, Linguistic landscapes, Urban Landscape, Toponymy, Singapore Studies, Railways and trains, Place Names, Public transportation, Mass Rapid Transit and Light Rapid Transit, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, and Linguistic Landscape
This paper explores the linguistic landscape of Singapore's tourist attractions by observing the languages present on signs at eight different tourist locations. By taking photographs of signs at the tourist attractions, this study aimed... more
This paper explores the linguistic landscape of Singapore's tourist attractions by observing the languages present on signs at eight different tourist locations. By taking photographs of signs at the tourist attractions, this study aimed to investigate the languages present and whether the languages on signs reflect the nationality of tourists visiting them. Top-down and bottom-up signs were compared in terms of both languages present as well as code preference. This paper also explores the commodification of language in Singapore's tourist attractions. Results show that the languages on signs at a few tourist attractions reflect the nationality of tourists who visit them, but also that exclusion of languages does not mean that the number of tourists visiting from certain countries is low. A few differences between top-down and bottom-up signs are observed, including differences in code preference of signs in Chinatown and also the low percentage of Malay and Tamil on bottom-up signs, always in Chinatown, compared to top-down ones. Mandarin Chinese and Tamil can be seen to have been commodified in Chinatown and Little India respectively, in order to give tourists a more authentic experience of the two attractions.
Research Interests: Geography, Human Geography, Historical Geography, Urban Geography, Tourism Studies, and 15 moreEtymology, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Singapore, Place-Names, Linguistic landscapes, Urban Landscape, Toponymy, Tourism, Singapore Studies, Commodification, Place Names, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, Linguistic Landscape, and Tourist Attractions
The intersections between tourism and language have been studied from a largely sociolinguistic perspective, particularly on the Linguistic Landscapes (LL) of tourist sites. The linguistic study of names, which have ramifications for the... more
The intersections between tourism and language have been studied from a largely sociolinguistic perspective, particularly on the Linguistic Landscapes (LL) of tourist sites. The linguistic study of names, which have ramifications for the socio-cultural and marketing realm of tourism, has often been neglected. This communication focuses on the naming strategies of Singapore's mid-tier hotel names. The authors extracted and analyzed the names of 122 mid-tier hotels to answer three research questions: (1) what are the keywords used to describe the type of accommodation provided, and how frequently do they appear?; (2) what are the naming strategies used to name mid-tier hotels in Singapore?; (3) what words are used to market the services and/or experiences that hotels provide? The paper finds that mid-scale hotels often clearly indicate the service they provide with the word "Hotel" in their name. These hotels are also often owned by chains and, hence, refer to such companies in the related hotel namesbe they openly or more obscurely. Furthermore, hotel names convey important information to travelers on the type and quality of service they can expect through the use of certain lexical items and, thus, functions as a means of social communication between the hoteliers and guests.
Keywords: Hotel Names, Onomastics, Tourism, Urban and Linguistic Landscapes, Singapore
Keywords: Hotel Names, Onomastics, Tourism, Urban and Linguistic Landscapes, Singapore
Research Interests: Human Geography, Historical Geography, Tourism Studies, Etymology, Onomastics, and 15 moreToponomastics, Singapore, Place-Names, Linguistic landscapes, Urban Landscape, Urban Social Geography, Toponymy, Tourism, Singapore Studies, Tourism and Hotel Management, Hotel Management, Hotels, Place Names, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, and Linguistic Landscape
This article examines the station names of 142 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations across Singapore’s five fully operational MRT lines using primary sources (digitised newspapers, maps, and press releases) and secondary sources (scholarly... more
This article examines the station names of 142 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations across Singapore’s five fully operational MRT lines using primary sources (digitised newspapers, maps, and press releases) and secondary sources (scholarly research on Singapore place names and information from government agencies). There are two research objectives: firstly, to determine the common naming strategies of Singapore’s MRT station names, and secondly, to analyse features of Singapore’s socio-political and linguistic identity by studying these names. Common naming patterns of Singapore’s station names include associative names, where the station is named after nearby physical or man-made features; descriptive names, where the name describes a particular aspect of the area; and eponymous names, where the station is named after a famous person or entity. We argue that station names reflect the state’s language and socio-political policies and shed deeper light on some of the complex and contradictory forces at play in the nation’s linguistic and socio-political identity. Singapore’s language shift towards English is evident as English is frequently used to name stations, particularly among newer MRT lines, where the public can suggest and vote on station names. At the same time, there are toponyms in local languages like Malay that serve as indexes of localness of the area around the station, showing the cultural dimension that station names have as metaphors for the area’s history and heritage. Yet, Singapore’s pragmatic socio-political identity ultimately means that the practical, referential function of names takes precedence over the cultural functions of naming.
Research Interests:
The intersections between tourism and language have been studied from a largely sociolinguistic perspective, particularly on the Linguistic Landscapes (LL) of tourist sites. The linguistic study of names, which have ramifications for the... more
The intersections between tourism and language have been studied from a largely sociolinguistic perspective, particularly on the Linguistic Landscapes (LL) of tourist sites. The linguistic study of names, which have ramifications for the socio-cultural and marketing realm of tourism, has often been neglected. This communication focuses on the naming strategies of Singapore’s mid-tier hotel names. The authors extracted and analyzed the names of 122 mid-tier hotels to answer three research questions: (1) what are the keywords used to describe the type of accommodation provided, and how frequently do they appear?; (2) what are the naming strategies used to name mid-tier hotels in Singapore?; (3) what words are used to market the services and/or experiences that hotels provide? The paper finds that mid-scale hotels often clearly indicate the service they provide with the word “Hotel” in their name. These hotels are also often owned by chains and, hence, refer to such companies in the related hotel names – be they openly or more obscurely. Furthermore, hotel names convey important information to travelers on the type and quality of service they can expect through the use of certain lexical items and, thus, functions as a means of social communication between the hoteliers and guests.
Research Interests:
This paper is aimed at providing an etymological reconstruction for the word 'gemshorn' (and the term 'pifana/pivana'), which indicates a wind musical instrument, generally considered pastoral or rustic, produced from the horn of an... more
This paper is aimed at providing an etymological reconstruction for the word 'gemshorn' (and the term 'pifana/pivana'), which indicates a wind musical instrument, generally considered pastoral or rustic, produced from the horn of an ungulated animal. The etymological reconstruction proposed in this article allows to postulate prehistoric origins, for the gemshorn, dating back way before the XIV-XV Century, the time in which the folk instrument starts, plausibly, to be attested in Europe, in manuscripts, art, and material culture. In particular, by delineating a possible Indo-European and, then, Proto-Germanic, proto-form, for the word, it is possible to date it back to at least the Neolithic, and even to the Mesolithic. The term indicating the instrument, after the Common Indo-European stage, would have been only preserved in Germanic languages and in the Germanic context. The paper is also aimed at showing that the names of some (folk) musical instruments can survive, over time, in oral tradition without being recorded in historical official sources, and that their origins can be, by far, more ancient than the times in which the first attestations of their names in written documents – or their appearance in art and/or in material culture – are findable and recorded.
Key words: Prehistoric wind musical instruments, Gemshorn and pifana/pivana, Indo-European
Key words: Prehistoric wind musical instruments, Gemshorn and pifana/pivana, Indo-European
Research Interests: Music, Musicology, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, and 15 moreIndo-european language reconstruction, Etymology, Mesolithic Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Lexicography, Neolithic Europe, History of music, Mesolithic/Neolithic, Indo-European Linguistics, Proto Indo-European, Neolithic, Musical Instruments, Indo-European, Indo-European Etymology, and Gemshorn
The language (or languages) of the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete, developed in the European Bronze Age, was written using the so-called Cretan Hieroglyphs and the Linear A writing system. To this day, the Minoan language and its... more
The language (or languages) of the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete, developed in the European Bronze Age, was written using the so-called Cretan Hieroglyphs and the Linear A writing system. To this day, the Minoan language and its writing systems, Cretan Hieroglyphs as well as Linear A, are undeciphered. The main obstacle in deciphering Linear A is the lack of knowledge of what language it transcribes. This article presents an ‘external analysis’ and a ‘lexicographic’ approach in an attempt to compare Linear A with Linear B and Egyptian, aiming at identifying a known language that Linear A may represent. The paper starts by introducing Minoan civilization and its writing system, Linear A, followed by a brief literature review on deciphering attempts. An overview follows, on the relationship between the Minoan and ancient Egyptian Bronze Ages, provided in order to support the hypothesis that there are possible interconnections between Linear A and Egyptian. The subsequent section further describes the method of using corresponding Linear B phonetic values to identify Linear A words or phrases in a few examples and match them to Egyptian. Finally, the possibilities and limitations of employing this method to decipher Linear A are discussed.
Key Words: Language Decipherment, Linear A, Linear B
Key Words: Language Decipherment, Linear A, Linear B
Research Interests: Historical Linguistics, Writing Systems & Decipherment, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), Aegean Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, and 15 moreMinoan Civilisation, Ancient Egyptian language, Aegean Late Bronze Age, Archaeology of Crete, Aegean Bronze Age, Cryptanalysis, Linear B, Aegean Scripts, Linear A, Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Decipherment of Unknown Languages, Cryptology, Minoan, Minoan Crete, and Egyptian Hieroglyphs
This article studies and provides a narrative review of the history of the native Orang Kallang people residing on Singapore’s Kallang River before Singapore’s modernization. The first section delves into the Orang Laut and how a group of... more
This article studies and provides a narrative review of the history of the native Orang Kallang people residing on Singapore’s Kallang River before Singapore’s modernization. The first section delves into the Orang Laut and how a group of them moved to the Kallang River to form the independent tribe of the Orang Kallang. This is followed by the historical significance of the Kallang River and its role in trade and maritime commerce in early Singapore. Subsequently, the second section investigates the Orang Kallang’s origins, livelihood, language, and reasons for their eventual decline. As the Orang Kallang tribe split after the arrival of the British in 1819, the group that settled in Pulai River, Johor, was recorded to have dwindled staggeringly in population due to a smallpox epidemic. The third section will focus on the impact of smallpox on the early aboriginal populations of Singapore (and the overarching region of Malaya), failed vaccination attempts, and how the Orang Kallang was likely to have been impacted. The last section will sum up the themes discussed in the paper.
Keywords: Singapore history; Kallang River; Orang Kallang; smallpox; epidemiology
Keywords: Singapore history; Kallang River; Orang Kallang; smallpox; epidemiology
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Indigenous Studies, Indigenous or Aboriginal Studies, Epidemiology, and 15 moreSocial and Cultural Anthropology, Language Documentation, Singapore, Fieldwork in linguistics, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Descriptive Linguistics, Language Documentation, Indigenous Languages, Sociolinguistics, Field Linguistics, South east Asia, Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Cultural and Social Anthropology, History of Epidemics, Language Documentation and Description, Field linguistics, Singapore History Before Raffles, and Kallang
Naish languages are a sub-branch of the Naic group in the Tibeto-Burmese family from southwest China. Their distinctive features are valuable in the context of comparative studies on the historical reconstructions of proto-Tibeto-Burmese.... more
Naish languages are a sub-branch of the Naic group in the Tibeto-Burmese family from southwest China. Their distinctive features are valuable in the context of comparative studies on the historical reconstructions of proto-Tibeto-Burmese. Naish languages show several morphological characteristics similar to Qiang, while sharing a considerable percentage of cognates with the Loloish languages. Their ethnic group has an ancient designation: Moso. Two are the main varieties recognized by ISO 639–3: nxq (Naxi) and nru (Na). This chapter introduces the phonological system of Naxi and Na and clarifies the different sets of IPA symbols and orthographies for Naxi and Na. A minor branch of the Naxi language, Ruke, is briefly described according to first-hand field work data collected from Yomi Village, Labo Township, Ninglang County, Yunnan Province. Naish People, or the ancient Moso People, have their own indigenous religions, Dabaism and Dongbaism. Dongba and Daba oral traditions, following rhythmic patterns based on pentameters and/or heptameters, vehiculate the transmission of knowledge from generation to generation in the Moso community. A pictographic writing is used by the Dongba priests as a mnemonic device. This chapter conducts a comparative analysis on the legends on the origins of the local scripts among the Dongba, Daba, and several neighbouring ethnic groups, in order to contribute to the understanding of the cultural identity of Moso People. Kinship terms are analyzed as lexemes depicting their matrilineal cultural milieu. The multilingual context sketched here provides a comprehensive portrait of the current situation across the Moso regions.
Research Interests: Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Sinology, Oral Traditions, South Asian Languages, and 15 moreAsian Languages, Oral culture, Oral Tradition, Oral Traditions (Culture), Sino-Tibetan Linguistics, Oral literature, East Asian Languages and Cultures, Mosuo, Asian Languages and Cultures, Naish, Dongba, Sino-Tibetan languages, Naish Languages, East Asian Languages and Literatures, and Dongba Culture
Lim, Shaun Tyan Gin, and Francesco Perono Cacciafoco. 2022. Naming Public Transport and Historicising Experiences: Critical Toponymies and Everyday Multilingualism in Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit System. Urban Studies (Special Issue:... more
Lim, Shaun Tyan Gin, and Francesco Perono Cacciafoco. 2022. Naming Public Transport and Historicising Experiences: Critical Toponymies and Everyday Multilingualism in Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit System. Urban Studies (Special Issue: Public Transport as Public Space), 60, 15: 3045-3060, https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980221109101
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Public transport plays an integral role in urban centres by promoting economic development, mitigating environmental degradation and fostering social cohesion. It also enables users to experience the socio-cultural and linguistic diversity of a locality. Public transport is important to the cosmopolitan city-state of Singapore: its public transport system, which is ranked among the best in the world, is used by over 7.54 million passengers daily. Nevertheless, not much is known about how the linguistic landscapes, soundscapes and place names are tied to public transport use and encounters. This study analyses Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station names, effectively toponyms (place names) in their own right. Specifically, it focuses on the East West and North South Lines, two of Singapore's oldest MRT lines. Besides tracing the (initially) tumultuous history of the MRT system, the paper studies the languages used in the MRT stations of both lines. It argues that place names, taken together with the sights and sounds of the MRT, are part of everyday multilingualism, or the linguistic dynamism when different linguistic groups occupy public spaces. This paper also explores some of the linguistic, socio-political and policy making considerations behind the MRT stations through a critical toponymic perspective. From the viewpoint of the special issue's interests, the paper contributes to understanding the historicisation of Singapore's rail system and its contesting political and economic choices when developing the MRT.
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Keywords: Critical Toponymy, Everyday Multilingualism, Public Transport, Singapore Toponymy
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Public transport plays an integral role in urban centres by promoting economic development, mitigating environmental degradation and fostering social cohesion. It also enables users to experience the socio-cultural and linguistic diversity of a locality. Public transport is important to the cosmopolitan city-state of Singapore: its public transport system, which is ranked among the best in the world, is used by over 7.54 million passengers daily. Nevertheless, not much is known about how the linguistic landscapes, soundscapes and place names are tied to public transport use and encounters. This study analyses Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station names, effectively toponyms (place names) in their own right. Specifically, it focuses on the East West and North South Lines, two of Singapore's oldest MRT lines. Besides tracing the (initially) tumultuous history of the MRT system, the paper studies the languages used in the MRT stations of both lines. It argues that place names, taken together with the sights and sounds of the MRT, are part of everyday multilingualism, or the linguistic dynamism when different linguistic groups occupy public spaces. This paper also explores some of the linguistic, socio-political and policy making considerations behind the MRT stations through a critical toponymic perspective. From the viewpoint of the special issue's interests, the paper contributes to understanding the historicisation of Singapore's rail system and its contesting political and economic choices when developing the MRT.
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Keywords: Critical Toponymy, Everyday Multilingualism, Public Transport, Singapore Toponymy
Research Interests: Geography, Human Geography, Historical Geography, Urban Geography, Multilingualism, and 15 moreEtymology, Public Transport, Toponomastics, Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Singapore, Railway and Transportation History, Urban Landscape, Toponymy, Singapore History, Topography, Public transportation, Mass Rapid Transit and Light Rapid Transit, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, and Critical Toponymy
With the boom in Indo-European (IE) studies among linguists from the early 20th century, toponymic studies on European place names have been largely based on the Proto-Indo-European (PIE). However, historical and archaeological records of... more
With the boom in Indo-European (IE) studies among linguists from the early 20th century, toponymic studies on European place names have been largely based on the Proto-Indo-European (PIE). However, historical and archaeological records of non-IE groups, such as the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia, have presented the possibility of pre-IE/non-IE (Paleo-Sardinian) linguistic stratum influences on certain toponyms in Sardinia, Italy. This article aims to present a meta-study on existing toponymic reconstructions theorized by scholars, while offering a fresh perspective by employing methods of historical phonetic chains and sequences analysis to identify toponyms of interest. Analysis showed that certain Sardinian toponyms contain striking phonetic sequences that are uncharacteristic of PIE, such as *s(a)rd-, *kar-, *-ini, *-ài/*-éi, *#[θ]-. Overall conclusions appear to display the merits of (1) PIE and (2) pre-IE/ non-IE theories. Both provide plausible toponymic reconstructions. (1) The accuracy of IE theories is brought into question, as they appear to rely heavily on phonetic links to existing PIE roots, sometimes with a lack of consideration for other contextual or hydro-geo-morphological factors. (2) Conversely, pre-IE/non-IE theories are found to be highly speculative due to the lack of historical data, and knowledge, about the Paleo-Sardinian language.
Keywords: Toponymy; Sardinia; Indo-European; Nuragic; Paleo-Sardinian
Keywords: Toponymy; Sardinia; Indo-European; Nuragic; Paleo-Sardinian
Research Interests: Historical Geography, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Onomastics, and 15 moreSardinia (Archaeology), Toponomastics, Ancient Indo-European Languages, Indo-European Studies, Place-Names, Indo-European Linguistics, Toponymy, Nuragic Archaeology, Sardinia, Sardinian Prehistoric Archaeology, Place Names, Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Indo-European Etymology, Paleo-Sardinian Language(s), and Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms
At the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait lies Pedra Branca, an island of granite rock situated in hazardous waters. Its unexceptional presence belies a rich cartographical history and infamous reputation for leading ships to grief... more
At the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait lies Pedra Branca, an island of granite rock situated in hazardous waters. Its unexceptional presence belies a rich cartographical history and infamous reputation for leading ships to grief since antiquity. Pedra Branca was first pushed into the spotlight when the British constructed the Horsburgh Lighthouse in 1851. It later caught international attention when a heated territorial dispute for the island between Singapore and Malaysia arose, lasting from 1979 to 2018, with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) eventually granting rights to Singapore. The ensuing legal battle led to renewed interest in the geography and post-19th century history of the island. The most recent breakthrough, however, provides a glimpse into an even earlier history of Pedra Branca - and, by extension, Singapore - as shipwrecked remains dating from the 14th century were uncovered in the surrounding waters. Historical research on the ancient history of Pedra Branca has been mostly neglected by scholars over the years; thus, this paper aims to shed some light on this enigmatic history of the island and at the same time establish its history and significance by utilizing pre-British-colonization historical cartographical data from as early as the 15th century.
Research Interests: Historical Geography, Cartography, Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Sovereignty, and 15 moreToponomastics, Singapore, Singapore law, Toponymy, Critical Cartography, Historical Cartography, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Topography, Place Names, Historical Geography, Historical Cartography, Environmental History, Territorial Disputes, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, Territorial and Maritime Disputes, and Pedra Branca
At the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait lies Pedra Branca, an island of granite rock situated in hazardous waters. Its unexceptional presence belies a rich cartographical history and infamous reputation for leading ships to grief... more
At the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait lies Pedra Branca, an island of granite rock situated in hazardous waters. Its unexceptional presence belies a rich cartographical history and infamous reputation for leading ships to grief since antiquity. Pedra Branca was first pushed into the spotlight when the British constructed the Horsburgh Lighthouse in 1851. It later caught international attention when a heated territorial dispute for the island between Singapore and Malaysia arose, lasting from 1979–2018, with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) eventually granting rights to Singapore. The ensuing legal battle led to renewed interest in the geography and post-19th century history of the island. The most recent breakthrough, however, provides a glimpse into an even earlier history of Pedra Branca—and by extension, Singapore—as shipwrecked remains dating from the 14th century were uncovered in the surrounding waters. Historical research on the ancient history of Pedra Bran...
Research Interests: Historical Geography, Cartography, Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Sovereignty, and 14 moreToponomastics, Singapore, Singapore law, Toponymy, Critical Cartography, Historical Cartography, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Topography, Place Names, Histories, Territorial Disputes, Territorial and Maritime Disputes, and Pedra Branca
This decipherment of KN Zc 6, conical cup inscribed in Linear A (HM 2630) is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek, the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line... more
This decipherment of KN Zc 6, conical cup inscribed in Linear A (HM 2630) is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek, the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass both Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. At least 3 of the 7 decoupled words in this inscription are Luwian. Moreover, our decipherment of this inscription is contingent on computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. This technique may well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages, inclusive of Anatolian Linear A proto-Greek, which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them. But since both Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B are subject to regressive spelling, it is imperative to adjust Linear A vocabulary to align with progressive spelling in its adstrates, Hittite and Luwian, to accurately correlate Linear A spelling with Hittite and Luwian. Mini lexicon of Linear A.
Research Interests:
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540), is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek, the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with... more
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540),
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
Research Interests:
As a whole, this paper aims to document the Abui language. The main discussion portion of this paper is presented in two sections. The first details the process of collecting and organising data collected on the Abui language, then... more
As a whole, this paper aims to document the Abui language. The main discussion portion of this paper is presented in two sections. The first details the process of collecting and organising data collected on the Abui language, then transforming it into a database. In particular, this paper focuses on the Abui plant names. Data on Abui botany was collected with the help of local Abui consultants. Descriptions of the plants, any attested medicinal uses and folklore or myths associated with the plants were also recorded. As more data was gathered, the process of verifying and organising the data took on greater importance. Various factors were considered, including the possible future expansion of this paper. These are discussed in detail in this paper, and possible areas for further expansion are also discussed. The second part focuses on presenting two previously undocumented folktales associated with two plants, and exploring the cultural significance of these stories.
Key words: Language documentation; Abui oral tradition; Abui botany
Key words: Language documentation; Abui oral tradition; Abui botany
Research Interests: Botany, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Language Documentation, and 15 moreAustronesian Languages, Oral Traditions, Corpus Linguistics, Lexicography, Fieldwork in linguistics, Field botany, Oral Tradition, Oral Traditions (Culture), Lexicography and Corpus Studies, Applied Corpus Linguistics, Papuan Languages, Language Description, Language Documentation and Description, Alor-Pantar languages, and Field linguistics
Linear A is an ancient writing system that was used on the island of Crete and a few surrounding Aegean areas between 1750 and 1450 BC to represent the Minoan language(s). Linear A is believed to be a syllabic script, but has yet to be... more
Linear A is an ancient writing system that was used on the island of Crete and a few surrounding Aegean areas between 1750 and 1450 BC to represent the Minoan language(s). Linear A is believed to be a syllabic script, but has yet to be deciphered; consequently, little is known about the Minoan language(s). This paper provides an analysis of recurrent clusters of symbols in order to uncover aspects of the structure of the language that Linear A transcribed. From Linear A inscriptions in readily available publications, similar, frequently recurring clusters were identified, and the comparison and analysis of these clusters yielded three aspects of variation: symbol-internal variation, inter-cluster variation, as well as variants in the wider context. With the observations from the patterns in inter-cluster variation, an approximate morphological breakdown of the clusters was derived, and plausible roots and affixes were isolated. A comparison of the clusters’ immediate environments suggests that the affixes were more likely to have been semantically motivated, while the wider contextual variation provides possible interpretations of the semantic content of the affixes themselves. This internal analysis approach, with the morphological breakdown of the clusters analysed, provides further support for the current hypothesis that the language that Linear A represented was rich in affixation.
Key words: Linear A, libation formulas, internal analysis
Key words: Linear A, libation formulas, internal analysis
Research Interests: Historical Linguistics, Writing Systems & Decipherment, Etymology, Aegean Archaeology, Minoan Archaeology, and 15 moreAegean, Minoan Civilisation, Aegean Prehistory, Archaeology of Crete, Linear B, Aegean Scripts, Linear A, Crete, Decipherment of Unknown Languages, Aegean Archaeology, Mediterranean Archeology, the island of Crete, Cryptology, Minoan, Minoan Crete, History of Crete, and Mycenaeology
This study expands the existing research on toponymy in Singapore by focusing on the many offshore islands that form an inalienable component of the landscape of the Lion City. Diverging from more micro reconstruction-based toponymic... more
This study expands the existing research on toponymy in Singapore by focusing on the many offshore islands that form an inalienable component of the landscape of the Lion City. Diverging from more micro reconstruction-based toponymic approaches, the analysis adopts a critical toponomastics framework, placing emphasis on the interaction between the use and maintenance of toponyms and the wider socio-political context. Acknowledging the complex past of Singapore’s becoming, the period of British colonial rule forms the basis in which contemporary toponyms are treated in the study. Both old and newly reclaimed offshore islands are considered, and this article ultimately finds Singapore’s toponymic landscape to have remained relatively stable. The stasis does not represent a lack of development, for it instead reveals that the unchanging naming practices are in fact responses to socio-political contexts diachronically unveiled between colonial and contemporary Singapore. Situating toponomastics within the wider development of Singapore as the post-colonial nation it is today, this paper reveals how the landscape has sought to cement social, economic, and political goals.
Key words: Historical Toponomastics, Island Toponymy, Toponymic Landscapes, Singapore, Colonial Place Names
Key words: Historical Toponomastics, Island Toponymy, Toponymic Landscapes, Singapore, Colonial Place Names
Research Interests: History, Historical Geography, Cartography, Maritime Archaeology, Historical Linguistics, and 15 moreEtymology, Island Studies, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Place Names (Cultural Geography), Lexicography, Toponymy, Historical Cartography, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Topography, Names, Place Names, Islands, and Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms
This paper studies three Singaporean islands (with their original Malay names in brackets): St. John’s Island (Pulau Sakijang Bendera), Sentosa (Pulau Blakang Mati), and Coney Island (Pulau Serangoon). Using primary sources, such as maps... more
This paper studies three Singaporean islands (with their original Malay names in brackets): St. John’s Island (Pulau Sakijang Bendera), Sentosa (Pulau Blakang Mati), and Coney Island (Pulau Serangoon). Using primary sources, such as maps and newspapers, and secondary sources, like books on Singaporean toponymy, the authors trace these place names across time. The toponyms conform to the broader trend of naming patterns of Singaporean toponyms. More importantly, the facilities, land uses, and histories of the three islands dovetail with pertinent aspects of Singapore’s history and, more broadly, with global discussions on linguistic toponymies and geographies. Through this research, it is evident that the toponyms, or place names, along with their connected stories, are inextricably linked to the history, languages, cultures, and societies of the places they name. This paper ultimately aims to be a starting point for further research on Singapore’s island names, an area that has received scant attention in Singaporean toponymy thus far.
Keywords: Singapore, Toponymy, Toponomastics, Historical Geography, Islands, Insulonyms, Islotoponomastics, Island Names, Sociolinguistics
Keywords: Singapore, Toponymy, Toponomastics, Historical Geography, Islands, Insulonyms, Islotoponomastics, Island Names, Sociolinguistics
Research Interests: History, Historical Geography, Cartography, Maritime Archaeology, Historical Linguistics, and 15 moreEtymology, Island Studies, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Place Names (Cultural Geography), Lexicography, Toponymy, Historical Cartography, Singapore History, Singapore Studies, Topography, Names, Place Names, Islands, and Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms
Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society,... more
Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society, deserves greater attention. This paper analyzes features of Abui society through Abui toponyms collected using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods. It finds that, because place names communicate valuable information on peoples and territories, Abui toponyms reflect the agrarian lifestyle of Abui speakers and, more broadly, the close relationship that the people have with their landscape. Furthermore, Abui toponyms express positive traits in the Abui culture like kinship ties and bravery. Notwithstanding, like other pre-literate and indigenous societies, oral stories are commonly used to explain how places are named. This paper augments the existing Abui toponymic studies on the connection between names and the places they name and provi...
Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society,... more
Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society, deserves greater attention. This paper analyzes features of Abui society through Abui toponyms collected using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods. It finds that, because place names communicate valuable information on peoples and territories, Abui toponyms reflect the agrarian lifestyle of Abui speakers and, more broadly, the close relationship that the people have with their landscape. Furthermore, Abui toponyms express positive traits in the Abui culture, like kinship ties and bravery. Notwithstanding, like other pre-literate and indigenous societies, oral stories are commonly used to explain how places are named. This paper augments the existing Abui toponymic studies on the connection between names and the places they name and provides a deeper understanding of the Abui language, culture, and society.
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Language Variation and Change, Etymology, Onomastics, and 15 moreToponomastics, Language Documentation, Lexicography, Fieldwork in linguistics, Language Change, Toponymy, Diachronic linguistics, Alor Island, Language Documentation and Description, Phytonymy, Hydronymy, Alor-Pantar languages, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, Field linguistics, and Timor
Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society,... more
Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society, deserves greater attention. This paper analyzes features of Abui society through Abui toponyms collected using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods. It finds that, because place names communicate valuable information on peoples and territories, Abui toponyms reflect the agrarian lifestyle of Abui speakers and, more broadly, the close relationship that the people have with their landscape. Furthermore, Abui toponyms express positive traits in the Abui culture like kinship ties and bravery. Notwithstanding, like other pre-literate and indigenous societies, oral stories are commonly used to explain how places are named. This paper augments the existing Abui toponymic studies on the connection between names and the places they name and provides a deeper understanding of the Abui language, culture, and society.
Research Interests:
This short communication is aimed at popularizing the puzzle of the undeciphered inscription engraved on a wall of the Baptistery of Pisa (Tuscany, Italy), which appears also in other religious monuments in Tuscany. The inscription is... more
This short communication is aimed at popularizing the puzzle of the undeciphered inscription engraved on a wall of the Baptistery of Pisa (Tuscany, Italy), which appears also in other religious monuments in Tuscany. The inscription is written in an unknown script and, being very short and without other examples with the same symbols all over the world (apart from some equivalent epigraphic documents from the same area), is still undeciphered. The goal of the following note, which absolutely does not aim to be original, and which is just recapitulative, is to trigger a discussion about the inscription and to encourage possible interpretations and, ultimately, new deciphering attempts.
An updated discussion and interpretation can be found here:
1)
https://www.academia.edu/104257486/A_Puzzling_Religious_Inscription_from_Medieval_Tuscany_Symbology_and_Interpretation
2)
https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9252/3/3/15
An updated discussion and interpretation can be found here:
1)
https://www.academia.edu/104257486/A_Puzzling_Religious_Inscription_from_Medieval_Tuscany_Symbology_and_Interpretation
2)
https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9252/3/3/15
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Lexicology, Historical Linguistics, Writing Systems & Decipherment, Etymology, and 15 moreGrammatology, Hermeneutics, Archaeological Decipherment, Writing Systems (Languages And Linguistics), Lexicography, Writing systems, Undeciphered Writing Systems, History of Writing Systems, Pisa, Exegesis, Decipherment of Unknown Languages, Scripts, History of Architecture, Deciphering, and Cryptolinguistics
What are place names? From where do they originate? How are they structured? What do they signify? How important are they in our life? This groundbreaking book explores these compelling questions and more by providing a thorough... more
What are place names? From where do they originate? How are they structured? What do they signify? How important are they in our life? This groundbreaking book explores these compelling questions and more by providing a thorough introduction to the assumptions, theories, terminology, and methods in toponymy and toponomasticsthe studies of place names, or toponyms. It is the first comprehensive resource on the topic in a single volume and explores the history and development of toponyms, focusing on the conceptual and methodological issues pertinent to the study of place names around the world. It presents a wide range of examples and case studies illustrating the structure, function, and importance of toponyms from ancient times to the present day. Wide-ranging yet accessible, it is an indispensable source of knowledge for students and scholars in linguistics, toponymy and toponomastics, onomastics, etymology, and historical linguistics.
Research Interests: History, Human Geography, Historical Geography, Urban Geography, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), and 15 moreHistorical Linguistics, Etymology, Landscape Archaeology, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Language Documentation, Cultural Landscapes, Place-Names, Landscape, Toponymy, Cultural Landscape, Place Names, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, Field linguistics, and Hydronyms
The book analyzes a passage from Sophocles ("Trachiniae", vv. 153-160) and another from Plutarch ("De genio Socratis", 5, 577 F) in which two tablets inscribed in "mysteric" characters are cited, in all probability documents, instead,... more
The book analyzes a passage from Sophocles ("Trachiniae", vv. 153-160) and another from Plutarch ("De genio Socratis", 5, 577 F) in which two tablets inscribed in "mysteric" characters are cited, in all probability documents, instead, written in Linear B, the syllabic Aegean writing used for the transcription of the (already Greek) Mycenaean dialect. Basing his research on the analysis of these two passages, the Author elaborates a new theory regarding the perception of the ancient Greeks about their past before the so-called 'Dark Ages'. The essay is, therefore, a contribution - in the field of Mycenaeology - to the study of the issue of the origins of Greek populations and it approaches for the first time, in this interpretive key, the two quoted passages. The book is accompanied by chronologies, by a set of illustrations, by a detailed and updated bibliography on the subject, and by maps.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
Research Interests:
The fall of the Mycenaean palatial civilization, that spoke and wrote already a Greek dialect (handed down by the Linear B tablets), the presumed arrival in Greece of invaders, the Dorians, who sank the Hellas in the so-called "Dark... more
The fall of the Mycenaean palatial civilization, that spoke and wrote already a Greek dialect (handed down by the Linear B tablets), the presumed arrival in Greece of invaders, the Dorians, who sank the Hellas in the so-called "Dark Ages", the legends born to explain, in myth, this event (the return of the Heracleides), the new language system and the new hierarchies of the archaic Greece, "daughter" of these traumatic events, are the salient features of the so-called "Dorian issue". The volume deals with the problems of historical interpretation related to this dawning era of the ancient Greece, comparing the most important hypothesis proposed so far by scholars on the subject. The reader will be in front of the theories by now "classic" of eminent specialists, such as John Chadwick (who collaborated with Michael Ventris to the procedure of deciphering of the Linear B writing), and the assumptions inherent in the most recent hypothesis about the arrival of the Dorians in Greece. Using instruments that are mainly linguistic, without neglecting historical and archaeological elements, according to a criterion of scientific rigor that does not ignore the needs of the non-specialist readers, the Author tries to outline the salient features of a long and difficult process that led to the birth of archaic Greece, in the transition, even symbolic, from the syllabic writing like the Aegean handwritings to the Greek alphabetical writing of Phoenician kind and from the civilization of the Mycenaean palaces to that of the 'polis'. The book is accompanied by extensive comparative chronologies, grouped in a special section to help the readers in order to orient themselves within the framework history examined, and an extensive bibliography, useful study repertoire in order to provide for further researches.
Research Interests:
This short book studies the formation of pre-Latin place names, that have remote prehistoric origins, derived from some very productive, in the field of 'nomina locorum', "word-roots" such as *alb-, *war-, *und-, *wond-, *akw-, all... more
This short book studies the formation of pre-Latin place names, that have remote prehistoric origins, derived from some very productive, in the field of 'nomina locorum', "word-roots" such as *alb-, *war-, *und-, *wond-, *akw-, all related to the notion of "water" and belonging to a "family" of place names extensive and interconnected in its own different extrinsications. The study also addresses the problem of the distinction inherent in the possibility of the differentiation in pre-Indo-European and Indo-European linguistic strata of the "word-roots" and analyzes for each of them the development, as an example, in the ancient Liguria area.
Research Interests:
The contribution proposes to reconstruct scientifically the etymology of the place name Squaneto on the basis of root *akw- in the "macro-system" of linguistic (not only) Indo-European water radicals involved in the formation of many... more
The contribution proposes to reconstruct scientifically the etymology of the place name Squaneto on the basis of root *akw- in the "macro-system" of linguistic (not only) Indo-European water radicals involved in the formation of many place names in Northern Italy. The Author applies the Historical Phonetics to the empirical method of Dr. Claudio Beretta to the study of the place name, proposing an experimental reconstruction *s-akwa-n-eto = *S-qua-n-etum, dating back to the common Indo-European. The toponymic etymology is strenghtened by the comparison with the analogous place names (concerning two neighboring localities) Squagiato and Saquana. The work analyzes also other place names in the area between the Southern Piemonte and the Liguria inherent in other roots linked to the notion of water, like Pre-IE *borm- (*bormo-), Pre-Proto-IE *alb- (*olb-), IE *war- (*uar-), Proto-IE *kar- (*kal-, stone carved by water), IE *wond- / *und-. The paper is an epistemological application of the so-called Convergence Theory.
Research Interests:
The book applies the theme of the orality and of the writing to the study of the Poetry of different populations and cultures - placed chronologically and geographically in different fields -, in particular of the Poetry and of the... more
The book applies the theme of the orality and of the writing to the study of the Poetry of different populations and cultures - placed chronologically and geographically in different fields -, in particular of the Poetry and of the Culture of ancient Greece, following the guide of the criteria outlined by Marcel Jousse's "L'Anthropologie du Geste", acting as a work of classical Philology developed as a contribution of Comparative Literature.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
Research Interests:
The book is a critical reflection regarding the advisability of a discourse on Poetry in our time. Starting by an overview of the current state of Poetry in Italy (and abroad), the Author focuses on the meaning of the Poetry from the... more
The book is a critical reflection regarding the advisability of a discourse on Poetry in our time. Starting by an overview of the current state of Poetry in Italy (and abroad), the Author focuses on the meaning of the Poetry from the first witnesses to these days, in an ideal itinerary designed to outline guidelines for reflection inherent in the hermeneutic possibility of the existence, in these times, of Poetry. The text elaborates a communication held by the Author, in the form of monographic lesson and debate, at the Conference on Poetry held in Castellazzo Bormida (AL - ITALY) on September 11, 2011. The book comprises a first part regarding the opportunity of a discourse on Poetry in our time and a second that is a brief introduction to the Walter Zollino poem 'Ho sognato Diana - destata dal suo esilio - agitare gli elementi'.
Research Interests:
The book outlines the philological hypothesis - never before seen by Scholars - of the presence of the "Aeneid" spurious "incipit" in the first ten verses of the 'Carmen I' of the 'liber' of "Carmina" ('figurata') of the poet of the age... more
The book outlines the philological hypothesis - never before seen by Scholars - of the presence of the "Aeneid" spurious "incipit" in the first ten verses of the 'Carmen I' of the 'liber' of "Carmina" ('figurata') of the poet of the age of Constantine Publilius Optatianus Porphyrius. The question, addressed in key highly hypothetical, has emerged as a starting point for a debate between Philologists and as a proposal for the development of other studies on the subject. The approach described in the book entails important consequences both in the analysis of the Optatianus Porphyrius Poetry and in the study of the tradition of the text of Virgil's "Aeneid".
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
Research Interests:
The book discusses the theme of the History of Nutrition and Dietetics in Ancient Greece and Rome, in the ambit of the study of the History of Greek and Roman Medicine, and is structured as an essay that follows the development of the... more
The book discusses the theme of the History of Nutrition and Dietetics in Ancient Greece and Rome, in the ambit of the study of the History of Greek and Roman Medicine, and is structured as an essay that follows the development of the Greek and Roman Medicine from the formation of the first 'nucleus' of the "Corpus Hippocraticum" to the works of Galen of Pergamon, marking the close interconnection and interdependence between Greek and Roman Medicine. Each theoretical section inherent in the History of Literature and in the History of Science (in particular the parts dedicated to the Hippocratic writings and to the treatises of Galen of Pergamon) is combined with a corresponding anthological section that collects the most important texts related to Dietetics and Diet-therapy taken from the same above mentioned works. The book is also an exhaustive discussion regarding Dietetics and Diet-therapy in the Ancient World.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
MOREOVER, THIS VERSION IS A SIMPLE TEACHING MATERIAL, SO THE CITATIONS IN-TEXT AND THE FORMATTING ARE NOT COMPLETE AND NOT CONSISTENT, PLEASE, KINDLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT JUST WRITTEN ABOVE WHEN READING AND, EVENTUALLY, CITING THIS INCOMPLETE ABRIDGED VERSION.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
MOREOVER, THIS VERSION IS A SIMPLE TEACHING MATERIAL, SO THE CITATIONS IN-TEXT AND THE FORMATTING ARE NOT COMPLETE AND NOT CONSISTENT, PLEASE, KINDLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT JUST WRITTEN ABOVE WHEN READING AND, EVENTUALLY, CITING THIS INCOMPLETE ABRIDGED VERSION.
Research Interests:
These slides have been used during a Seminar entitled 'Diachronic Toponomastics and Language Change According to an Experimental Convergent Methodology: Abui as a Case-Study' at the Fourth Meeting of the Fieldwork and Language... more
These slides have been used during a Seminar entitled 'Diachronic Toponomastics and Language Change According to an Experimental Convergent Methodology: Abui as a Case-Study' at the Fourth Meeting of the Fieldwork and Language Analysis Group (FLAG), on March 06, 2015, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The slides have been used also in a Lectio Magistralis on Diachronic Toponymy and Language Change ('Toponymy and Grammatical Change: Aspects of Language Change in Southeast Asian Context') given, on October 21, 2014, at the SIM University, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Singapore. The paper related to this topic is currently in press and forthcoming on an academic Journal.
Abstract
The aim of this Seminar is to propose and to provide the explanation of a new experimental methodology in the study of endangered and/or undocumented languages starting from toponymy and applying to this field some innovative diachronic toponomastics criteria partly adopted from Indo-European linguistics. This new convergent methodology provides an all-embracing analysis of toponyms, hydronyms, and oronyms of a specific area not only through the lens of 'pure' etymology and historical phonetics, but also through a systematic and extensive examination of collected data by other scientific disciplines, such as historical geography, landscape archaeology, geo-archaeology, analytical archaeology, historical cartography, historical topography, paleo-anthropology, genetics, and historical semantics. This convergent and experimental application of diachronic toponomastics criteria to toponymy of endangered and/or undocumented languages allows reconstructing not only the 'remote stratigraphy' of place names, hydronyms, and oronyms ('archaeology of language'), but also the speakers' interpretation and description of the environment, their visual representation of landscape and territory, and their (spiritual and pragmatic) relationships with the geographical space. This methodology, above all, allows to highlight the ancient origins of languages under investigation and, crossing linguistic data with data from other disciplines, to go back in time maybe until the prehistory of a population and, moreover, of a culture and/or a civilization, also providing valuable information about people's movements and settlement dynamics over time. The first part of the Seminar outlines a theoretical description of this original methodology; the second one provides two analytical (and systemic) examples of the application of this method from / on Abui (a language belonging to the Alor-Pantar family of Papuan languages spoken on islands of the Alor archipelago near Timor, in South-Eastern Indonesia), in order to set and to propose an initial pattern related to this experimental hermeneutic and epistemological approach.
Interesting ideas can be read here, https://www.academia.edu/11407379/65-_les_suppos%C3%A9es_racines_gauloises_dl-_adl-_arr%C3%AAt_mouvement_%C3%A0_l_%C3%A9preuve_du_vieil_irlandais_et_d_une_langue_papoue_.
Abstract
The aim of this Seminar is to propose and to provide the explanation of a new experimental methodology in the study of endangered and/or undocumented languages starting from toponymy and applying to this field some innovative diachronic toponomastics criteria partly adopted from Indo-European linguistics. This new convergent methodology provides an all-embracing analysis of toponyms, hydronyms, and oronyms of a specific area not only through the lens of 'pure' etymology and historical phonetics, but also through a systematic and extensive examination of collected data by other scientific disciplines, such as historical geography, landscape archaeology, geo-archaeology, analytical archaeology, historical cartography, historical topography, paleo-anthropology, genetics, and historical semantics. This convergent and experimental application of diachronic toponomastics criteria to toponymy of endangered and/or undocumented languages allows reconstructing not only the 'remote stratigraphy' of place names, hydronyms, and oronyms ('archaeology of language'), but also the speakers' interpretation and description of the environment, their visual representation of landscape and territory, and their (spiritual and pragmatic) relationships with the geographical space. This methodology, above all, allows to highlight the ancient origins of languages under investigation and, crossing linguistic data with data from other disciplines, to go back in time maybe until the prehistory of a population and, moreover, of a culture and/or a civilization, also providing valuable information about people's movements and settlement dynamics over time. The first part of the Seminar outlines a theoretical description of this original methodology; the second one provides two analytical (and systemic) examples of the application of this method from / on Abui (a language belonging to the Alor-Pantar family of Papuan languages spoken on islands of the Alor archipelago near Timor, in South-Eastern Indonesia), in order to set and to propose an initial pattern related to this experimental hermeneutic and epistemological approach.
Interesting ideas can be read here, https://www.academia.edu/11407379/65-_les_suppos%C3%A9es_racines_gauloises_dl-_adl-_arr%C3%AAt_mouvement_%C3%A0_l_%C3%A9preuve_du_vieil_irlandais_et_d_une_langue_papoue_.
Research Interests: Historical Geography, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Geoarchaeology, Landscape Archaeology, and 6 moreToponomastics, Toponymy, Historical Cartography, Descriptive Linguistics, Language Documentation, Indigenous Languages, Sociolinguistics, Field Linguistics, Historical Semantics, and Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Linear A and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins, Lectio Magistralis given, on January 17, 2014, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis... more
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Linear A and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins, Lectio Magistralis given, on January 17, 2014, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on January 17, 2014, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to outline the story of the studies about the Linear A Writing and the Minoan Language. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current hypotheses about this undeciphered (presumably pre-Indo-European) language. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about this apparently non-Indo-European language of Crete. In the Conclusion, the proposal of a new possibility of scientific analysis of Linear A. The text has been completed with slides used during the Lecture.
Slides Link, https://www.academia.edu/8107092/Linear_A_and_Minoan._The_Riddle_of_Unknown_Origins_-_SLIDES
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on January 17, 2014, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to outline the story of the studies about the Linear A Writing and the Minoan Language. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current hypotheses about this undeciphered (presumably pre-Indo-European) language. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about this apparently non-Indo-European language of Crete. In the Conclusion, the proposal of a new possibility of scientific analysis of Linear A. The text has been completed with slides used during the Lecture.
Slides Link, https://www.academia.edu/8107092/Linear_A_and_Minoan._The_Riddle_of_Unknown_Origins_-_SLIDES
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Ancient Tyrsenian Languages, Indo-European Linguistics, Minoan Linear A, Linear B, and 6 moreMinoan, Minoan Crete, pre-Indo-European linguistic substrate, Mediterranean Pre and Protohistory, Script Decipherment, The Minoan Linear A script, and Non-Indo-European Languages of Europe
The slides used during the Lectio Magistralis Linear A and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins, given, on January 17, 2014, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School... more
The slides used during the Lectio Magistralis Linear A and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins, given, on January 17, 2014, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore
The Lecture was aimed to outline the story of the studies about the Linear A Writing and the Minoan Language. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current hypotheses about this undeciphered (presumably pre-Indo-European) language. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about this apparently non-Indo-European language of Crete. In the Conclusion, the proposal of a new possibility of scientific analysis of Linear A. The text has been completed with slides used during the Lecture.
Link to the main document (Linear A and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins), https://www.academia.edu/8106414/Linear_A_and_Minoan._The_Riddle_of_Unknown_Origins
The Lecture was aimed to outline the story of the studies about the Linear A Writing and the Minoan Language. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current hypotheses about this undeciphered (presumably pre-Indo-European) language. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about this apparently non-Indo-European language of Crete. In the Conclusion, the proposal of a new possibility of scientific analysis of Linear A. The text has been completed with slides used during the Lecture.
Link to the main document (Linear A and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins), https://www.academia.edu/8106414/Linear_A_and_Minoan._The_Riddle_of_Unknown_Origins
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Ancient Tyrsenian Languages, Indo-European Linguistics, Minoan Linear A, Linear B, and 6 moreMinoan, Minoan Crete, pre-Indo-European linguistic substrate, Mediterranean Pre and Protohistory, Script Decipherment, The Minoan Linear A script, and Non-Indo-European Languages of Europe
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Indo-European Origins. The Problem of Basque and Etruscan, Lectio Magistralis given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore This document is the text of a Lectio... more
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Indo-European Origins. The Problem of Basque and Etruscan, Lectio Magistralis given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to outline the story and the possible origins of some non-Indo-European languages in Europe, such as Basque, Minoan, and Etruscan. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current Theories about the issue, from the Vasconic Theory by Theo Vennemann, for example, to the Indo-European reconstruction of Basque by Gianfranco Forni. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about the non-Indo-European languages in Ancient Europe. The text has been completed with slides used during the Lecture.
Slides Link, https://www.academia.edu/8073283/Indo-European_Origins._The_Problem_of_Basque_and_Etruscan_-_SLIDES
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to outline the story and the possible origins of some non-Indo-European languages in Europe, such as Basque, Minoan, and Etruscan. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current Theories about the issue, from the Vasconic Theory by Theo Vennemann, for example, to the Indo-European reconstruction of Basque by Gianfranco Forni. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about the non-Indo-European languages in Ancient Europe. The text has been completed with slides used during the Lecture.
Slides Link, https://www.academia.edu/8073283/Indo-European_Origins._The_Problem_of_Basque_and_Etruscan_-_SLIDES
Research Interests:
The slides used during the Lectio Magistralis Indo-European Origins. The Problem of Basque and Etruscan, given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences... more
The slides used during the Lectio Magistralis Indo-European Origins. The Problem of Basque and Etruscan, given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore
This document contains the slides of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to outline the story and the possible origins of some non-Indo-European languages in Europe, such as Basque, Minoan, and Etruscan. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current Theories about the issue, from the Vasconic Theory by Theo Vennemann, for example, to the Indo-European reconstruction of Basque by Gianfranco Forni. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about the non-Indo-European languages in Ancient Europe.
Link to the main document (Indo-European Origins. The Problem of Basque and Etruscan), https://www.academia.edu/8044515/Indo-European_Origins._The_Problem_of_Basque_and_Etruscan
This document contains the slides of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 25, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to outline the story and the possible origins of some non-Indo-European languages in Europe, such as Basque, Minoan, and Etruscan. The question has been analyzed in a problematizing key, trying to discuss all the main current Theories about the issue, from the Vasconic Theory by Theo Vennemann, for example, to the Indo-European reconstruction of Basque by Gianfranco Forni. The hermeneutic discourse has been inherent also in the Tyrsenian Languages Theory by Helmut Rix and in the Minoan or Aegean hypothesis by Giulio Mauro Facchetti, in order to give to the audience an all-embracing overview about the non-Indo-European languages in Ancient Europe.
Link to the main document (Indo-European Origins. The Problem of Basque and Etruscan), https://www.academia.edu/8044515/Indo-European_Origins._The_Problem_of_Basque_and_Etruscan
Research Interests:
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, The notions of reuse and refunctionalization in the Prehistoric European linguistic context. An example of application of the New Convergence Theory, Lectio Magistralis given, on October 22, 2013, at the... more
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, The notions of reuse and refunctionalization in the Prehistoric European linguistic context. An example of application of the New Convergence Theory, Lectio Magistralis given, on October 22, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on October 22, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to explain the all-embracing methodology of the New Convergence Theory in the field of Indo-European Linguistics, developing a general reasoning about the guidelines of this Theory and focusing on two specific aspects / results inherent in Indo-European Toponymy / Hydronymy, involving a new interpretation of the roots *alb- and *borm-. The text introduces the originally philological notions of reuse and refunctionalization in Historical Linguistics, in particular in Indo-European Linguistics, linked to the context of Toponymy and Hydronymy, analyzed through the application of Historical Phonetics, Historical Semantics, Historical Geography, Historical Toponomastics, and Paleo-Anthropology.
About the New Convergence Theory (NCT), cf. Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Beyond Etymology. Historical Reconstruction and Diachronic Toponomastics Through the Lens of a New Convergence Theory, in «Acta Linguistica. Journal for Theoretical Linguistics», 8 (2014) 3, pp. 79-98, https://www.academia.edu/10225215/Beyond_Etymology._Historical_Reconstruction_and_Diachronic_Toponomastics_Through_the_Lens_of_a_New_Convergence_Theory.
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on October 22, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to explain the all-embracing methodology of the New Convergence Theory in the field of Indo-European Linguistics, developing a general reasoning about the guidelines of this Theory and focusing on two specific aspects / results inherent in Indo-European Toponymy / Hydronymy, involving a new interpretation of the roots *alb- and *borm-. The text introduces the originally philological notions of reuse and refunctionalization in Historical Linguistics, in particular in Indo-European Linguistics, linked to the context of Toponymy and Hydronymy, analyzed through the application of Historical Phonetics, Historical Semantics, Historical Geography, Historical Toponomastics, and Paleo-Anthropology.
About the New Convergence Theory (NCT), cf. Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Beyond Etymology. Historical Reconstruction and Diachronic Toponomastics Through the Lens of a New Convergence Theory, in «Acta Linguistica. Journal for Theoretical Linguistics», 8 (2014) 3, pp. 79-98, https://www.academia.edu/10225215/Beyond_Etymology._Historical_Reconstruction_and_Diachronic_Toponomastics_Through_the_Lens_of_a_New_Convergence_Theory.
Research Interests:
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, The Indo-European Linguistics and the New Convergence Theory. An Overview, Lectio Magistralis given, on September 30, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and... more
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, The Indo-European Linguistics and the New Convergence Theory. An Overview, Lectio Magistralis given, on September 30, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 30, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to explain the all-embracing methodology of the New Convergence Theory in the field of Indo-European Linguistics, developing a general reasoning about the guidelines of this Theory and focusing on some specific aspects / results inherent in Indo-European Toponymy / Hydronymy, involving a new interpretation of place names and river names and a new methodology in Etymological Reconstruction. The text discusses shortly the main Theories about Indo-European Linguistics and the hypotheses about the Indo-European settlement dynamics and population movements, highlighting, then, the focal and main principles of the New Convergence Theory, specifically related to the etymological interpretation and reconstruction of the origins (and of the original meanings) of Prehistoric place names and watercourses names. The New Convergence Theory starts from a new analysis of names studied through the application of Historical Phonetics to the different onomastic forms, with the evaluation and the intervention of Historical Semantics, Historical Geography, Historical Toponomastics, and Paleo-Anthropology. The text has been completed by an Addendum about Etymological Reconstructions, Etymological Reconstructions. Traditional Methodologies and the New Convergence Theory Results.
Link to the Addendum (Etymological Reconstructions. Traditional Methodologies and the New Convergence Theory Results), https://www.academia.edu/8096806/Etymological_Reconstructions._Traditional_Methodologies_and_the_New_Convergence_Theory_Results_-_ADDENDUM_to_The_Indo-European_Linguistics_and_the_New_Convergence_Theory._An_Overview.
About the New Convergence Theory (NCT), cf. Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Beyond Etymology. Historical Reconstruction and Diachronic Toponomastics Through the Lens of a New Convergence Theory, in «Acta Linguistica. Journal for Theoretical Linguistics», 8 (2014) 3, pp. 79-98, https://www.academia.edu/10225215/Beyond_Etymology._Historical_Reconstruction_and_Diachronic_Toponomastics_Through_the_Lens_of_a_New_Convergence_Theory.
This document is the text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 30, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to explain the all-embracing methodology of the New Convergence Theory in the field of Indo-European Linguistics, developing a general reasoning about the guidelines of this Theory and focusing on some specific aspects / results inherent in Indo-European Toponymy / Hydronymy, involving a new interpretation of place names and river names and a new methodology in Etymological Reconstruction. The text discusses shortly the main Theories about Indo-European Linguistics and the hypotheses about the Indo-European settlement dynamics and population movements, highlighting, then, the focal and main principles of the New Convergence Theory, specifically related to the etymological interpretation and reconstruction of the origins (and of the original meanings) of Prehistoric place names and watercourses names. The New Convergence Theory starts from a new analysis of names studied through the application of Historical Phonetics to the different onomastic forms, with the evaluation and the intervention of Historical Semantics, Historical Geography, Historical Toponomastics, and Paleo-Anthropology. The text has been completed by an Addendum about Etymological Reconstructions, Etymological Reconstructions. Traditional Methodologies and the New Convergence Theory Results.
Link to the Addendum (Etymological Reconstructions. Traditional Methodologies and the New Convergence Theory Results), https://www.academia.edu/8096806/Etymological_Reconstructions._Traditional_Methodologies_and_the_New_Convergence_Theory_Results_-_ADDENDUM_to_The_Indo-European_Linguistics_and_the_New_Convergence_Theory._An_Overview.
About the New Convergence Theory (NCT), cf. Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Beyond Etymology. Historical Reconstruction and Diachronic Toponomastics Through the Lens of a New Convergence Theory, in «Acta Linguistica. Journal for Theoretical Linguistics», 8 (2014) 3, pp. 79-98, https://www.academia.edu/10225215/Beyond_Etymology._Historical_Reconstruction_and_Diachronic_Toponomastics_Through_the_Lens_of_a_New_Convergence_Theory.
Research Interests:
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Etymological Reconstructions. Traditional Methodologies and the New Convergence Theory Results - ADDENDUM to The Indo-European Linguistics and the New Convergence Theory. An Overview, Lectio Magistralis given,... more
Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Etymological Reconstructions. Traditional Methodologies and the New Convergence Theory Results - ADDENDUM to The Indo-European Linguistics and the New Convergence Theory. An Overview, Lectio Magistralis given, on September 30, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore
This document is the complemenary text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 30, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to explain the all-embracing methodology of the New Convergence Theory in the field of Indo-European Linguistics, developing a general reasoning about the guidelines of this Theory and focusing on some specific aspects / results inherent in Indo-European Toponymy / Hydronymy, involving a new interpretation of place names and river names and a new methodology in Etymological Reconstruction. The text discusses shortly the main Theories about Indo-European Linguistics and the hypotheses about the Indo-European settlement dynamics and population movements, highlighting, then, the focal and main principles of the New Convergence Theory, specifically related to the etymological interpretation and reconstruction of the origins (and of the original meanings) of Prehistoric place names and watercourses names. The New Convergence Theory starts from a new analysis of names studied through the application of Historical Phonetics to the different onomastic forms, with the evaluation and the intervention of Historical Semantics, Historical Geography, Historical Toponomastics, and Paleo-Anthropology.
Link to the main document (The Indo-European Linguistics and the New Convergence Theory. An Overview), https://www.academia.edu/8096497/The_Indo-European_Linguistics_and_the_New_Convergence_Theory._An_Overview.
About the New Convergence Theory (NCT), cf. Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Beyond Etymology. Historical Reconstruction and Diachronic Toponomastics Through the Lens of a New Convergence Theory, in «Acta Linguistica. Journal for Theoretical Linguistics», 8 (2014) 3, pp. 79-98, https://www.academia.edu/10225215/Beyond_Etymology._Historical_Reconstruction_and_Diachronic_Toponomastics_Through_the_Lens_of_a_New_Convergence_Theory.
This document is the complemenary text of a Lectio Magistralis given, on September 30, 2013, at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (COHASS), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS), Singapore. The Lecture was aimed to explain the all-embracing methodology of the New Convergence Theory in the field of Indo-European Linguistics, developing a general reasoning about the guidelines of this Theory and focusing on some specific aspects / results inherent in Indo-European Toponymy / Hydronymy, involving a new interpretation of place names and river names and a new methodology in Etymological Reconstruction. The text discusses shortly the main Theories about Indo-European Linguistics and the hypotheses about the Indo-European settlement dynamics and population movements, highlighting, then, the focal and main principles of the New Convergence Theory, specifically related to the etymological interpretation and reconstruction of the origins (and of the original meanings) of Prehistoric place names and watercourses names. The New Convergence Theory starts from a new analysis of names studied through the application of Historical Phonetics to the different onomastic forms, with the evaluation and the intervention of Historical Semantics, Historical Geography, Historical Toponomastics, and Paleo-Anthropology.
Link to the main document (The Indo-European Linguistics and the New Convergence Theory. An Overview), https://www.academia.edu/8096497/The_Indo-European_Linguistics_and_the_New_Convergence_Theory._An_Overview.
About the New Convergence Theory (NCT), cf. Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, Beyond Etymology. Historical Reconstruction and Diachronic Toponomastics Through the Lens of a New Convergence Theory, in «Acta Linguistica. Journal for Theoretical Linguistics», 8 (2014) 3, pp. 79-98, https://www.academia.edu/10225215/Beyond_Etymology._Historical_Reconstruction_and_Diachronic_Toponomastics_Through_the_Lens_of_a_New_Convergence_Theory.
Research Interests:
This work is the integrative handbook, designed as a lecture notes compendium, inherent in my Master Course in Comparative Literature (The Food and the Laugh. The Representation of Food and Nutrition in the Italian and European... more
This work is the integrative handbook, designed as a lecture notes compendium, inherent in my Master Course in Comparative Literature (The Food and the Laugh. The Representation of Food and Nutrition in the Italian and European Literature between XIII and XVII Centuries. An Exercise in Comparative Literature) - Academic Year 2012-2013 - at the International University of Pollenzo (UNISG), Pollenzo, Italy. The booklet discusses some of the main subjects related to the theme of the Representation of Food and Nutrition in the European Literature between XIII and XVII centuries. The structure of this work is that of an essay and it is divided into three parts concerning, in the first two chapters, the theme of the "Food Literature" through the analysis of the Rabelais's chef-d'oeuvre (in particular of the Fourth Book of "Gargantua et Pantagruel") and of the almost archetypal "figure" of the banquet in the work of the French Author and, in the third chapter, of the development of satirical and burlesque poetry in Italy in the XV century, with particular attention on the literary personalities of the poets Domenico di Giovanni, better known as "il Burchiello", and Francesco Berni. Then are made available to the readers some brief biographical notes relating to the most important Authors of the burlesque and parodic literary genre in the European Literature of the period under review, il Burchiello, Luigi Pulci, Theophilus Folengo, François Rabelais and Francesco Berni.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
MOREOVER, THIS VERSION IS A SIMPLE TEACHING MATERIAL, SO THE CITATIONS IN-TEXT AND THE FORMATTING ARE NOT COMPLETE AND NOT CONSISTENT, PLEASE, KINDLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT JUST WRITTEN ABOVE WHEN READING AND, EVENTUALLY, CITING THIS INCOMPLETE ABRIDGED VERSION.
THE ATTACHED FILE IS A SUMMARIZED VERSION OF A MORE EXTENDED WORK.
MOREOVER, THIS VERSION IS A SIMPLE TEACHING MATERIAL, SO THE CITATIONS IN-TEXT AND THE FORMATTING ARE NOT COMPLETE AND NOT CONSISTENT, PLEASE, KINDLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT JUST WRITTEN ABOVE WHEN READING AND, EVENTUALLY, CITING THIS INCOMPLETE ABRIDGED VERSION.
Research Interests:
This presentation reconstructs a number of Abui (Papuan) place names and micro-toponyms from the coastal area of Alor Island (South-East Indonesia) through the analysis of a legend involving two gods of Abui traditional religion and the... more
This presentation reconstructs a number of Abui (Papuan) place names and micro-toponyms from the coastal area of Alor Island (South-East Indonesia) through the analysis of a legend involving two gods of Abui traditional religion and the replacement of the first with the second one. The myth appears as diachronically 'multi-layered', from ancestral times to the 'arrival' of Christianity in Alor Island and the consequent identification of the 'bad' (or 'weaker') god as a demon and, then, as the devil. The story allows the etymological and historical-semantic explanation of around eight place names (toponyms and micro-toponyms), drawing a map of that 'mythological' space and landscape that is still real, attested, existing, known, and recognized by Abui native-speakers. The etymological and historical / diachronic analysis of place names, in this case, is fruitful not only in the reconstruction of their origins and in map-tracking, but it involves also an anthropological study of cultural aspects of the oral tradition of Abui religion. The story here described is considered true (not a legend) by Abui people and all the place names part of that story are 'felt' and assumed by Abui people according to the features they have in the legend. These place names and micro-toponyms, therefore, show to have a relevance that goes beyond the etymological reconstruction, allowing important remarks in the fields of anthropology and history of culture and a close association between diachronic toponomastics and anthropological linguistics.
Research Interests:
This paper describes the Linear A / Minoan digital corpus and the approaches we applied to develop it. We aim to set up a suitable study resource for Linear A and Minoan. Firstly we start by introducing Linear A and Minoan in order to... more
This paper describes the Linear A / Minoan digital corpus and the approaches we applied to develop it. We aim to set up a suitable study resource for Linear A and Minoan. Firstly we start by introducing Linear A and Minoan in order to make it clear why we should develop a digital marked up corpus of the existing Linear A transcriptions. Secondly we list and describe some of the existing resources about Linear A: Linear A documents (seals, statuettes, vessels etc.), the traditional encoding systems (standard code numbers referring to distinct symbols), a Linear A font, and the newest (released on June 16th 2014) Unicode Standard Characters set for Linear A. Thirdly we explain our choice concerning the data format: why we decided to digitize the Linear A resources; why we decided to convert all the transcriptions in standard Unicode characters; why we decided to use an XML format; why we decided to implement the TEI-EpiDoc DTD. Lastly we describe: the developing process (from the data collection to the issues we faced and the solving strategies); a new font we developed (synchronized with the Unicode Characters Set) in order to make the data readable even on systems that are not updated. Finally, we discuss the corpus we developed in a Cultural Heritage preservation perspective and suggest some future works.
The slides: https://www.academia.edu/14675424/Minoan_Linguistic_Resources_The_Linear_A_Digital_Corpus_-_SLIDES.
The slides: https://www.academia.edu/14675424/Minoan_Linguistic_Resources_The_Linear_A_Digital_Corpus_-_SLIDES.
Research Interests:
These are the slides of the paper Minoan Linguistic Resources: The Linear A Digital Corpus (LaTech 2015). The paper describes the Linear A / Minoan digital corpus and the approaches we applied to develop it. We aim to set up a suitable... more
These are the slides of the paper Minoan Linguistic Resources: The Linear A Digital Corpus (LaTech 2015). The paper describes the Linear A / Minoan digital corpus and the approaches we applied to develop it. We aim to set up a suitable study resource for Linear A and Minoan. Firstly we start by introducing Linear A and Minoan in order to make it clear why we should develop a digital marked up corpus of the existing Linear A transcriptions. Secondly we list and describe some of the existing resources about Linear A: Linear A documents (seals, statuettes, vessels etc.), the traditional encoding systems (standard code numbers referring to distinct symbols), a Linear A font, and the newest (released on June 16th 2014) Unicode Standard Characters set for Linear A. Thirdly we explain our choice concerning the data format: why we decided to digitize the Linear A resources; why we decided to convert all the transcriptions in standard Unicode characters; why we decided to use an XML format; why we decided to implement the TEI-EpiDoc DTD. Lastly we describe: the developing process (from the data collection to the issues we faced and the solving strategies); a new font we developed (synchronized with the Unicode Characters Set) in order to make the data readable even on systems that are not updated. Finally, we discuss the corpus we developed in a Cultural Heritage preservation perspective and suggest some future works.
The paper: https://www.academia.edu/14641910/Minoan_Linguistic_Resources_The_Linear_A_Digital_Corpus.
The paper: https://www.academia.edu/14641910/Minoan_Linguistic_Resources_The_Linear_A_Digital_Corpus.
Research Interests:
The work is the preface of the collection of poems by Carlo Prosperi "Il campo dei miracoli".
Research Interests:
The Abui Botanical Corpus Online - Healing Plants https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/abui/home/ The Abui Healing Plants Project is focused on the documentation of the names of medicinal plant names in Abui, providing their gloss, the etymology of... more
The Abui Botanical Corpus Online - Healing Plants
https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/abui/home/
The Abui Healing Plants Project is focused on the documentation of the names of medicinal plant names in Abui, providing their gloss, the etymology of the phytonyms, the names and their categories in binomial nomenclature, the oral traditional stories in Abui culture connected with the names, and the cultural relevance of the plants themselves.
https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/abui/home/
The Abui Healing Plants Project is focused on the documentation of the names of medicinal plant names in Abui, providing their gloss, the etymology of the phytonyms, the names and their categories in binomial nomenclature, the oral traditional stories in Abui culture connected with the names, and the cultural relevance of the plants themselves.
Research Interests: Botany, Anthropology, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Ethnography, and 15 moreLanguage Variation and Change, Etymology, Language Documentation, Austronesian Languages, Oral Traditions, Papuan linguistics, Language Change, Toponymy, Linguistic Typology, Nomenclature, Papuan Languages, Language Description, Language Documentation and Description, Alor-Pantar languages, and Botanical Nomenclature
This Research Project (in Computational Linguistics and Aegean Philology) deals with the Linear A Aegean Writing according to a Computational Linguistics and Digital Philology approach. It consists in collecting existing transcriptions... more
This Research Project (in Computational Linguistics and Aegean Philology) deals with the Linear A Aegean Writing according to a Computational Linguistics and Digital Philology approach. It consists in collecting existing transcriptions and processing, digitizing, and re-encoding them, producing an organized and homogenous Corpus of Linear A transcriptions that can serve as the basis for analysis. The major feature of this kind of transcription work concerns the Corpus that does not rely on the usual syllabic transcription of Linear A, but encodes the texts as sequences of signs of unknown nature. The application of computational methods will investigate the structure of the (so far undeciphered) language transcribed in Linear A, studying the distributions of words and inferring possible roots and affixes based on the frequencies and associations of the symbols found in the texts. An Indo-European language is supposed to have such a morphological structure, so the analysis of the data can be pivotal to determine or to deny the possible Indo-European (or, to the opposite, the non-Indo-European) nature of the language transcribed through the Linear A. In order to represent the symbols of Linear A we have already developed a new ad hoc font, compliant with the Unicode standards, that serves for representation. This is, however, only a temporary measure since an official Linear A Unicode release is expected in autumn 2014, at which time we will adapt the encoding of our Corpus to the new standard. Once completed, the Corpus will be shared and distributed freely, hoping that more and faster work can be done in future about this topic. The documentation we use for this Project has been kindly provided to us by Prof. John G. YOUNGER (The University of Kansas, Department of Classics, Lawrence, KS, USA), to whom is dedicated the font we have developed and our Research work.
Research Interests:
Keywords: Min Dialectology and Toponymy, Convergence Theory, Language Contact, Sinitic, Papuan, the notion of "whole" Abstract This Research Project aims to test the applicability of the Indo-European Toponymy Theories... more
Keywords: Min Dialectology and Toponymy, Convergence Theory, Language Contact, Sinitic, Papuan, the notion of "whole"
Abstract
This Research Project aims to test the applicability of the Indo-European Toponymy Theories (Toponomastics, Convergence Theory) in the Southeast Asian context, using data from two unrelated test sites, Southeast China (Guangdong Province) and Eastern Indonesia (Timor area).
These two sites are very different.
The Southeast Asian site (Zhongshan County, Guangdong Province) is a dialectal island created by a punitive resettlement of a rebellious Min minority from the Fujian Province during the Song Dynasty (about 1000 years ago). It offers a unique natural experiment in the inheritance of toponyms. A significant group of Min speakers settled in traditional Yue territory with proven Tai substrate.
The Alor-Pantar site lies in an ancient language contact zone between Papuan and Austronesian, along one of the possible settlement routes to Australia. While no historical records are available, the site offers a unique opportunity to study societies
relying on oral transmission of knowledge.
An important development and a relevant part of the Project is focused on the study of the expression of the notion of "whole" and "totality" in the Abui language, both in the general lexicon, common and geographical, and in local place names, where the concept of "whole" and "totality" is a marker of differentiation – in Toponymy – between a specific place and another.
We hope to identify possible universal aspects of the new Convergence Theory (especially in the field of Historical Semantics) through its application in a non-Indo-European area with varying degree of available historical records and societal
complexity.
Links,
1. http://www.aionlinguistica.com/study-day-expressing-the-whole-in-world-languages.html;
2. http://www.aionlinguistica.com/uploads/1/3/1/5/13155006/brochure_29nov2013_web.pdf.
Abstract
This Research Project aims to test the applicability of the Indo-European Toponymy Theories (Toponomastics, Convergence Theory) in the Southeast Asian context, using data from two unrelated test sites, Southeast China (Guangdong Province) and Eastern Indonesia (Timor area).
These two sites are very different.
The Southeast Asian site (Zhongshan County, Guangdong Province) is a dialectal island created by a punitive resettlement of a rebellious Min minority from the Fujian Province during the Song Dynasty (about 1000 years ago). It offers a unique natural experiment in the inheritance of toponyms. A significant group of Min speakers settled in traditional Yue territory with proven Tai substrate.
The Alor-Pantar site lies in an ancient language contact zone between Papuan and Austronesian, along one of the possible settlement routes to Australia. While no historical records are available, the site offers a unique opportunity to study societies
relying on oral transmission of knowledge.
An important development and a relevant part of the Project is focused on the study of the expression of the notion of "whole" and "totality" in the Abui language, both in the general lexicon, common and geographical, and in local place names, where the concept of "whole" and "totality" is a marker of differentiation – in Toponymy – between a specific place and another.
We hope to identify possible universal aspects of the new Convergence Theory (especially in the field of Historical Semantics) through its application in a non-Indo-European area with varying degree of available historical records and societal
complexity.
Links,
1. http://www.aionlinguistica.com/study-day-expressing-the-whole-in-world-languages.html;
2. http://www.aionlinguistica.com/uploads/1/3/1/5/13155006/brochure_29nov2013_web.pdf.
Research Interests:
This Poster discusses the expressions of "wholeness" and "unity" in the lexicon and grammar of Abui, a Papuan language of Eastern Indonesia. After overviewing the lexical and grammatical devices, we also explore how the notion of... more
This Poster discusses the expressions of "wholeness" and "unity" in the lexicon and grammar of Abui, a Papuan language of Eastern Indonesia. After overviewing the lexical and grammatical devices, we also explore how the notion of wholeness is applied to space, landscape, and its human inhabitants.
Links,
1) http://www.aionlinguistica.com/study-day-expressing-the-whole-in-world-languages.html
2) http://www.aionlinguistica.com/uploads/1/3/1/5/13155006/brochure_29nov2013_web.pdf.
Links,
1) http://www.aionlinguistica.com/study-day-expressing-the-whole-in-world-languages.html
2) http://www.aionlinguistica.com/uploads/1/3/1/5/13155006/brochure_29nov2013_web.pdf.
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Language Documentation, Endangered Languages, Lexical Semantics, and 6 moreDescriptive Linguistics, Descriptive Linguistics, Language Documentation, Indigenous Languages, Sociolinguistics, Field Linguistics, Historical Semantics, Language Description, Field linguistics, and Language description and documentation
- Humanities & Social Sciences Communications: Call for Papers - Toponymy and Toponomastics at the Intersection between Language Contact and Historical Geography - The academic journal "Humanities & Social Sciences Communications",... more
- Humanities & Social Sciences Communications: Call for Papers - Toponymy and Toponomastics at the Intersection between Language Contact and Historical Geography -
The academic journal "Humanities & Social Sciences Communications", https://www.nature.com/palcomms/, published by Springer Nature, is currently welcoming submissions of original research for a thematic Collection (or Special Issue) entitled "Toponymy and Toponomastics at the Intersection between Language Contact and Historical Geography".
Guest Editors for the Collection are Dr Francesco Perono Cacciafoco (Associate Professor in Linguistics at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China) and Dr Remus Cretan (Professor in Human Geography at the West University of Timisoara, Romania).
Full details of the call for papers can be found here, https://www.nature.com/collections/icbeaecjib.
Submissions will be welcomed at any point in time up until the 1st of August 2024.
We are welcoming a range of perspectives, including theoretical, methodological, quantitative, and qualitative studies. Original research and review papers are invited.
To submit your manuscript, https://mts-palcomms.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex, please, kindly follow the steps detailed on this page, https://www.nature.com/palcomms/author-instructions/submission-instructions, and be sure to select the Collection in the relevant drop-down menu on submission.
We also recommend mentioning the Collection and your article's suitability in your cover letter.
The journal's average turnaround time from submission to first editorial decision is 40-50 days.
All submitted papers are subject to the journal's standard peer review process, which includes double-blind peer review by independent academics. Papers will be assessed against the journal's criteria for publication.
If accepted for publication, an article processing charge (APC) applies (with a standard waiver policy available for qualifying authors).
"Humanities & Social Sciences Communications" is a fully open-access, online journal publishing peer-reviewed research from across—and between—all areas of the humanities, behavioural and social sciences. The journal (Q1) is indexed in SSCI and AHCI, and has a 2-year Impact Factor of 2.731. It operated as "Palgrave Communications" from January 2015 to June 2020.
The journal is strongly committed to upholding the highest editorial and ethical standards and providing our authors and readers with a responsive and efficient service. You can find out more about the journal here, https://www.nature.com/palcomms/aims-and-scope, and in this short video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWiZnBFtu-0.
This Collection is a great opportunity to showcase cutting edge research in this high visibility Springer Nature journal.
We are looking forward to receiving high quality contributions.
For any question and clarification, please, kindly contact Francesco at Francesco.Perono@xjtlu.edu.cn and Remus at remus.cretan@e-uvt.ro.
The academic journal "Humanities & Social Sciences Communications", https://www.nature.com/palcomms/, published by Springer Nature, is currently welcoming submissions of original research for a thematic Collection (or Special Issue) entitled "Toponymy and Toponomastics at the Intersection between Language Contact and Historical Geography".
Guest Editors for the Collection are Dr Francesco Perono Cacciafoco (Associate Professor in Linguistics at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China) and Dr Remus Cretan (Professor in Human Geography at the West University of Timisoara, Romania).
Full details of the call for papers can be found here, https://www.nature.com/collections/icbeaecjib.
Submissions will be welcomed at any point in time up until the 1st of August 2024.
We are welcoming a range of perspectives, including theoretical, methodological, quantitative, and qualitative studies. Original research and review papers are invited.
To submit your manuscript, https://mts-palcomms.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex, please, kindly follow the steps detailed on this page, https://www.nature.com/palcomms/author-instructions/submission-instructions, and be sure to select the Collection in the relevant drop-down menu on submission.
We also recommend mentioning the Collection and your article's suitability in your cover letter.
The journal's average turnaround time from submission to first editorial decision is 40-50 days.
All submitted papers are subject to the journal's standard peer review process, which includes double-blind peer review by independent academics. Papers will be assessed against the journal's criteria for publication.
If accepted for publication, an article processing charge (APC) applies (with a standard waiver policy available for qualifying authors).
"Humanities & Social Sciences Communications" is a fully open-access, online journal publishing peer-reviewed research from across—and between—all areas of the humanities, behavioural and social sciences. The journal (Q1) is indexed in SSCI and AHCI, and has a 2-year Impact Factor of 2.731. It operated as "Palgrave Communications" from January 2015 to June 2020.
The journal is strongly committed to upholding the highest editorial and ethical standards and providing our authors and readers with a responsive and efficient service. You can find out more about the journal here, https://www.nature.com/palcomms/aims-and-scope, and in this short video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWiZnBFtu-0.
This Collection is a great opportunity to showcase cutting edge research in this high visibility Springer Nature journal.
We are looking forward to receiving high quality contributions.
For any question and clarification, please, kindly contact Francesco at Francesco.Perono@xjtlu.edu.cn and Remus at remus.cretan@e-uvt.ro.
Research Interests: Geography, Human Geography, Historical Geography, Urban Geography, Cartography, and 15 moreDiachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Landscape Archaeology, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Language Documentation, Fieldwork in linguistics, Landscape, Toponymy, Toponymy (Geography), Topography, Historical and Cultural Geography, Landscape and Memory, Toponymy, Onomastics, Toponomastics, Hydronyms, and Field linguistics
A language’s landscape terms and place names reflect the way landscape is conceptualized by its speakers; furthermore, place names may provide clues about a given area’s population history and are routinely interpreted so by geographers... more
A language’s landscape terms and place names reflect the way landscape is conceptualized by its speakers; furthermore, place names may provide clues about a given area’s population history and are routinely interpreted so by geographers and historians. This panel explores landscape categorization, as revealed through both generic landscape terms and place names in the Austronesian world. A particular focus is on the cues to a region’s linguistic past preserved in such terms. We are mainly interested in areas where, in the course of their south- and eastward expansion, Austronesian speakers encountered earlier populations (e.g. Philippines, Nusantara, mainland SE Asia, Near Melanesia) and invite papers dealing with the topic both in Austronesian languages and in languages known to have been in long-term contact with Austronesian languages. In addition, we also welcome contributions dealing with landscape terms and the diachronic toponymy of the Austronesian homeland, Taiwan, and areas with no human population prior to Austronesian migration, such as Oceania and Madagascar.
Call for abstracts
The questions that this panel aims to address are the following:
a) Is there a typically Austronesian system of landscape categorization through either generic landscape terms or place names? For this purpose, we invite contributions from Taiwan, the Austronesian homeland, and Oceania, where Austronesian peoples settled previously unoccupied islands; and
b) What can landscape terms and place names tell us about the past of linguistically and ethnically diverse regions in the Austronesian world? We are particularly interested in areas where Austronesian speakers encountered speakers of unrelated languages, e.g. Eastern Indonesia, Philippines, mainland SE Asia.
We invite contributions discussing the languages of the stipulated areas addressing the following topics:
1. Landscape terms and their etymology (in terms of Bohnemeyer et al. 2004 and Burenhult and Levinson 2008; relating to Blust and Trussel 2010)
2. Papers going beyond etymology and engaging in historical interpretation of onomastic strategies, their inheritance and relations to potential substrates (pre-Austronesian) and overlays (e.g. Sanskrit).
3. Detailed descriptions of micro-landscape and their etymology (all place names within a single community, including village parts, parts of the house compound, adjacent fields, coastline, etc.)
4. Hydronyms and their etymology (seascape, coast, rivers, springs, etc.)
5. Names related to human activity in landscape and their etymology (settlements, harbors, paths, fields, gardens, hunting or fishing grounds)
6. Morphological and semantic structure of place names in an area including studies of the role of metaphor in the name giving process
7. Approaches to mapping and visualization of the above topics
8. Landscape as an interpreted system (containing agricultural, ecological, historical, meteorological, political, and spiritual knowledge and experience, as discussed above)
9. Effects of language shift on the knowledge of landscape terms and associated knowledge
We expect an attempt to recognize various historical layers in landscape and place names, and invite the contributors to their interpretation, as outlined above.
Spatial deixis and navigation in landscape are beyond the scope of this panel; both have been dealt with elsewhere (e.g., Senft 1997).
Deadline for abstract submission:
January 1, 2015
Notification of acceptance for individual abstracts:
January 15, 2015
email: fkratochvil@ntu.edu.sg
Call for abstracts
The questions that this panel aims to address are the following:
a) Is there a typically Austronesian system of landscape categorization through either generic landscape terms or place names? For this purpose, we invite contributions from Taiwan, the Austronesian homeland, and Oceania, where Austronesian peoples settled previously unoccupied islands; and
b) What can landscape terms and place names tell us about the past of linguistically and ethnically diverse regions in the Austronesian world? We are particularly interested in areas where Austronesian speakers encountered speakers of unrelated languages, e.g. Eastern Indonesia, Philippines, mainland SE Asia.
We invite contributions discussing the languages of the stipulated areas addressing the following topics:
1. Landscape terms and their etymology (in terms of Bohnemeyer et al. 2004 and Burenhult and Levinson 2008; relating to Blust and Trussel 2010)
2. Papers going beyond etymology and engaging in historical interpretation of onomastic strategies, their inheritance and relations to potential substrates (pre-Austronesian) and overlays (e.g. Sanskrit).
3. Detailed descriptions of micro-landscape and their etymology (all place names within a single community, including village parts, parts of the house compound, adjacent fields, coastline, etc.)
4. Hydronyms and their etymology (seascape, coast, rivers, springs, etc.)
5. Names related to human activity in landscape and their etymology (settlements, harbors, paths, fields, gardens, hunting or fishing grounds)
6. Morphological and semantic structure of place names in an area including studies of the role of metaphor in the name giving process
7. Approaches to mapping and visualization of the above topics
8. Landscape as an interpreted system (containing agricultural, ecological, historical, meteorological, political, and spiritual knowledge and experience, as discussed above)
9. Effects of language shift on the knowledge of landscape terms and associated knowledge
We expect an attempt to recognize various historical layers in landscape and place names, and invite the contributors to their interpretation, as outlined above.
Spatial deixis and navigation in landscape are beyond the scope of this panel; both have been dealt with elsewhere (e.g., Senft 1997).
Deadline for abstract submission:
January 1, 2015
Notification of acceptance for individual abstracts:
January 15, 2015
email: fkratochvil@ntu.edu.sg
Research Interests:
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540), is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek, the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with... more
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540),
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
Research Interests:
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540), is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek, the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with... more
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540),
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
Research Interests:
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540), is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek, the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with... more
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540),
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540), is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek, the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in... more
ABSTRACT
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540),
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.
This decipherment of the the Silver Pin, Mavro Spelio KN Zf 31 (HM 540),
is subject to the hypothesis that Minoan Linear A is Anatolian proto-Greek,
the synchronous adstrate of cuneiform Hittite and Luwian. These findings are in line with those of our first publication, The influence of Hittite and
digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations, Preliminary
Findings, previously published on this platform. Since then, we have revised our theory to encompass Anatolian Hittite and Luwian. Furthermore, our decipherment of this inscription is subject to computer generated cluster analysis, which runs scores of lexicons of various ancient languages through a computer program that strips vowels from words to extract consonant clusters alone. Our research teamʾs entirely novel approach is under the auspices of Francesco Perono Cacciafoco and Manoj Pratham, Editorial Consultants. This technique may very well prove to be a ground-breaking game changer in the eventual decipherment of ancient languages which have long since defied multiple attempts at deciphering them.