Francesco Perono Cacciafoco

Associate Professor in Linguistics, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Dr Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO (Ph.D. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, 2011) is, currently, an Associate Professor in Linguistics at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Department of Applied Linguistics (LNG), Suzhou, China, where he teaches Historical Linguistics (LNG307), Language Documentation (LNG210), and History of English (LNG105).

Before joining XJTLU, he was a Senior Lecturer in Historical Linguistics at the Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Programme (LMS), School of Humanities (SoH), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CoHASS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, where he was teaching Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Language and Oral Tradition, Historical Semantics, and History of Cryptography. At NTU, he was also the Latin Language Lead Coordinator at the Centre for Modern Languages (CML).

He got his Master of Arts in Classical Philology and Historical Linguistics (with a Dissertation on the History of the Latin Language) and his PhD in Historical Linguistics, Greek and Latin Philology and Literature, and Comparative Literature (with a Dissertation on the Historical Development of the Late Latin Language and Poetry) at the University of Pisa (Pisa, Italy), working with Prof. Claudio M. Moreschini and Prof. Maria G. Arcamone.

His Research expertise and interests are mainly focused on Historical Linguistics, on the etymological reconstruction of Indo-European (prehistoric) place names (Historical Toponomastics), on the study of Aegean Civilizations and Scripts, on the documentation of languages from South-East Asia belonging, in particular, to the Papuan and Austronesian families, and on the History of Cryptology and Crypto-linguistics. His academic background includes also Comparative Literature, Classical Philology, Theoretical Linguistics, Historical Geography, and Paleoanthropology. He has mainly studied, in these fields, Contemporary Western Poetry and the parodic Literature of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, oral (Homeric) Literature in Ancient Greece, the History of Greek and Roman Medicine and Medical Literature, the relations between landscape and the naming process of place names, and the prehistory of languages in Europe and Asia.

An Etymologist and Historian of Languages, he has developed Research work in Historical Linguistics and Mycenaeology at the University of Pisa (Pisa, Italy) and he has taught, as a Contract Professor, Comparative Literature and History of Greek and Roman Medical Literature at the International University of Pollenzo - UNISG (Pollenzo, Italy).

He has published around 80 Research works (papers, books, conference talks, book reviews, and chapters in academic books) and he is the first Author of the academic handbook Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics (2023), published by the Cambridge University Press. In the field of Indo-European Linguistics, he has developed the so-called New Convergence Theory (NCT) on Indo-European origins, working, among others, with Dr Guido Borghi (University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy) and Prof. Martin Bernal.

He is the recipient of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), School of Humanities (SoH), Lecturers Excellence (LEX) Award 2018 (Best Lecturer).

Francesco is an Academic Mentor and Reviewer at the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), where he is also a Member of the Committee on Endangered Languages and Their Preservation (CELP).

Academic Profile: https://scholar.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/persons/FrancescoPerono

Experience

2023–present

Associate Professor in Linguistics, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), Suzhou (Jiangsu), China
2017–2022

Senior Lecturer in Historical Linguistics, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

Education

2014

Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Post-Doctorate in Field Linguistics and Language Documentation
2011

University of Pisa (Italy), PhD in Classics and Historical Linguistics
2007

University of Pisa (Italy), MA in Classics and Historical Linguistics

Publications

2024

Cultural Contacts among Pre-Roman Peoples in Iron Age Italy: The Case of Venetic Inscriptions, Histories (Section "Cultural History"), 4, 2: 220-233
2024

Minoan Cryptanalysis: Computational Approaches to Deciphering Linear A and Assessing Its Connections with Language Families from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Areas, Information, 15, 2, 73: 1-13
2024

‘Moko’ Drums and Gongs, Ritual Musical Instruments and Local Currency from Alor Island, Southeast Indonesia: A Comprehensive and Verified Lexical Data Set, Data in Brief, 54, 110354: 1-10
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
2023

Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics, Cambridge University Press
2023

Unravelling the Mystery of the Singapore Stone: A Comparative Analysis with the Calcutta Stone and the Possible Kawi Connection, Histories (Section "Cultural History"), 3, 3: 261-270
2023

What Is Your Legacy? A Pilot Study of Naming Practices of Legacy Hawker Stalls in a Singaporean Hawker Center, Social Sciences, 12, 6: 341 (1-13)
2023

Border Areas in Ancient Europe: A Case Study from Northeastern Italy, Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, XVIII, 35-36: 15-34
2023

A Puzzling Religious Inscription from Medieval Tuscany: Symbology and Interpretation, Histories (Section "Cultural History"), 3, 3: 219-230
2023

The Singapore Stone: Documenting the Origins, Destruction, Journey and Legacy of an Undeciphered Stone Monolith, Histories (Section "Cultural History"), 3, 3: 271-287
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
2022

Pedra Branca Off Singapore: A Historical Cartographic Analysis of a Post-colonial Territorially Disputed Island, Histories, 2, 1: 47-67
2022

Unveiling the Enigmatic Origins of Sardinian Toponyms, Languages, 7, 2, 131: 1-19
2022

Singapore’s Forgotten Stories: The Orang Kallang Tribe of Kallang River, Humans, 2, 3: 138-147
2022

The Puzzle of a Horn: An Etymology for the Word Gemshorn, Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics / Analele Universității Din Craiova: Seria Ştiințe Filologice, Linguistică, 44, 1 / 2: 141-154
2022

From Pasir Ris to Pioneer: Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Names in Relation to Its Identity, Onomastica, 66 (11): 147-161
2021

The Undeciphered Inscription of the Baptistery of Pisa, Academia Letters, 3359: 1-6
2021

Discovering Unwritten Stories: A Modular Case Study in Promoting Landscape Education, Education Sciences (Special Issue “An Educational Approach to Landscape”), 11(2), 68: 1-16
2021

Change and Continuity: Colonial and Contemporary Toponyms of Singapore's Offshore Islands, Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, XVI, 31-32: 87-122
2021

Toponyms as a Gateway to Society: An Abui Case Study, Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia, 1, 1: 1-18
2021

Isles and Their Stories: A Study of Three Islands of the Singapore Archipelago, Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, XVI, 31-32: 37-60
2021

A Study of Abui: Building an Abui Botanical Corpus and Examining Abui Culture through Its Folktales, Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics / Analele Universității Din Craiova: Seria Ştiințe Filologice, Linguistică, 43, 1 / 2: 159-179
2020

Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy, Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, XV, 29-30: 121-142
2020

Then and Now: A Comparative Historical Toponomastics Analysis of Station Names in 2 of Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Lines, Urban Science, 4(3), 37 (Special Issue “Urban Place Names: Political, Economic, and Cultural Dimensions”): 1-20
2020

Singapore's Pre-colonial Place Names: A Philological Reconstruction Developed through the Analysis of Historical Maps, Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, XV, 29-30: 79-120
2019

A Prehistoric ‘Little Goose’: A New Etymology for the Word Ocarina, Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics / Analele Universității Din Craiova: Seria Ştiințe Filologice, Linguistică, 41, 1 / 2: 356-369
2019

Sequent Occupance and Toponymy in Singapore: The Diachronic and Synchronic Development of Urban Place Names, Urban Science, 3(3), 98 (Special Issue “Urban Place Names: Political, Economic, and Cultural Dimensions”): 1-18
2018

Voices from the Streets: Trends in Naming Practices of Singapore Odonymy, Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, 13, 25-26: 9-30
2018

Lamòling Bèaka: Immanence, Rituals, and Sacred Objects in an Unwritten Legend in Alor, Religions, 9, 7, 211
2017

Linear A and Minoan: Some New Old Questions, Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics / Analele Universității Din Craiova: Seria Ştiințe Filologice, Linguistică, 39, 1 / 2: 154-170
2017

The Legend of Lamòling: Unwritten Memories and Diachronic Toponymy through the Lens of an Abui Myth, Lingua: An International Review of General Linguistics, 193: 51-61
2016

Abui Landscape Names: Origin and Functions, Onoma: Journal of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences - ICOS, 51 (Special Issue “Asian Onomastics”): 75-111
2015

Linguistic Contact in Prehistoric Italy: At the Origins of the Place Name Imola, Names: A Journal of Onomastics, 63, 3: 158-170
2015

Diachronic Toponomastics and Language Reconstruction in South-East Asia According to an Experimental Convergent Methodology: Abui as a Case-Study, Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, 10, 19 - 20: 29-47
2014

Beyond Etymology: Historical Reconstruction and Diachronic Toponomastics through the Lens of a New Convergence Theory, Acta Linguistica: Journal for Theoretical Linguistics, 8 - 3: 79-98
2013

Water Place Names in the Pre-Latin Ligurian Context: A Study in Prehistoric Toponomastics and Semantics, Problems of Onomastics / Voprosy Onomastiki, 2 - 15: 91-107

Grants and Contracts

2024

Place Names and Cultural Identity: Toponyms and Their Diachronic Evolution among the Kula People from Alor Island

Role:

PI

Funding Source:

Grant Number: RDF-23-01-014, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), Suzhou (Jiangsu), China
2024

Mapping the Languages of Indigenous Clans in the Eastern Spice Islands

Role:

PI

Funding Source:

Directorate of Cultural Development and Utilization, Directorate General of Culture, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Jakarta, Java, Indonesia), Grant Number: 0513/F5/KB.10.04/2024
2021

An Online Open-Source Database for the Dongba Pictographic Writing System

Role:

PI

Funding Source:

Arts and Humanities Research Grant, Grant Number: 020892-00001, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CoHASS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore
2020

Polyglot Medical Heritage in Maritime Southeast Asia: Foundational Resources and Digital Tools

Role:

Co-PI

Funding Source:

National Heritage Board (NHB), Singapore, Grant Number NHB: 92.90 NTU: 020248-00001
2018

Giving Voice to the Minoan People: The Decipherment of Linear A

Role:

PI

Funding Source:

Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore, Grant Number 2017-T1-002-193

Professional Memberships

Permanent Member of the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed academic Journal Idil: Journal of Art and Language - Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University (Nevşehir, Turkey), 2013 - present
Member of ICOS - International Council of Onomastics Sciences, 2014 - present
Member of EMS - European Mathematical Society, 2017 - present
Member of IACR - International Association for Cryptologic Research, 2017 - present
Member of the LSA - Linguistic Society of America, 2017 - present
Member of the Societas Linguistica Europaea (SLE), 2020 - present
Member of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA), 2021 - present
Member of the Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics (SAAL), 2021 - present
Member of the Committee on Endangered Languages and Their Preservation (CELP) at the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), 2021 - present
Fellow of the Honorary XJTLU Association at the University of Liverpool (UoL), Liverpool, UK, 2023 - present
Associate Editor and Member of the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed academic Journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Springer Nature), 2023 - present
Editor and Member of the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed academic Journal Histories (MDPI), 2024 - present

Honours

Lecturers Excellence (LEX) Award 2018 (Best Lecturer), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), School of Humanities (SoH), Singapore