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Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesHistorical Comparative Linguistics (Department of Linguistics)

Dr. Riccardo Ginevra

Seit 2021 "Ricercatore" für Historische und Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft an der Katholischen Universität Mailand, Abteilung für Klassische Philologie, Papyrologie und Historische Sprachwissenschaft

Historical-Comparative Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
D-50923 Cologne

E-Mail: riccardo.ginevra[at]unicatt[dot]it  rginevr1[at]uni-koeln[dot]de

Academia.edu: https://unicatt.academia.edu/RiccardoGinevra

Publications

Monographs

Articles

  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2023. “The Myth of Baldr’s Death and the Vedic Wounded Sun: the Old Norse theonyms Nanna Neps-dóttir (‘Maiden Sky’s-daughter’) and Hǫðr (‘Darkness’) in Germanic and Indo-European perspective”. In: Laura Massetti (ed.), Castalia: Studies in Indo-European Linguistics, Mythology, and Poetics, 80-105. Leiden and Boston: Brill.
  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2022. “The Old Norse FrameNet (ONoFN): Developing a New Digital Resource for the Study of Semantics and Syntax within a Medieval Germanic Tradition”. Co-author: Francesco Mambrini. Filologia Germanica – Germanic Philology vol. 14, pp. 119-140.
  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2022. “On Chariots and at Sea – Indo-European Gods of Mobility: Old Norse Njǫrðr, Vedic Sanskrit Nā́satya-, and Proto-Indo-European *nes-ḗt-/-ét- ‘returning (safely home), arriving (at the desired goal)’. In: David M. Goldstein, Stephanie W. Jamison, and Brent Vine (eds.), Proceedings of the 32nd Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, pp. 105-124. Hamburg: Buske.
  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2021. “Old Norse ‑yn (Proto‑Germanic *‑unjō‑) and the Re‑Analysis and Spread of Derivational Morphology through Semantic Association. On Old Norse Fjǫrgyn ‘Earth(-goddess)’ and Hlóðyn ‘id.’, Celtic Hercynia (silua) ‘Hercynian forest’, Vedic Pŕ̥śni- ‘mother of the Maruts’, and Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- ‘colourful, spotted, dark’”. In: Alain Blanc and Isabelle Boehm (eds.), Dérivation nominale et innovations dans les langues indo‑européennes anciennes, pp. 61-72. Lyon: MOM Éditions.
  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2021. “Metaphor, metonymy, and myth: Persephone’s death-like journey in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter in the light of Greek phraseology, Indo-European poetics, and Cognitive Linguistics”. In: Ilaria Rizzato, Francesca Strik Lievers, and Elisabetta Zurru (eds.), Variations on Metaphor, pp. 181-211. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2021. “Reconstructing Indo-European Metaphors and Metonymies: a Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Comparative Poetics”. AION-Linguistica vol. 10, pp. 163-181.
  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2020. “The Poetics of Distress, the Rape of the Heavenly Maiden, and the Most Ancient Sleeping Beauty: Oralistic, Linguistic, and Comparative Perspectives on the (Pre-)Historical Development of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter”. CHS Research Bulletin 8. Link: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.essay:GinevraR.The_Poetics_of_Distress.2020  
  • Ginevra Riccardo. 2020. Gods who Shine through the Millennia: Old Norse Baldr, Celtic Belinos, Old Irish Balar, and PIE *bʰelH- ‘be white, shine’. In: Luka Repanšek, Harald Bichlmeier, e Velizar Sadovski (edd.): vácāṃsi miśrā́ kr̥ṇavāvahai. Akten der Arbeitstagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft vom 4. bis 7. Juni 2019 in Ljubljana. Hamburg: Baar Verlag.
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2020. Foamy Rivers and the Wife of the Ocean: Greek ποταμός ‘river’, Τηθῡ́ς ‘mother of all rivers’, and Proto‑Indo‑European *ku̯eth₂‑ ‘foam, seethe’. Papers on Ancient Greek Linguistics. Proceedings of the Ninth International Colloquium on Ancient Greek Linguistics (ICAGL 9), 30 August – 1 September 2018, Helsinki (pp. 99-110). (COMMENTATIONES HUMANARUM LITTERARUM).
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2020. Indo-European Cosmology and Poetics: Cosmic Merisms in Comparative and Cognitive Perspective. Archivio Glottologico Italiano, 104, 5-17.
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2020. Myths of non‑functioning fertility deities in Hittite and Core Indo-European. In: Matilde Serangeli & Thomas Olander (eds.), Dispersals and Diversification. Linguistic and Archaeological Perspectives on the Early Stages of Indo-European, pp. 106-129. Leiden: Brill.
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2019. Vedic bhiṣáj- ‘healer’ (*bʰh₂s-h₂éǵ- 'the one who leads to the light'), the Indo-European poetics of [LIGHT] as [LIFE] and the mythology of the Aśvins. Incontri linguistici, 42, 67-85.
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2019. Proto-Romance *pī̆k(k) ‘small, little’ and Proto-Indo-European *pei̯ḱ- ‘cut (off), carve, fashion’: on the origin of Italian piccolo, Spanish pequeño, Sicilian picca, Latin *pīcus ‘small’ and pīcus ‘divine fashioner; woodpecker’. In: Benedetta Aldinucci et al. (eds.), Parola. Una nozione unica per una ricerca multidisciplinare, pp. 343-352. Siena: Edizioni Università per Stranieri di Siena.
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2019. Indo-European poetics, mythology, and folktale in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter: Ὑλοτόμος, ὑποτάμνον, and a new interpretation for lines 227-230 and the Demophon episode. In A. Porro & S. Barbantani (eds.), Δόσις δ'ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε. Studi offerti a Mario Cantilena per i suoi settant'anni, 27-46. Milano: Vita e Pensiero.
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2018. Old Norse Sígyn (*sei̯ku̯-n̥-i̯éh2- ‘she of the pouring’), Vedic °sécanī- ‘pouring’, Celtic Sēquana and PIE *sei̯ku̯- ‘pour’. In D. M. Goldstein, S. W. Jamison & B. Vine (eds.), Proceedings of the 29th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, 65-76. Bremen: Hempen.
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2018. Il [DORSO – delle ACQUE] in antico nordico (bak báru ‘dorso dell’onda’) e in antico inglese (sǣs hrycg ‘dorso del mare’): innovazione e tradizione di una metafora indoeuropea in ambito germanico. AION Linguistica, 7. 
  • Ginevra, Riccardo. 2018. Old Norse Brokkr, Sanskrit Bhr̥gu- and PIE *(s)bhr̥(h2)g- ‘crackle, roar’. In David M. Goldstein, Stephanie W. Jamison & Brent Vine (eds.), Proceedings of the 28th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference. Bremen.

Talks

  • “The Love Life of the Dead: Norse Valkyries from an Indo-European Perspective”. Symposium “Indo-European Afterlife”. Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study, Uppsala. 30/03/2023. 
  • “Water as Periphery: Etymology, Phraseology, and Indo-European Ecological Discourse". Joint session of the research seminars “Discourse Studies” and “Comparative Literature”. University of Cologne (online). 13/01/2023. 
  • “Cielo e Terra: una coppia universale”. Public talk organized by the no-profit association “Progetto Tortona”. Libreria Namastè, Tortona. 23/09/2022
  • “Traditional possibility and impossible reality: compressed mímēsis in Homeric poetry”. Lecture series: “Auerbach Lectures (Summer Semester 2022)”. Erich Auerbach Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Cologne. 20/06/2022.
  • “Indo-European gods of safe and successful mobility: Old Norse Njǫrðr, Vedic Sanskrit Nā́satya-, and PIE *nes- ‘return (safely home), arrive (at the desired goal)’”. Research seminar “New Shoots from the Roots” (02-03/06/2022). Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen. 03/06/2022. 
  • “There Be Dragons, and Other Dangerous Ones: Serpents, Water, Otherness, and Space in Indo-European”. Symposium “Indo-European Ecologies” (21/10/2021). Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study, Uppsala. 21/10/2021.
  • “A Sacred Way between Eleusis and India: Sanskrit parallels for Eleusinian myth and ritual”. Conference “Ποικιλία Πολιτικῶν: Institucions i mites a la Grècia Antiga” (10-11/06/2021). UAB (online). 11/06/2021.
  • “Indo-European Myths on Patron-Client Relationships and the Power of Words: Evidence from Scandinavia (Æsir-Vanir: Kvasir), India (Varuna-Mitra, Indra-Maruts: Mānya Agastya), and Rome (Patricians-Plebeians: Menēnius Agrippa)”. Conference “Power, Gender and Mobility: Features of Indo-European Society” (26-27/03/2021). University of Copenhagen (online). 27/03/2021. 
  • “Hermes's, Prometheus's, and Thjalfi's Wrongful Meals: Reconstructing the Pragmatic Context of an Indo-European Aetiological Myth”. Research seminar: “Historical Pragmatics”. University of Cologne (online). 15/01/2021.
  • “Hermes and Prometheus in Scandinavia: Reconstructing Indo-European Myth and Ritual”. Conference: Indo-European Interfaces (15–16/10/2020). Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala (online). 16/10/2020. 
  • “Pragmatics of Ritual in Indo-European Poetics and Myth”. Research seminar: “Historical Pragmatics”. University of Cologne (online). 12/06/2020. 
  • “The Rape of the Heavenly Maiden and an Ancient Sleeping Beauty: Indo‑European Phraseology and Themes in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter”. Lecture series: “Festlig Faglig Fredag”. University of Copenhagen (online). 29/05/2020. 
  • “Comparative Mythology and Folktale Studies: Kore, Demeter, Baldr, and the fairy tale ‘Sleeping Beauty’” Lecture series: “CHS Kosmos Society Online Open House”. Kosmos Society and Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies (online). Link to recording: https://youtu.be/u1LFNP_c0n0. 15/05/2020. 
  • “Kore, Demeter, and other Sleeping Beauties: Myth and Folktale between Antiquity and Modernity” Lecture series: “Virtual Classics Colloquium”. Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania (online). 01/05/2020.
  • “Comparative Perspectives on Ancient Indo-European Myths and Modern Folktales”. Research seminar: “Ancient Myths in Modern Art. Comparative Perspectives on Micro- and Macro-Structures”. University of Cologne. 05/12/2019.
  • “Amore e morte. Lingua, poesia e concettualizzazione tra Inno Omerico a Demetra e contemporaneità”. Invited lecture. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano. 11/11/2019.
  • “Perspectives germaniques et indo-européennes de l’onomastique du vieux norrois”. Research seminar: Nommer les hommes dans les mondes anciens 2019-2020. University of Lyon. 17/10/2019.
  • “Old Norse Mythology and Onomastics from an Indo European Perspective”. Internationale Nachwuchstagung der Vergleichenden germanischen Sprachwissenschaft (University of Zurich, 7 8 June 2018).
  • “Οὔτ᾽ἄρ᾽ἐπηλυσίη δηλήσεται οὔθ᾽ὑποτάμνον: poetica indoeuropea, mitologia comparata e folktale nell’Inno omerico a Demetra”. Conference “Δόσις δ’ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε. Giornata di studi in onore di Mario Cantilena” (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano, 18 April 2018).
  • “The Wife of Fire and the Lover of the Waters: the Old Norse theonym Sígyn 'she of the pouring', Vedic °sécanī- 'pouring, pouring ladle' and Celtic Sēquanā”. 29th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference (University of California Los Angeles, 3 4 November 2017).
  • “Myths of non functioning fertility deities in Hittite and Core Indo European”. Conference “The Split: Reconstructing Early Indo-European Language and Culture” (University of Copenhagen, 13 5 September 2017).
  • “Ved. bhiṣáj- 'healer' (epithet of the Aśvins), the PIE collocation [LEAD (*h2eǵ-) – to the LIGHT (*bheh2-)] and the phases of healing in AVŚ 8.1”. Conference “Ritual und Terminologie: Phasen antiker Rituale und ihre Bezeichnungen” (University of Würzburg, 7 8 September 2017).
  • “Indo European Myths of the [WOMAN/WIFE– of the FIRE-Deity]: the Etymology of Old Norse Sigyn”. 3. Indogermanistisches Forschungskolloquium (University of Vienna, 20 1 April 2017).
  • “Old Norse Brokkr, Sanskrit Bhr̥gu-, and PIE *(s)bhr̥h2eg- ‘crackle, roar’”. 28th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference (University of California, Los Angeles, 11 2 November 2016).
  • “Old Norse Sigyn”. Annual Colloquium of the Henry Sweet Society “Onomastics and its History” (Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, 13 5 September 2016).
  • “Indogermanische mythologische Erzählungen und Rituale: Der Mythos von Baldrs Tod”. Conference “Ritus im Mythos: Zur Darstellung von Ritualen in mythologischen Texten” (University of Würzburg, 27 July 2016).
  • “Loki and Brokk, Agni and Bhr̥gu”. 2. Indogermanistisches Forschungskolloquium (University of Würzburg, 31 March – 1 April 2016).
  • “Strutture tematiche e collocazioni fraseologiche in narrazioni orali indoeuropee”. Conference “Conversando sulle lingue. Tra storia e sistema” (Università per Stranieri di Siena, 5 March 2015).