Water-Place: The Origin of the Place-Name Squaneto

• Main Author: Francesco, Perono Cacciafoco
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: Italian
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Linguistics and Multilingual Studies
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/107366; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40675
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The paper aims at scientifically reconstructing the etymology of the place name Squaneto on the basis of the root *akw- in the "macro-system" of linguistic (not only) Indo-European water stems involved in the formation of many place names in Northern Italy. The Author applies Historical Phonetics methodologies to the empirical method established by Dr Claudio Beretta in order to study 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 analogous place names (belonging to two neighboring localities), Squagiato and Saquana. The work analyzes also other place names in the area between Southern Piedmont and 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 New Convergence Theory (NCT).