Chiara Matteo

Chiara Matteo is a University Professor at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) in France, specializing in Eurasian languages with a focus on Pashto. She serves as Deputy Director of UMR 8041-CeRMI and Head of the Pashto section at INALCO. Her academic work bridges linguistic research with cultural studies across the Eurasian region.

• Member and Deputy Director of UMR 8041-CeRMI
• Head of the Pashto section of Inalco
• Holder of the PRME ANR "PLIC (Pashto literature between identity and contact)"
• Member of the Inalco Press Committee
• Editor of the Cahiers de Studia Iranica collection

Professor Matteo's research spans historical phonetics, lexicology, and linguistics of Pashto, comparative philology of Iranian languages, lexical isoglosses of the Indo-Iranian contact area, folk tales, and toponymy of Iranian languages. Her work combines rigorous linguistic analysis with cultural anthropology, particularly focusing on understudied languages and oral traditions across Eurasia.

Her publications demonstrate a consistent focus on documenting and analyzing the structural features of Pashto language while placing these linguistic elements within broader cultural and historical contexts. Recent works show an increasing emphasis on dictionary creation and comprehensive grammatical analysis, while maintaining her longstanding interest in folklore and toponymy as linguistic artifacts.

Professor Matteo actively contributes to academic discourse through editorial roles, including as Editor of the Cahiers de Studia Iranica collection and co-director of the "Culture Religioni Tradizioni" collection. She serves on scientific committees for several international projects including the CartOrient project and the International Symposium on Endangered Iranian Languages.

Her research is supported through various academic frameworks including membership in Labex - Empirical Foundations of Linguistics and participation in multiple doctoral school committees. Professor Matteo's work represents a significant contribution to the documentation and analysis of endangered Eurasian languages and their cultural contexts.