Francesco Possemato

Francesco Possemato is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Groningen (Netherlands), with a focus on Language and Social Interaction. He also holds external positions as Research Assistant Professor in Communicative Disorders and Sciences at SUNY Buffalo (USA) and Honorary Research Fellow in Linguistics at Macquarie University (Australia). His email is f.possemato@rug.nl, and his ORCID identifier is 0000-0001-6993-589X.

Education:

• PhD in Linguistics, The University of Sydney (2014–2017)
• MA in Linguistics, University for Foreigners of Siena (2008–2010)
• BA in Italian Linguistics, University of Pisa (2004–2007)

Research Interests: Possemato’s work centers on Conversation Analysis, Interactional Linguistics, and Language and Social Interaction, with additional emphasis on Pragmatic Typology and Atypical Interactions. He explores how language functions in social contexts, including multimodal communication (e.g., gestures, prosody), spatial cognition in conversations, and epistemic management in remote Australian settings. Notably, his studies integrate geospatial technologies to document and analyze locational points in face-to-face interactions, contributing to language documentation and revitalization efforts for Indigenous Australian languages like Gija and Jaru.

Publications Overview: His recent articles highlight trends in multimodal interaction analysis (e.g., prosodic variation in politeness, spatial pointing in Aboriginal languages), and his work frequently bridges theoretical linguistics with applied contexts, such as clinical linguistics and L2 pedagogy. He collaborates on interdisciplinary projects involving gesture studies, computational linguistics, and sociolinguistics.

Awards and Grants: While not explicitly listed, his extensive peer-reviewed publications and editorial roles indicate recognition in his field. He has received grants supporting projects like the geospatial documentation of spatial points and studies on Italian L2 learners in diaspora communities. His research often involves external collaborations, reflecting a global academic network.

Labs and Teams: Possemato collaborates with research groups focused on clinical linguistics, language documentation, and ethnomethodological approaches to conversation. He contributes to initiatives like Language Documentation and Description, emphasizing innovative methodologies in capturing language use across diverse contexts.