Meet the team

Joseph Casillas
Associate Editor

Rutgers University (USA)

Joseph is an Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics in the Spanish and Portuguese Department and Associate Faculty in the Department of Linguistics at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. His main interests are in phonetics, laboratory phonology, and second language acquisition. A principle aim of his research is to better understand the relationship between language use and sound representation in the multilingual mind, as well as the structure of sound systems in human languages. Most of his research is conducted on bilinguals of varying proficiency and linguistic experience. Some of his recent projects have centered on native phonetic experience and its influence on L2 speech production, perception and lexical processing. He focuses his attention on coding, statistical analysis, data visualization, and reproducible research, as well as training researchers to implement open research practices in the speech sciences, particularly in Bilingualism/Second Language Acquisition research. He also enjoys playing music, Casio watches and anything related to el andalú.

Stefano Coretta
Chief Editor

University of Edinburgh (UK) phonetology phonology phonetics speech science Bayesian statistics

I am a Lecturer (= Assistant Professor) in the Linguistics and English Language department of the University of Edinburgh (UK). I take care of the quantitative methods and statistics provision in the department, by developing and delivering a series of courses and workshops. My main research expertise spans different areas of phonetology (phonology, phonetics and speech), both from a synchronic and diachronic perspective. I also work on other areas within linguistics, like language description and biolinguistic diversity. I am a strong advocate of Open Research practices, with a special interest in Bayesian approaches to quantitative methods.

I identify as a neurodiverse academic of Mediterranean ethnicity. I was born and raised in Italy, but I have been living in the United Kingdom for a decade and I think of this country as my home. My philosophical stance is based on a syncretic synthesis of holistic monism, anti-realism, idealism, panpsychism and Bayesian epistemology. I reject positivism and its degenerate development, scientism. I am a practicing pagan with a strong natural and elemental basis. I am an active advocate of Open Research practices for a more transparent, well-grounded and reflexive scholarship.

Amr El-Zawawy
Associate Editor

Alexandria University (Egypt)

Amr M. El-Zawawy is Professor of Linguistics and Translation in the Department of English of Alexandria University, Egypt, having obtained his MA and PhD from the same institution. He also held distinguished positions such as chairman of the English Dept., Faculty of Education, Alexandria University and Vice-Dean, Pharos University in Alexandria. His research focus is simultaneous interpretation, cognitive and contrastive linguistics, literary translation, and syntax and semantics. His recent publications include the books Studies in Contrastive Linguistics and Stylistics (2016) and Exploring the Cognitive Processes of Simultaneous Interpreting (2019), and Issues in English-Arabic-English Translation (2023), among another five books and translations as well as over twenty articles in high-ranking international journals.

As a scholar situated within the Egyptian academic context, Amr M. El-Zawawy brings to his work a perspective deeply shaped by his training and professional experience in linguistics, translation, and interpreting at Alexandria University. His positionality is grounded in the intersection of English and Arabic linguistic traditions, reflecting both the global significance of English as a lingua franca and the cultural, historical, and intellectual depth of Arabic as his native language and primary field of inquiry.

Coming from a Middle Eastern and Arab educational environment, El-Zawawy is attentive to the ways in which sociocultural, cognitive, and linguistic factors influence translation and interpreting practices. His research interests in lie detection, forensic linguistics, cognitive processes of simultaneous interpreting, contrastive linguistics, and stylistics reflect not only an academic pursuit of knowledge but also a practical concern with bridging communication across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

As a bilingual and bicultural academic, his standpoint inevitably shapes the kinds of questions he asks, the methodologies he privileges, and the interpretive frameworks he employs. His focus on English–Arabic–English dynamics highlights a commitment to understanding both the universal cognitive mechanisms of language processing and the unique challenges posed by working between two typologically and culturally distinct languages.

At the same time, El-Zawawy’s positionality is marked by his engagement with international scholarship. Publishing in English and engaging with global debates in translation studies, he positions himself as both a participant in and a mediator of cross-cultural academic dialogue. This dual orientation—local and global—allows him to critique and enrich existing theories while ensuring that the complexities of Arabic linguistic and cultural realities are represented in wider scholarly conversations.

In sum, his positionality can be characterized as that of a linguist and translation scholar working at the crossroads of East and West, whose academic trajectory is shaped by both cultural embeddedness and international engagement, and whose research embodies the dual aim of theoretical contribution and practical applicability in the fields of translation and interpreting.

Victoria Beatrix Fendel
Associate Editor

University of Oxford (UK)

Victoria Beatrix Fendel (D.Phil. Oxford, 2018) is a researcher in historical linguistics at the University of Oxford, editor of the Classics section of the Literary Encyclopaedia, and language leader for Ancient Greek in the PARSEME (UniDive COST CA21167) initiative (www.ancientgreekmwe.com). Her research focusses on language contact (Oxford University Press, 2022) and multi-word expressions in literary, epigraphic, and papyrological sources (Language Science Press, 2024; De Gruyter Brill, 2025; OpenBooks, 2026).

Jessica Hampton
Chief Editor

University of Liverpool (UK)

Jessica Hampton is Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Liverpool. Her research explores minoritized groups and endangered languages at the intersection of place, identity, and belonging from an environmental perspective. She is working on a monograph, Ecolinguistics and Endangered Languages: Emplacing Ecological Wisdom through Language Revitalisation, as part of the Bloomsbury Advances in Ecolinguistics series. She is also co-leading the first-of-its-kind survey on the vitality of the languages of northern Italy and serves as the committee member responsible for the BA-funded project aimed at expanding a picture database called MULTIPIC. 

I position myself as an ecological sociolinguist whose work is grounded in the exploration of minoritised knowledge systems, including languages, and in the recognition of their vital role in shaping more sustainable and compassionate ways of being. My intellectual and ethical trajectory is inseparable from my personal history: as a first-generation academic raised in conditions of struggle and within minoritised worldviews, I have developed a heightened sensitivity to issues of social and ecological justice. My work is guided by a more-than-human ontoepistemology, one that understands knowledge as co-created within entanglements of humans and the more-than-human world. This orientation challenges anthropocentric hierarchies and invites attention to the semiotic, material, and affective relationships that sustain life. Central to my worldview is an ecosophy of compassion—a commitment to fostering empathy and care across species, spaces, and subjectivities. Through this lens, I see my research as an act of care: an attempt to contribute to the re-storying of our world in ways that honour diversity, interdependence, and justice.

Cristina Lastres-López
Associate Editor

University of Seville (Spain)

I am an Associate Professor in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Seville (Spain). I am also affiliated at the research unit for Variation, Linguistic Change and Grammaticalization at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). I hold a PhD in English Linguistics (2020, Extraordinary PhD Award; supervisor: Prof. Teresa Fanego) from the University of Santiago de Compostela, as well as a BA in English Language and Literature (2015) from the same institution and an MA in English Linguistics (2016) from University College London. I carry out research in the fields of corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, pragmatics, syntax and contrastive linguistics (working mainly on English, French and Spanish). Between 2016 and 2019, I served on the Executive Board of the Spanish Association for Early-Career Researchers in Linguistics (Asociación de Jóvenes Lingüistas) and was also on the Editorial Board of its online journal Estudios Interlingüísticos. From 2018 to 2019 I served as President of the association and as the journal’s Editor-in-Chief.

Danang Satria Nugraha
Associate Editor

Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic)

Danang Satria Nugraha, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Sanata Dharma University, Indonesia, and a postdoctoral fellow at Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic. He earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Szeged, Hungary (2025). His research specializes in corpus linguistics and morphology, with publications in Q1 journals. He also serves as a peer reviewer for several international journals.

Mariam Olugbodi
Associate Editor

Kwara State University (Nigeria) phonetics psycholinguistics

Mariam Olugbodi is a tenured Assistant Professor of Phonetics and Psycholinguistics at Kwara State University, Nigeria, teaching L2 speech variation as well as speech comprehension and production, at the Department of English and Linguistics, and Communications in English at the Centre for General Studies. She obtained a PhD in Phonetics 2024 from the University of Ilorin focusing on Occupational and Geographical Variations in English Language Accents in Nigeria.

Mariam Olugbodi is a tenured Assistant Professor at a university with a predominantly African students’ body and faculty. She is a former private school teacher with fourteen years of experience in a diverse classroom (K-Grade, technical college and higher education). Her doctoral research was conducted in 12 states across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria, with her other collaborative researches conducted in Ghana on Ghanaian newscasters. Mariam currently teaches English as a Foreign Language to higher education students and young adults in Gaza Strip under the ACADEMICS4GAZA initiative. Most of the her classes here are taught through the Mobile-Assisted English Language Pedagogy. She does this as a volunteer English language teacher at least 4 hours a week in addition to attending school full time.

Mariam is fluent in English and has some ability to communicate in Arabic. Her background in Arabic stems from her enrolment in Arabic school. Her knowledge of Arabic is further enhanced having worked with learners from the Gaza community who are fluent in Arabic and have some ability to communicate in the language, however, when interacting with students new to English, she relies on translation tools to help ensure clear communication. Her research interests are informed by a commitment to recognizing language diversity.

Francesco Perono Cacciafoco
Associate Editor

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (China)

Dr Francesco Perono Cacciafoco (Ph.D. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, 2011), ΣΞ, 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, Language Documentation, and History of English. Before joining XJTLU, he was a Senior Lecturer in Historical Linguistics at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. More information about his academic work can be found here, https://scholar.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/persons/FrancescoPerono.