An «epoch in Historical Linguistics and Indo-European scholarship»: In memoriam Romano Lazzeroni (1930 – 2020)

In this paper, we focus on four main research lines, along which Romano Lazzeroni's legacy rests on a boundless scientific production, which includes many different topics, methods and languages. We show how one of the main Linguists of the last 100 years constantly looked at languages as at systems governed by algorithms and dependent on both socio-historical variables and neurocognitive principles. Specifically, we discuss his scientific production in relation to the current issues in language studies, centering around the following dimensione: 1. the morphosyntax/semantics interface; 2. the relationship between linguistic and cultural reconstruction; 3. the linking mechanisms of conceptual representations with linguistic categories; 4. the principles and patterns of language change.