> Sigils are for simpler visual parsing - they stand out and mark the 'nouns'. It is not about the compiler - but about people reading the code.

I would argue that python, ruby, javascript and similar languages have demonstrated that it's just as easy to read code without sigils as with them, probably even easier — let alone to write one. Uncle Bob and other evangelists of software craftsmanship suggest clear, descriptive names for variables that would convey their meaning to the reader. As far as I understand, perl programmers also don't dispute the value of meaningful names. At which point using additional twiddles for conveying intent to the reader becomes redundant.