Department of Chinese
The Department of Chinese at the University of Turku equips students with both linguistic and cultural expertise, preparing them for careers in international and language-specialist professions. We focus on modern Chinese, particularly communication and language use in contemporary Sinophone societies.
Our research engages with Chinese linguistics through cross-disciplinary approaches, including digital communications, corpus linguistics, cognitive linguistics, sociolinguistics, second language pedagogy, second language acquisition, and discourse analysis of emerging social phenomena. We explore topics at the intersection of language, learning, the human mind, society, and technology. Our long-term goal is to contribute to linguistic advancements in AI applications, language models, and the societal impacts of emerging technologies.
Aligned with the University’s strategic themes of ‘New technologies and digitalization,’ ‘Cultural memory and social change,’ and ‘Children, young people, and learning,’ the department’s research addresses the digitalization of cultural heritage, linguistic shifts linked to human diversity and migration, and the development of future expertise for young people.