Pushing the Boundaries of Linguistics Research and Teaching
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Nothing rivals the power and intricacy of language and communication in the vast realm of human existence. Understanding the intricate workings of the human mind and its relationship to language has always been the captivating pursuit of Professor Niels SCHILLER, who recently joined City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) as Head of the Department of Linguistics and Translation (LT) and Chair Professor of Psycho- and Neurolinguistics.
“Language is a means to communicate, but it’s the most complex of cognitive skills that human beings have,” Schiller explains.
When humans use language, they are making use of their memory, motor, and executive functions, all part of an incredibly complex process. This is why talking can seem so exhausting, he adds.
“It’s so taxing on the cognitive system but also intriguing in the sense that there are still many open questions,” Schiller says.
Exploring those open questions has spurred Schiller’s more than 30-year career, marking him as a trailblazer in neurolinguistics. He has made it his personal mission to unravel the mysteries of language cognition and push the boundaries of linguistics research.
Raising the Bar
Today, he is bringing his research and expertise to CityUHK in the hope that he will be able to make positive contributions to both the fundamental research in the field and its relevant applications for society, as well as make an impact on his students.
“There is already a lot of expertise in the area of language processing available at the Department, but I’m hopefully here to raise the bar,” he says.
Indeed, Schiller notes that, for the most part, the study of linguistics has always taken a traditional research route. However, with the advent and advances in science and technology, he sees two areas that are now prime for development. One is in computational linguistics, which deals with the computational modelling of natural language and the application of…