Asian languages
Research topics related to Asian languages (Hindi, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Urdu) range from historical and general linguistics to language use and the relationship between language and society, and from the analysis of literary works by individual authors to the fundamental questions of comparative literature and descriptions of entire periods.

In linguistics, the research focus areas include

  • Phonetics, phonology, syntax and pragmatics (of Mandarin Chinese and Korean)
  • Discourse analysis (e.g., Chinese media and literature; Korean literature, drama and film; legal and judicial language in Japan)
  • Chinese orthography
  • Contrastive linguistics
  • Classical Chinese
  • Translation from Finnish/English to Chinese and from Japanese to Finnish
  • Teaching Asian languages as a foreign language and language acquisition
  • The evolution of Hindi and Urdu, including related political and social factors
  • The endangered status and recovery of languages
  • Language contacts and attitudes
  • Language (education) policy

Additionally, research focus areas at the intersection of linguistics, literature and culture include

  • Language and popular culture
  • Urdu poetry and its performative contexts
  • Urdu as the language of Islamic reformism
  • Persian literature in India

Teaching and research in Asian languages is organically linked with the study of cultures and societies in eastern and southern Asia.
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