Monash professor appointed Chair in Cultural Linguistics

19 August 2015

Professor Farzad Sharifian has recently been appointed as the Chair in Cultural Linguistics at Monash, the first appointment of its kind in the world, establishing Monash’s position as the leading institution in this newly developed field of research.

Monash University Linguistics
Professor Farzad Sharifian holds the Chair of Cultural Linguistics within the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics (Photo credit: Monash University)

Cultural linguistics explores the relationship between language and cultural conceptualisations. This field has important implications for intercultural and cross-cultural communication, an area of commitment and priority for Monash University.
Professor Rae Frances, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, said that she was proud to have the Chair in Cultural Linguistics in her faculty.
“It is very fitting recognition of Professor Sharifian’s impressive and innovative research, drawing together as it does cutting edge concepts from diverse and complementary disciplines to produce new perspectives on the intersection between culture, cognition and language, with wide-ranging implications.”
It is also fitting that the world’s first Chair in Cultural Linguistics is an Australian appointment, since it was Professor Sharifian’s research into inter-cultural communication between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians that led to the establishment of this new field. Professor Sharifian explains that “the data from this Australian research contributes significantly to the development of the cultural linguistics field.”
Recognized worldwide as a leading authority in the field of Cultural Linguistics, Professor Sharifian has developed a theoretical and an analytical framework of cultural cognition, cultural conceptualisations, and language, and these frameworks have so far been successfully applied to the areas of intercultural communication, cross-cultural pragmatics, teaching English as an International Language, World Englishes, and political discourse analysis.
The international publisher Springer has just launched a book series with the title of Cultural Linguistics, with Professor Sharifian as its Series Editor. Professor Sharifian is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the recently launched the International Journal of Language and Culture (John Benjamins).
The First International Conference of Cultural Linguistics will be held at Monash Prato Centre in July 2016, with Professor Sharifian as a keynote speaker. Monash University has also launched a new scholarship entitled The Farzad Sharifian PhD Scholarship in the field of Cultural Linguistics.
Professor Sharifian is currently the President of Applied Linguistics Association of Australia, a Director of the International Association for World Englishes, and a Fellow of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany.

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