Bulletin No. 2, 2014

12   Chinese University Bulletin No. 2, 2014 CUHK-Peking University-University System of Taiwan Joint Research Centre for Language and Human Complexity Director : Prof. William Shiyuan Wang Language is a highly complex system constructed by a combination of various cognitive, memorial and sensori- motor skills, and it lies at the very foundation of human behaviour—both individual and collective. The Centre for Language and Human Complexity (CLHC), established in 2013, is the first cross-strait joint research centre that examines human complexity from the perspective of language. Scholars from Peking University, the University System of Taiwan (UST) and CUHK have been collaborating closely for the past few years in promoting the development of language studies. Building on their strengths, the joint centre will strive to construct a more systematic and solid research base straddling the strait. It will conduct field work and laboratory experiments to examine human nature, with the aim of deepening understanding of the biological basis of language and the acquisition of native and second languages, and contributing to the treatment of language disorders. All three partners of CLHC are interested in the course of language through the human life cycle—from acquisition in infancy, through the learning of reading and writing and foreign languages, to the loss of linguistic fluency caused by disorders and normal ageing. The CLHC works closely with Peking University to investigate the diverse languages and peoples of China in order to understand how these are related to each other structurally and historically, and examine how culture, language, and literacy interact among the many ethnic groups. The centre also teams up with the UST to explore human cognition using brain imaging technology, with the purpose of elucidating how the brain enables language and other cognitive behaviours. ‘ The establishment of the joint research centre has great historical significance; it is a major milestone in the development of leading-edge research on language in Greater China.’