Sami Honkasalo:
About me

 I am a linguist currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Japanese and Chinese at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Previously, I spent three years as an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. I hold a PhD in General Linguistics from the University of Helsinki (2019), as well as a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Yale University (2014) and a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Tokyo (2013). On this web page, you can find more information about my research projects and teaching.

Focus and expertise

I am an Asia specialist, having spent most of my adult life connected with East, South-East, and Central Asia since 2005, often residing in the region. In addition to my expertise in linguistics, I possess an extensive background in the region’s cultures, societies, and international relations. My research concerns  the Gyalrongic languages of the Sino-Tibetan  language family. In addition, I research the Sinitic languages, such as Dungan (Central Asian Chinese) and Shang Chinese language (the earliest attested ancestor of Chinese). Methodologically, I often to collect my own data from modern languages via linguistic fieldwork. Countries where I have previously operated as a field linguist include China, India, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and South-Africa.

Copyright © 2021 Sami Honkasalo