EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW • 人物專訪 2023 UMAGAZINE 27 • 澳大新語 57 ‘According to the renowned linguist Avram Noam Chomsky, the abstract ideas in our thinking process and the meaning of words are essentially the same things. This is why there is a saying in cognitive science that language is a window into the human mind. Language ability is part of the basic configuration of every human being, so it provides a pathway for us to learn more about humans.’ Languages are the Foundation of a Nation’s Culture The Department of Chinese Language and Literature is one of the first departments established at UM. The department features a well-established discipline, a strong faculty, a comprehensive pedagogical framework, and a rigorous and open academic atmosphere. ‘Although our faculty team is relatively small, most of the faculty members come from renowned universities in China or abroad. They all have strong academic backgrounds and the aspiration to achieve success in their fields,’ says Prof Yuan. He adds that faculty members and students in the department can gain a comprehensive understanding of languages in China and their evolution through research. ‘Languages are the foundation of a nation’s culture. In today’s information age, both the digitisation and automation process of language data require a systematic and in-depth understanding of human language,’ says Prof Yuan, who formed a research team after joining UM and is working closely with other departments at the university to conduct interdisciplinary research, including a study the theoretical perspectives of symbolic cognitive psychology have been the guiding star of his academic career and the common thread running through his years of linguistics research. Such a philosophy of mind also explains why he associates the cognitive study of language with computational analysis in his research. Pursuing Linguistics Research for a Greater Cause Prof Yuan’s studies provide insight into the innovative and interdisciplinary nature of linguistics research. His book A Cognitive Study and Computational Analysis of Language explores the structure of language as well as psychological mechanisms of semantic understanding from the perspective of cognitive science. Through computational analysis, the book explains how linguistics research can provide appropriate methods and rules to realise computational natural language understanding. ‘While the human mind can be understood as a computational process for symbol processing, the process of understanding human language can be understood as a computational process of knowledge representation, which makes it technically possible for computers to understand natural language,’ says Prof Yuan. ‘The computational analysis of language is therefore considered a natural extension of the cognitive study of language.’ Prof Yuan has attained a solid theoretical foundation in natural science and accumulated rich knowledge of humanities. He is passionate about research and remains true to his original belief that those pursuing linguistics research should do so for a greater cause — to benefit humanity by seeking answers to the most profound questions. ‘As a human race, we should think about the following questions: What are human beings? Where do we come from? Where are we heading to?’ he says. ‘You may ask what language and linguistics research have to do with these questions. In my opinion, they are all related.’ Prof Yuan believes that linguistics research can provide a better understanding of not only humans’ role in the world, but also their nature. ‘This is a fundamental philosophical question. It is generally accepted that what makes humans stand out from all the living beings in the world is that they can think and have thoughts. And thinking, at least abstract thinking, cannot happen without language,’ he says. 袁教授認為中文系師生通過對中國語言文字的研究可更全面地了解國家的語 言文字及其歷史 Prof Yuan Yulin thinks that faculty members and students in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature can gain a comprehensive understanding of languages in China and their evolution through research
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQ1NDU2Ng==