Agenda

The East Asian Connection: Words, grammar, populations and artefacts

Date: 19 November 2026
Time: 12.15-13.45
Venue: Aula C, Ca' Capello
Organizer: Trang Phan (DSAAM)

In this lecture, we will explore relationships among the languages and peoples of East Asia, with China as a link between Northeast and Southeast Asia. We will examine words and grammatical patterns shared across languages of the region and analyse what they reveal about language contact. We will then compare these linguistic elements with population movements along the Maritime Silk Road, which historically connected China with Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and India.

* This lecture will be conducted in a mixed mode, in Italian and in English.

Speaker: Chingduang Yurayong is a visiting scholar from the Department of Languages at the University of Helsinki (Finland). His research focuses on cross-linguistic comparison with implications for human history, interaction and communication behaviour. His research interest spans a broad geographical context of Eurasia, including Indo-European, Finno-Ugric, Altaic, Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai, Austroasiatic and Austronesian languages and peoples.