Patrick HEINRICH

I am a sociolinguist focused on the languages of Japan. My research extends beyond sociolinguistics to include the history of linguistics, language ideology, language endangerment, and urban communication. I have institutional experience in Germany, Japan, and Italy. I publish and teach mostly in English, but I also speak German, Japanese, French, and Italian. I have been fortunate to study with and owe a huge intellectual debt to my mentors, who include Florian Coulmas, Jiří Neustupný, Fumio Inoue, Shinsho Miyara, and Josef Kreiner, and I enjoy collaborating on research and writing with scholars worldwide. In teaching, I strive to share the joy of studying. For more information about me, please refer to the listing below. 

Academic training

1998: MA in Linguistics and Japanese Studies (Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany), 2002: Dr. phil. in Japanese Studies (Gerhard-Mercator-University Duisburg, Germany), 2005: Habilitation thesis in Japanese Studies (Duisburg-Essen University, Germany)

Employment and full-time scholarships

1998–1999: Research assistant, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 2000–2001: PhD scholarship by DAAD, 2001–2006: Assistant professor, Duisburg-Essen University, 2006–2008: Associate professor, Duisburg-Essen University, 2008–2010: JSPS/Humboldt fellow, University of the Ryukyus, 2010–2013: Associate Professor, Dokkyo University, 2013–2014: Professor, Dokkyo University, 2014–2021: Associate Professor, Ca‘ Foscari University of Venice, Since 2021: Professor, Ca‘ Foscari University of Venice

Editorial boards

Associate Editor: East Asian Pragmatics (University of Toronto Press)

Editorial Board: The Endangered Language Yearbook (Brill), Contemporary Japan (Taylor & Francis), Current Issues in Language Planning (Taylor & Francis), International Quarterly of Asian Studies (Heidelberg University Press), Kotoba to shakai (Sangensha),  Études japonaises (L’Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès), Journal of Arabic Sociolinguistics (Edinburgh University Press)

Fellowships

Since 2016: University of Hokkaido: lecturer at the annual summer school, 2026: Visiting professor University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, 2025: Erasmus teacher exchange: University of Ljubljana, 2019: Erasmus teacher exchange: University of Vienna, 2016: Erasmus teacher exchange: University of Helsinki, 2016: Visiting professor: Duisburg-Essen University, 2015: Fellow: University of Lapland, 2013: Visiting professor: University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, 2010–2013: Fellow: Gakushuin University, 2008–2010: Fellow: Okinawa International University, 2006–2013: Fellow: Hosei University, 2004: Visiting Fellow: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Research Impact

Google Scholar: Citations: 1900+ / h-index 22 / i10-index 44, Researchgate: 800+, 80,000+ reads

Awards

2020: Honorary President, Ryukyuan Heritage Language Society, 2014: Honorary member, Foundation for Endangered Languages, 2010: Tokugawa Award, Japanese Association for Sociolinguistic Sciences, 2002: Annual Award of the Duisburg University Society: Best Dissertation of the Year

Recent and forthcoming presentations (since 2024)

20.11.2026: Language and space. The role of language in constructing social spaces in Japan. Bergen: University of Bergen.

29.08.2026: Interaction and social space: Multilingual complexity in Tokyo’s Ameyoko. Poznań: Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań.

28.07.-02.08.2026: Sociolinguistics and ESD: Language and Wellbeing in Japan. Sapporo: Hokkaido University.

23.03.2026: La lingua di Okinawa in Giappone. Mestre: IIS Bruno Franchetti. 

19.02.2026: Le paysage sonore linguistique de Tokyo. Toulouse University.

02.12.2025: Language endangerment and wellbeing in the Ryukyu Islands. Ca'Foscari University of Venice.

23.10.2025: Invited lecture: Language endangerment and well-being in Japan. University of Vienna.

13.09.2025 Commentator on the panel: Language repression and reclamation: What needs to be done? What can be done? International Conference on the Revitalization of Indigenous and Minoritized Languages. Kyoto University.

13.09.2025 Panel presentation: Language and well-being from a Welfare Linguistics perspective. International Conference on the Revitalization of Indigenous and Minoritized Languages. Kyoto University.

13.09.2025 Keynote lecture: Language and well-being in Yomitan Village and Setouchi Town: A Contrastive Analysis. International Conference on the Revitalization of Indigenous and Minoritized Languages. Kyoto University.

05.05.2025 Decolonizing toponymic systems in the Japanese Archipelago. Symposium on Environmental Humanities. Ca’Foscari University of Venice.

26.02.2025 Invited lecture: What is lost in language loss in Japan? Ljubljana University.

15.12.2024 Workshop: Reclaiming endangered languages in a welfare linguistics framework. 20th Linguapax Asia Symposium. Hiroshima Eikei University.

14.12.2024 Keynote lecture: Language as a relational good: Language and well-being in the Ryukyu Islands. 20th Linguapax Asia Symposium. Hiroshima Eikei University. 

05.08.–09.08.2024 Intensive course: The sociolinguistics of language and well-being. Sapporo: Hokkaido University.

05.03.2024 Invited lecture: Multilingualism in Japan: Transformational Changes. University of Tokyo.