2. Research activities

Research activities

In terms of research, ChinEAsT is fully committed to the core activities of the FTI-EII, where translation, literature and literary history, discourse analysis, linguistics and language teaching meet, from an East Asian perspective. It is active in the following areas:

  • Didactics of Chinese and East Asian languages and the teaching of translation to and from these languages;
  • Comparative history of Chinese and East Asian literature, and a diachronic approach to translation from and into East Asian languages;
  • Critical analysis of translations (literary and pragmatic) from or into Chinese and East Asian languages;
  • The use of new technologies in the synchronous analysis of Chinese and East Asian languages, and an assessment of their implications for didactics and translation to and from these languages.

The methodological and theoretical frameworks of this research include, but are not limited to, the descriptive approach of translation studies, polysystem theory, corpus linguistics/translation, discourse analysis, sociology of translation, as well as phraseology, lexicology/lexicography and narratology.

In addition to attending conferences and symposiums in Belgium and abroad, the ChinEAsT Unit strives to raise the profile of research in line with its thematic areas. Since 2021, its members have initiated an annual cycle of seminars on “China and Translation”, where international specialists in Chinese studies who are active in translation are invited to report on their research in this field.

As a member of the UMONS LANGUAGE Institute, the Unit has close ties with affiliated structures in French-speaking Belgium, notably with the East Asian Studies (EASt) Research Centre of the Université libre de Bruxelles. Beyond the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, it has established strong links with prestigious European institutions, such as the universities of Ghent, Aix-Marseille, Paris, Lyon III, and Ca’ Foscari in Venice. As well as the many FTI-EII partner universities in mainland China, Taiwan and Japan, members of the ChinEAsT Unit also have academic links with researchers in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and South Korea. Lastly, the Unit maintains excellent diplomatic contacts with the Wallonia-Brussels General Delegation in Beijing, with academic and cultural liaison officers in Beijing and Kyoto, with AWEX and hub.brussels branches in East Asia, and with official representations and various cultural centres of China (Mainland and Taiwan), Japan and Korea here in Belgium.