On the afternoon of April 27th, Professor Shu Dingfang, a doctoral supervisor of Shanghai International Studies University and editor-in-chief of the journal Foreign Languages, gave an academic lecture entitled Language Research in the Context of Artificial Intelligence on the Tencent conference platform for teachers and students of the College of Foreign Languages in Nankai University. This lecture was funded by the “Approaching to Chinese Journals” project, one of the “Postgraduate Innovation Forum” activities of the Party Committee of Nankai University and was hosted by Professor Miao Ju, a doctoral supervisor of the college and director of the Translation Studies Research Center. The lecture was specially set in the conference room 204 of the college, and more than 50 teachers and students of the college attended. Before the start of the lecture, Professor Yan Guodong, the Dean and Professor Ma Hongqi, the Deputy Dean expressed their gratitude towards Professor Shu Dingfang.
In the lecture, Professor Shu explained the definition and limitations of artificial intelligence, the relationship between human intelligence (cognition) and natural language, the goals and tasks of language research in a scientific and systematic, specific and in-depth way. He revealed the connection between language and human beings, cognition, society, civilization, nerves and thinking, and presented the participants with a magnificent knowledge system related to language and formed by its extension and development, as well as the theories of language research and new developments. Thus, everyone can appreciate the difference between artificial intelligence and human intelligence, the influence and relationship between language and cognition, realize the semantic function and innovative development of language, the transferred meaning, and the connection between language and the development of cultural civilization, thinking and new concepts, which inspired the teachers and students at the level of thinking and cognition.
In the interactive session, teachers and students at the meeting actively raised questions and participated in discussions. In response to the questions, Professor Shu patiently explained in detail, and shared his positioning and internal relations of language ontology research and language philosophy research, the concepts of ConceptNet, Semantic Web and WordNet, as well as discussion of the technical and theoretical support of artificial intelligence for English teaching, the difference between cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics, the relationship between computing paradigm and big data paradigm. He is wise and rigorous, erudite and refined, and embodies the demeanor of an internationally renowned academic master.
Professor Shu's research direction is cognitive linguistics and foreign language teaching. He is the chief expert of the Shanghai English Education and Teaching Research Base, the president of the Chinese Cognitive Linguistics Research Association, the secretary-general of the National University Foreign Languages Research Association, the editorial board of Cognitive Linguistics and other international journals, and the executive director of the International Cognitive Linguistics Research Association ( 2015-2017); In 2009, he was awarded the title of Shanghai Leading Talents; in 2017, he was selected as the Cultural Masters and Four Batches Talent Program of the Propaganda Department and the third batch of National Ten Thousand Talents Program (Leading Talents in Philosophy and Social Sciences).
In 2009, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the founding of Nankai University, Professor Shu Dingfang visited the College of Foreign Languages in Nankai University to guide scientific research. His insights were brilliant and left a deep impression on the college leaders, teachers and students. For many years, the teachers and students of the college have been looking forward to Professor Shu's visit to Nankai again. The wonderful lecture he brought today finally got everyone's wish.
