معرفی
Barbara Meisterernst is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, specializing in Chinese historical syntax, morpho-syntax, syntax-semantic interfaces, and Buddhist Chinese linguistics. Her academic career spans prestigious institutions including Humboldt-University Berlin and the University of Ghent.
- Habilitation, University of Hamburg (2012)
- PhD in Chinese Studies, Münsterische Sinologische Mitteilungen (1998)
- MA in Chinese Studies, German and Linguistics (1992)
Her research focuses on diachronic evolution of Chinese grammar, particularly tense-aspect-modality systems from Classical to Medieval Chinese. Key contributions include analyses of modal expressions, negation cycles, and syntactic changes in Buddhist Chinese texts. She employs formal syntactic frameworks to examine historical developments while integrating semantic and pragmatic dimensions.
Her publications reveal strong trends in modality research (25% of output), diachronic syntax (30%), and Buddhist Chinese linguistics (15%). Recent work increasingly examines cross-linguistic comparisons with Vietnamese and Sogdian, reflecting broader typological interests. Methodologically, she combines corpus-based analysis with theoretical syntax to reconstruct historical grammatical systems.
Meisterernst has presented at over 50 international conferences including IACL, EACL, and specialized workshops across Asia, Europe, and North America. Her extensive fieldwork includes collaborations with Academia Sinica, Tsing Hua University, and the International Dunhuang Project.
She leads major research projects on pre-Tang Chinese verb phrase development and Silk Road linguistic interactions, securing continuous funding for collaborative work between European and Asian institutions since 2010.
