Research
I specialize in Linguistics, which is a field of science focusing on language and languages. The science of linguistics cover a wide variety of human activities related to linguistic activities. Of these, I am particularly interested in the following areas.
(1) Descriptive Linguistics, where lexical items and grammatical characteristics of specific languages are documented based on field work.
(2) Comparative (Historical) Linguistics, in particular of languages with no early written documents, such as the Austronesian language family, where modern languages are compared to reconstruct their ancestor languages and to clarify the developmental paths of the currently spoken languages. I’m particularly interested in establishing methodologies for morphosyntactic comparison and reconstruction.
(3) The linguistic prehistory of Oceania, based on what can be inferred from studies of the spread of cultural features.
(4) Sign and spoken language linguistics. I have been serving as an academic coordinator for research into Sign Language linguistics at Minpaku since 2011. This has involved collaborating with Deaf and hearing specialists both in Japan and abroad. I believe that capturing the similarities and differences between signed and spoken languages ultimately leads to a better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms of human language.
(5) The development of eLecture tools for delivering linguistic lecture materials with sign language interpretation and subtitles. This project is to make linguistic information more accessible for Deaf and hard of hearing researchers and students. I have been finding that flexibility, originality and creativity are all required to successfully conduct research on these topics, which I believe makes them not only challenging but ultimately worthwhile.
Sign Language Linguistics Research Projects
- [National Institutes for the Humanities] Center for Innovative Research Project "Establishing Science for Universal Communication (S_COM)" (April 2022-March 2028)
- [National Institutes for the Humanities] "Establishing Science for Universal Communication (S_COM)" [in Japanese] (April 2021-March 2022)
- Promotion of Sign Language Linguistics and Related Academic Fields through the Establishment of the Sign Language Linguistics Research Section (SiLLR) at Minpaku" (Principal investigator: Kikusawa R., April 2016-March 2020)
- [National Museum of Ethnology Core Research Project]
Toward a New View of Human Language Based on Comparison of Signed and Spoken Languages [in Japanese]
(Principal Investigator: Kikusawa, R. April 2013 to March 2016)
- [Project funded by the Nippon Foundation]
Reaching Out Activities for the Promotion of Sign Language Linguistics, Including Delivering Lectures and Hosting of Symposia and Seminars [in Japanese]
(Principal Investigator: Kikusawa, R. April 2013 to March 2016)
- [Project funded by the Center for the Promotion of Integrated Sciences (CPIS), The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai)]
A pilot study toward internet dissemination and the development of a system for e-learning sign linguistics
(Principal Investigator: Kikusawa, R. April 2012 to March 2015)
- [Inter-Institutional Research Project funded by the National Institutes for the Humanities]
Hosting of International Symposia on Signed and Spoken Language Linguistics (2012, 2013, 2014) - [Inter-Institutional Research Project funded by the National Institutes for the Humanities]
Hosting of an International Workshop “Developing Historical Linguistics Corpus of Sign Languages” (2011)
Historical Linguistics Research Projects
- [Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)] Language Change and Social Norms Reanalyzed through Human Biology (July 2021-March 2024)
- [Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research (B))] Integrating Language Change in Time and Space: Applying Geographical Information System (GIS) and Statistic Modelling to Historical Linguistics (October 2018-March 2023) GIS page for the project
- A Crowdfunding Project “Why Are Languages Spoken in the World All Different?” [in Japanese] (April 2015-October-December 2016 PI: Kikusawa)
- [Inter-Institutional Research Project funded by the National Institutes for the Humanities] Hosting of an International Symposium “Let’s Talk about Trees” (2012)
- [Inter-Institutional Research Project funded by the National Institutes for the Humanities]
Hosting of an International Workshop “Developing Historical Linguistics Corpus of Sign Languages” (2011) - [Project funded by The Commemorative Organization for the Japan World Exposition ‘70]
Hosting of an International Symposium “Historical Linguistics in the Asia-Pacific Region and the Position of Japanese” (2011) - [National Museum of Ethnology Core Research Project]
Methodologies in Determining Morphosyntactic Change: Case Studies and Cross-linguistic Applications (April 2008- March 2009)