Christoph

Purschke

I work as an Associate Professor in Computational Linguistics at the Institute for Luxembourgish Linguistics and Literature. Before that, I worked at the Research Center Deutscher Sprachatlas in Marburg, where I was involved in the development of a comprehensive research platform on the regional languages of German (www.regionalssprache.de).

In my work I combine different disciplines and methodological approaches to the analysis of language as a cultural phenomenon. The starting point of my research is formed by the complex relationships between human activity in the world on the one hand and the structure and dynamics of cultural symbol systems on the other. The main focus of my work is the empirical investigation of sociolinguistic issues, the implementation of computational approaches to language use and evaluation, and the development of theoretical models for the description of human cultural practice. I see the close connection of computational working methods and theoretical reflection with societal engagement and an open research practice as a special motivation for my work as well as a challenge for the future of the humanities as a whole.

In particular, I am currently dealing with the opportunities and implications of digitization for scientific and everyday practice. On the one hand, this concerns the expansion of sociolinguistics to include data-driven and computational approaches (Computational Sociolinguistics), but also the further development of algorithms and models in computer science by including sociocultural data (Cultural AI). In this context, I also deal with the ethical implications of computer-aided practices for the understanding of social processes (Digital Ethics). In addition, I am committed to the development of digital language resources and applications for Luxembourgish (Natural Language Processing), as well as to the active dialogue between science and society in the context of participatory research projects (Citizen Science).

I am a member of the board of the International Society for Dialectology of German (IGDD) and am committed to supporting the next generation of researchers.