Prof. Paul Jen-Kuei Li, Academician and Adjunct Research Fellow of the Institute of Linguistics, was elected an honorary member of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) at the society’s January 2008 annual meeting.

Prof. Li was one of only two new honorary members elected this year.

The LSA elects distinguished scholars of linguistic studies who are not residents of the United States as honorary members on the recommendation of the society’s Executive Committee. A limit of three honorary members may be elected each year. The total number of honorary members at any one time may not exceed sixty.

The LSA is the major professional society for linguistics in the United States, exclusively dedicated to the advancement of the scientific study of language. It supports and disseminates linguistic scholarship, and facilitates the application of current research to scientific, educational, and social issues concerning language. Its periodical, Language, is one of the leading publications in the field of linguistics.

Prof. Li is known for his work in Formosan languages, the indigenous languages of Taiwan. He joined Academia Sinica in 1970 and was elected an Academician in 2006. He has served as a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Linguistics.

Scholars from Academia Sinica have a long history of connection with the LSA. In 1945, Dr. Yuen-Ren Chao, an Academician of Academia Sinica and one of the most famous Chinese linguists of all time, became President of the LSA. Dr. Chao is the author of A Grammar of Spoken Chinese, a seminal work on Chinese grammar. In 1950, Dr. Fang-Kuei Li, also an Academician and a contemporary of Chao, became Vice President of the society.