With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of Professor István Kecskés, who, after more than three months of medical treatment, passed away at 21:01 (China Standard Time) on February 24, 2025, at the General Hospital in Shanghai, China.
István Kecskés was born on September 20, 1947, in Miskolc, Hungary. He earned his PhD in comparative linguistics from Kossuth University (now Debrecen University) in 1977 and an academic degree from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1986. He had been living and working in the US since 1989.
Prof. Kecskés was a distinguished scholar, visionary leader, and dedicated educator whose contributions to linguistics, multilingualism, and intercultural communication leave an enduring legacy. He held numerous esteemed fellowships and honorary titles, reflecting his global impact on academia. He was a Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York, University at Albany, and served as President of the American Pragmatics Association (AMPRA). He was also appointed Honorary Professor at the School of International Chinese Studies, Institute of Global Chinese Language Teacher Education at East China Normal University. Since 2013, he had also been a Distinguished Research Professor at National Research Tomsk State University and held visiting professorships at institutions such as Monash University, the University of Messina, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and Brigham Young University. His scholarship earned him prestigious fellowships, including residencies at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Research Center, the Mitteleuropa Foundation, and Duke University’s Humanities Computing Center.
A true pioneer in language research, Professor Kecskés launched the Chinese as a Second Language Research (CASLAR) project in 2010. The first step was the international conference held in Hangzhou, followed by the launch of the bilingual CASLAR journal in 2011, published by De Gruyter. In 2014, the CASLAR Association was established at the University of Parma (Italy) to foster academic dialogue and research collaboration. Thanks to Professor Kecskés’ tireless efforts, CASLAR has become a global reference point, uniting conferences, publications, and a research network to build a strong theoretical foundation for Chinese language teaching.
Beyond CASLAR, he was also the Editor-in-chief of the journal Intercultural Pragmatics (De Gruyter), and the founder and co-director of the Barcelona Summer School on Bi- and Multilingualism, the Sorbonne-Paris – SUNY Albany graduate student symposium series, and the Intercultural Pragmatics and Communication conference series. These initiatives have provided vital platforms for scholars worldwide to engage in meaningful academic discourse.
Professor Kecskés’ legacy endures through his extensive publications, innovative theories, and dedication to bridging linguistic and cultural divides. His work significantly shaped the study of language use in global contexts, contributing to research on English as a lingua franca and intercultural pragmatics, with publications such as English as a Lingua Franca: The Pragmatic Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2019), Intercultural Pragmatics (Oxford University Press, 2013) and, co-authored with his beloved wife Tünde Papp, Foreign Language and Mother Tongue (Taylor & Francis, 2000). He also edited influential volumes such as The Cambridge Handbook of Intercultural Pragmatics (2022), Common Ground in First Language and Intercultural Interaction (De Gruyter Mouton, 2023), and Key Issues in Chinese as a Second Language Research (Routledge, 2017), among many other books, articles, and chapters.
His intellectual curiosity, mentorship, and generosity in sharing knowledge inspired countless students and colleagues. His passing is a profound loss to the academic community, but his legacy will live on through the scholars, institutions, and research initiatives he nurtured.
We would like to thank all the Chinese friends for the support and assistance provided during Prof. Kecskés’ hospitalization.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.
