Henning Radke is Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC) and the German Studies programme at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). His research focuses on multilingualism in (post)colonial contexts from a sociolinguistic and pragmatic perspective. He publishes on language contact and change, multilingual forms of politeness, methodological triangulation, and extraterritorial varieties of Germanic languages, including Afrikaans, Dutch, English, and German.
In 2023, Henning defended his PhD on language variation in computer-mediated communication with a special emphasis on the role of multilingual speech acts for the German-Namibian diaspora. He organizes and moderates several academic events in collaboration with the Amsterdam Center for German Studies (DIA), including a public discussion on German traces in Suriname and the Graduiertenkolleg Routes of Communication between Africa and Europe. He also served as a guest lecturer at the German Section of the University of Namibia (2018).
Henning holds a Master of Arts in Linguistics as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Dutch Philology and Communication Science (Freie Universität Berlin). Furthermore, he was a lecturer for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) at the Amsterdam Center for German Studies (DIA) from 2014 to 2020. Henning has gained professional experience in five countries: Germany, Namibia, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Suriname. While staying in these countries, he did research, taught German as a foreign language and organized cultural projects. He has worked for the German department at the University of Cape Town, the international office of Freie Universität Berlin, and for the Goethe-Institut Amsterdam.