Hong Kong

This course aims at giving the student a comprehensive introduction to basic concepts used in the description of morphology and syntax, independent of any model of grammar. Exercises accompany the topics introduced. Example analyses are drawn from various languages. The following topics in morphology and syntax will be covered: words, morphemes and morphs, word classes, immediate constituents, phrase structure, functional relations, and sentence structure.

The goal of the course is to introduce students to the basic concepts in phonology and various phonological systems of human languages. Students acquire experience in analyzing language data and formulating phonological rules.

Phonetics studies the sounds of speech, as a topic in itself and as a basis for studying other levels of language structure such as Phonology and Morphology. This course focuses on articulatory phonetics; the speech mechanism; the description and classification of sounds of languages; sounds in context; prosodic features; tone and intonation; and practical work.

Phonetics studies the sounds of speech, as a topic in itself and as a basis for studying other levels of language structure such as Phonology and Morphology. This course focuses on articulatory phonetics; the speech mechanism; the description and classification of sounds of languages; sounds in context; prosodic features; tone and intonation; and practical work.

How and why how human beings acquired language in prehistory is fundamental to an understanding of who we are today. This course adopts a broad perspective on language and approaches it as one communication system among others, which emerged in our ancestors under specific conditions, and for specific purpose(s). In the course, concepts and methods pertaining to various scientific fields beyond linguistics will be investigated, including paleo-anthropology, archaeology, ethology and comparative psychology. Students will first reflect on animal and human communication contrastively, as well as on attempts to teach language to apes and other animals. They will then consider the question of the origins of language, with the underlying evolutionary processes and the cues we have of our distant ancestors’ lives and communicative abilities. This will then be compared to other cases of language emergence such as creoles, sign languages, and artificial languages in experimental settings.

This course is an introduction to morphological theory. The course offers an introduction to some of the current models of morphology, including Paradigm Function Morphology, Prosodic Morphology and Optimality Theory, among others, and considers how morphology interacts with other fields of linguistics such as syntax, semantics and phonology.

In this course, students will learn techniques and strategies for different research methods in linguistics, including eliciting, recording, and archiving data, as well as several other experimental techniques and approaches to data collection. These skills are necessary for adding to our knowledge of the world’s languages. Lectures as well as in-lab demonstrations will be given, as well as assignments to solidify the students’ understanding of the methods. These will be discussed in the context of linguistic issues, both in class and in tutorial sessions, to identify interesting properties of the language, collect data, and ultimately write a report of a piece of original research to be carried out during the semester using one or more of the introduced methods.

In this course, students will learn techniques and strategies for eliciting, recording, and archiving data about an unfamiliar language. These skills are necessary for adding to our knowledge of the world’s languages. Students will work with a native speaker of an unfamiliar language throughout the semester, both in class and in tutorial sessions, to identify interesting properties of the language, collect data, and ultimately write up a grammar of a subpart of the language.

This course is an introduction to the linguistic and social dimensions of language contact and change. Topics include multilingualism, lexical and grammatical borrowing, code-switching, language shift and the emergence of new languages, among them the creole languages of Asia, the Americas and Africa. Presentations, film viewings, in-class discussions and online and offline exercises during lectures and tutorials will provide the opportunity to apply and learn concrete techniques of linguistic analysis. The course is especially relevant to students interested in East-West contacts, the Americas and Africa, colonialism and globalization, and linguistic and cultural change.

This course examines various issues regarding cognition and language. Topics to be covered are: How is language processed and represented in the mind and the brain? Commonalities and particularities of cognitive and neuro-cognitive processing of different languages (e.g., English and Chinese). First and second language learning. What are the critical factors that facilitate language learning? The Chinese language and the brain; language and reading disorders. Applied cognitive psychology of language. Headline designs for newspaper, TV program, and advertisement. Cognitive basis of persuasion.