Hong Kong

This course is an introduction to linguistics, the scientific study of language. The course begins with an introduction to the field, and with a discussion of what ‘language’ is. We then learn how speakers use language forms to convey meaning. This includes an introduction to the study of (i) sound patterns (phonetics and phonology); (ii) word structure and sentence structure (morphology and syntax); and, (iii) meaning (semantics and pragmatics). These are some of the more fundamental tools that linguists use to analyze language. We also introduce you to the main areas of inquiry in the field, including language variation, language and the brain, language acquisition and linguistic diversity. The aim is for students to get an overview of the diverse field, as well as understand and appreciate the foundations of linguistics.

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 course covers the theoretical and instrumental study of the acoustic properties of speech sounds; classificatory criteria; speech analysis and synthesis; experimental techniques; and laboratory work.

Computational approaches are becoming increasingly popular in the social sciences and in the humanities, and linguistics is no exception. Large databases, computer models and statistical analyses – to mention better-known research paradigms – allow to revisit long-debated issues in the field, such as how languages are born, change, compete or die. This course provides an overview of the available methods and of their application to sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, phonology, syntax and other fields. Students will be acquainted with various approaches and eventually be able to assess the benefits of such approaches for their own research. During the tutorials, students will acquire basic skills in computational linguistics, such as extracting data from existing linguistic databases or modelling linguistic diversity.

This course aims to provide a theoretical understanding of bilingualism from a psycholinguistic and neuropsycholinguistic perspective, with emphasis on bilingual language development and mental representations of the two languages. Various aspects of bilingual behavior such as code-switching and language mixing and various factors that may affect bilingual behavior such as age-related differences, the influence of the first language, the role of attitudes, motivation and learning contexts will be discussed and examined.

This course covers aspects of the phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics of major African languages. It also deals with vowel harmony, tone, click sounds, the noun class system, verbal extensions, serial verbs, and other complex constructions. The course will highlight important sociolinguistic features of various regions in Africa and include specific examples.

This is a general survey history of the United States from the colonial era up to 1900. Emphasis will be primarily on the nineteenth century. Key areas of focus include: industrialization and economic growth, urbanization, frontier communities, immigration, slavery, the Civil War, socio-political reform movements, and the Spanish-American War.

This course explores the history of Hong Kong since the early 1800s from several angles: British imperial history, Chinese history, world history, and as a place with its own identity. Topics include: the opium wars, law and the administration of justice, gender and colonialism, Hong Kong and Chinese nationalism, the Japanese occupation, the 1967 disturbances, Hong Kong identity, the fight against corruption, the Sino-British negotiations and the retrocession to Chinese sovereignty, and developments since 1997. The goals of the course are to familiarize students with the history of Hong Kong, introduce the ways in which historians have approached this history, explore how Hong Kong’s past has shaped its present, and help students learn to read and write analytically. No previous knowledge of history or Hong Kong is required.

This course introduces students to the development of European civilisation from its earliest beginnings in the Fertile Crescent through the classical age of Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire, to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Selected highlights from these topics will be treated in the lectures and seminars, and coursework assignments will seek to establish linkages between modern western civilisation and its historical foundations. This course is valuable for history students, but should also appeal to others studying literature, art, music or philosophy. It will be especially useful for European Studies Majors. All students are welcome.