Linguistics

This course covers the way in which phonological theories provide understanding of phonological alternations in human language. It introduces a variety of recent phonological theories, including but not limited to, constraint-based theory; agreement-by-correspondence theory, and theory of phonology-syntax interface. 

The course builds on foundational concepts in general linguistics to provide a comprehensive understanding of the linguistic system. It examines the structure and units of language—both in expression and content—through historical and theoretical perspectives. It explores the organization of language, phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicology, and semantics. The course also introduces interdisciplinary branches of linguistics, including psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, neurolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, and applied linguistics, preparing students for advanced study and research in language analysis.

The course focuses on the linguistic, pragmatic, and cultural contrasts between English and Spanish, providing the tools and methods needed to analyze differences across grammar, discourse, and usage. It also explores how language reflects and shapes cultural and social identities in the United Kingdom and the United States, with an emphasis on post-1945 developments. Topics include regional and social language variation, cultural norms, and key sociopolitical issues related to language use and diversity.

There are nearly 5000 languages used daily around the world. Geographical and political restructuring, migration, natural disassters are just a few of the factors which cause multilingualism in society.  The course addresses the key questions: What does it mean to be bilingual and how does a child or adult become bilingual? This course also surveys bilingualism and bidialectalism in Japan (e.g. Korean, Okinawan, Tagalog, English).

This course examines various approaches to the study of bilingualism and multilingualism (e.g., societal, cognitive, psychological, educational), covering a wide variety of crucial issues and controversies in the field.  

The course examines English slang and colloquial language from both historical and current perspectives. It focuses on how informal and marginal lexical forms shape linguistic variation, especially in youth and counter-cultural contexts. Topics include word formation, etymology, linguistic interdiction, and the representation of slang in literature and media.

This course analyzes the fundamental syntactic structures in Spanish, focusing on its main normative parameters. It examines the linguistic structure of Spanish which allows for comparison with other languages. 

This course offers advanced studies in the history of the English language. Utilizing knowledge in philology and modern linguistics, particularly in historical linguistics and sociolinguistics, it explores various topics and analyzes data that show major developments from Old English to Present-Day English.

This course introduces students to the study of the relationship between language and society. The course includes topics like language variation and change, language and gender, multilingualism and language contact, and language policy. Aspects like the distinction between language and dialect are covered next to how language attitudes shape our communicative behavior and the way we perceive speakers. The course has both theoretical and empirical content and includes many case studies and practical exercises from languages and regions around the world. This course is recommended for linguistics majors and is an important asset for anyone who seeks to understand how language affects how we relate to each other in society. Prerequisite: LING1000.

This course provides an introduction to Chinese linguistics through an analysis of Chinese language facts. The origin, characteristics, operation rules and mechanisms of Chinese are thoroughly introduced so that students’ understanding of Chinese linguistics are raised from the perceptual cognition to the rational cognition. By completing the course, students utilize the research skills and methods to analyze some Chinese facts by obtaining a profound understanding of Chinese linguistics.

This course gives an overview of the status, features, and use of Hong Kong English (HKE), the variety of English commonly used in Hong Kong. It introduces to the concept of ‘world Englishes’ and examines different theoretical frameworks for conceptualizing the evolution of new varieties of English. The course also examines the relationship between Hong Kong English and Hong Kong culture from cultural, social, historical, and educational perspectives, particularly in relation to and juxtaposition from Cantonese and Putonghua. The second part of the course examines both spoken and written features of HKE, including grammar, discourse particles, vocabulary, and pronunciation, as well as the practices of code-mixing and code-switching. This section of the course also focuses on the social impact of the use of these features in Hong Kong culture. In the third part of the course, language attitudes and ideologies towards ‘standard’ language varieties (for example American and British English) in relation to HKE are explored. The course also examines the relationship between the use of HKE and social identity as well as gender in Hong Kong culture.