Linguistics research at HKU

HKU conducts a wide variety of linguistic research, including in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and language acquisition. HKU linguists employ a variety of methods in their research, including acoustic analysis, field elicitation, corpus analysis, typological surveys, sociolinguistic interviews, behavioural experiments, and MRI and ultrasound imaging.

HKU Linguistics is dedicated to uncovering the diversity of human language and the sociological and biological forces underpinning it. Current research focuses include the analysis of language production, perception and acquisition, the neural basis of reading and its disorders, the study of languages in contact, and the documentation of endangered languages – languages that, if no further measures are taken, may soon disappear. Ultrasound imaging and other experimental techniques are used in the analysis of speech, brain imaging techniques are used for neurolinguistics research, and we cooperate intensively with language communities to produce faithful descriptions of endangered languages and language varieties.