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11 05, 2026

Modeling the impact of prenatal audio attenuation on speech sound learning” published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

2026-05-11T14:40:06+08:00

“Modeling the impact of prenatal audio attenuation on speech sound learning” published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition We are pleased to share a new publication from Ivy, Frank and Youngah in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. The paper, titled “Modeling the impact of prenatal audio attenuation on speech sound learning,” examines how human infants appear to have substantial knowledge of the sound structure of their native language at birth, despite the fact that the uterine environment strongly limits auditory input to low-frequency sounds. The study explores whether this prenatal low-frequency exposure may [...]

Modeling the impact of prenatal audio attenuation on speech sound learning” published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition2026-05-11T14:40:06+08:00
9 05, 2026

Discontinuous vowel harmony in Guébie: Cyclic interleaving of syntax and phonology.

2026-05-09T18:45:54+08:00

Sande H, Clem E, Dąbkowski M. Discontinuous vowel harmony in Guébie: Cyclic interleaving of syntax and phonology. Language. Published online 2026:1-32. Doi:10.1017/S009785072600007X This article introduces the phenomenon of discontinuous harmony, where the target and trigger of harmony are separated by intervening nonharmonizing words. We present a case study from Guébie (Kru; Côte d’Ivoire) in which particle verbs are split via focus movement. Despite appearing at opposite edges of the clause, the verb controls harmony on the particle without affecting the vowels of intervening material. While discontinuous harmony would appear to violate locality, we offer an analysis that involves local harmony [...]

Discontinuous vowel harmony in Guébie: Cyclic interleaving of syntax and phonology.2026-05-09T18:45:54+08:00
22 04, 2026

Linguistic experience and processing speed differentially affect lexical retrieval and structural assembly during language production

2026-04-22T17:27:00+08:00

Linguistic experience and processing speed differentially affect lexical retrieval and structural assembly during language production - Professor Mohammad Momenian Published: 02 March 2026 https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-026-01861-x Abstract Our ability to produce words and sentences relies on lexical retrieval and structural assembly processes, which are supported by domain-general skills. In the present study, we adopted an individual-differences approach to examine how linguistic experience and domain-general skills jointly contribute to language production at different levels of complexity. Our participants (n = 169) completed three production tasks that capitalized on lexical retrieval (picture naming) and structural assembly (phrase generation and sentence generation) processes, respectively. In [...]

Linguistic experience and processing speed differentially affect lexical retrieval and structural assembly during language production2026-04-22T17:27:00+08:00
15 04, 2026

The phonology of sperm whale coda vowels

2026-04-15T14:43:54+08:00

Gašper Beguš, Maksymilian Dąbkowski, Ronald L. Sprouse, David F. Gruber, Shane Gero; The phonology of sperm whale coda vowels. Proc Biol Sci 1 April 2026; 293 (2069): 20252994. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2994 Sperm whales (Physeter macro­cephalus) communicate using series of clicks known as codas. In previous research, sperm whale codas have been shown to resemble human vowels acoustically. Based on the number of formants, two different coda quality categories have been described: a-codas and i-codas. In the present paper, we demonstrate that sperm whale codas not only resemble human vowels acoustically but also pattern like them along several linguistic dimensions. First, traditional count- [...]

The phonology of sperm whale coda vowels2026-04-15T14:43:54+08:00
13 04, 2026

Linguistics Seminar – Language comprehension involves multiple levels of structure processing

2026-04-21T10:32:29+08:00

Linguistics Seminar – Language comprehension involves multiple levels of structure processing Date: 23 Apr 2026 (Thursday) Start Time: 4:00 pm Speaker: Prof. Suhail Matar (Assistant Professor of Neurolinguistics in the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at the University of Cambridge) Venue: CPD LG.08, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

Linguistics Seminar – Language comprehension involves multiple levels of structure processing2026-04-21T10:32:29+08:00
10 04, 2026

Linguistics seminar – From Linguistic Input to Neural Representation: How the Brain Learns Language

2026-04-15T14:53:21+08:00

Linguistics seminar – From Linguistic Input to Neural Representation: How the Brain Learns Language Date: 16 Apr 2026 (Thursday) Start Time: 4:00 pm Speaker: Prof. Feng Gangyi (Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at The Chinese University of Hong Kong) Venue: CPD LG.08, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU  

Linguistics seminar – From Linguistic Input to Neural Representation: How the Brain Learns Language2026-04-15T14:53:21+08:00
2 04, 2026

“Iconicity and semantic transparency in Hong Kong Sign Language: Evidence from ratings and three guessing paradigms” published in Language and Cognition

2026-04-02T15:14:52+08:00

“Iconicity and semantic transparency in Hong Kong Sign Language: Evidence from ratings and three guessing paradigms” published in Language and Cognition By HKU Linguistics Post date 2026-04-02 We are pleased to announce the publication of a new article in Language and Cognition by Arthur, Aaron, Mavies, Rachel, Judy and Youngah, titled Iconicity and semantic transparency in Hong Kong Sign Language: Evidence from ratings and three guessing paradigms. This study investigates how strongly signs in Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL) are perceived to resemble their meanings, a property known as iconicity, and how this relates to how easily meanings can be [...]

“Iconicity and semantic transparency in Hong Kong Sign Language: Evidence from ratings and three guessing paradigms” published in Language and Cognition2026-04-02T15:14:52+08:00
1 03, 2026

[Linguistics Seminar on 12 Mar] Outermost wins in Dinka and the theory of nonconcatenative morphology

2026-03-23T12:58:40+08:00

Outermost wins in Dinka and the theory of nonconcatenative morphology Date: 12 Mar 2026 (Thu) Time: 4:00 pm Zoom: https://hku.zoom.us/j/97684494584?pwd=beh8mFIFjrVVB2DMaSTj57UlveXCub.1 Meeting ID: 976 8449 4584 Password: 899952

[Linguistics Seminar on 12 Mar] Outermost wins in Dinka and the theory of nonconcatenative morphology2026-03-23T12:58:40+08:00
26 01, 2026

Syntax in Social Interaction: Syntax, Conversation, Discourse-Pragmatics, Lexicon, and Mode in if you ask me Constructions – Jesús Olguín-Martinez

2026-01-26T11:41:17+08:00

Olguín Martínez, Jesús & Stefan Th. Gries. 2026. Syntax in Social Interaction: Syntax, Conversation, Discourse-Pragmatics, Lexicon, and Mode in if you ask me Constructions. Corpus-based studies across humanities (published online). https://doi.org/10.1515/csh-2025-0025 The study analyzes the syntax of if you ask me (e.g., she’s not ready for that kind of responsibility if you ask me) in a sample of 789 constructions from The Corpus of Contemporary American English. Special attention is paid to how the order of the protasis interacts with other domains in language use: speaker, function, lexicon, and type of communication mode. Using a predictive-modeling approach, we demonstrate that [...]

Syntax in Social Interaction: Syntax, Conversation, Discourse-Pragmatics, Lexicon, and Mode in if you ask me Constructions – Jesús Olguín-Martinez2026-01-26T11:41:17+08:00
26 01, 2026

The link between syntax, semantics, discourse, and lexicon in counteridenticals: A multivariate extension of co-varying collexeme analysis – Jesús Olguín-Martinez

2026-01-26T11:39:13+08:00

Olguín Martínez, Jesús & Stefan Th. Gries. 2026. The link between syntax, semantics, discourse, and lexicon in counteridenticals: A multivariate extension of co-varying collexeme analysis. Functions of Language (published online). https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.24101.olg The present study goes beyond traditional Usage-Based Construction Grammar research in that it pays close attention not only to the interaction of lexicon and syntax in language use, but also to how other analytic layers of analysis (e.g., discourse) can influence the compatibility of lexemes in particular slots of constructional schemas. The paper provides a novel way to explore the following question: how do syntax, semantics, discourse, and lexicon [...]

The link between syntax, semantics, discourse, and lexicon in counteridenticals: A multivariate extension of co-varying collexeme analysis – Jesús Olguín-Martinez2026-01-26T11:39:13+08:00
23 01, 2026

Filler-slot relations in language contact: Lexico-syntactic transference from a usage-based perspective – Jesús Olguín-Martinez

2026-01-23T15:56:36+08:00

Filler-slot relations in language contact: Lexico-syntactic transference from a usage-based perspective – Jesús Olguín-Martinez Olguín Martínez, Jesús & Stefan Th. Gries. 2026. Filler-slot relations in language contact: Lexico-syntactic transference from a usage-based perspective. Review of Cognitive Linguistics (published online). https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.00250.olg The study investigates the influence of Mexican Spanish similative (e.g., he swims like a fish) and pretence constructions (e.g., he swims as if he were a fish) on those found in four Mesoamerican languages: Huasteca Nahuatl, Papantla Totonac, San Gabriel Huastec, and Uxpanapa Chinantec. Using predictive modeling, we demonstrate that these indigenous languages have not only borrowed the markers komo [...]

Filler-slot relations in language contact: Lexico-syntactic transference from a usage-based perspective – Jesús Olguín-Martinez2026-01-23T15:56:36+08:00
16 01, 2026

Talk for A’ingae nasality always floats (Dr. Maksymilian Dąbkowski)

2026-01-16T09:26:18+08:00

A'ingae nasality always floats Abstract: The phonology of nasality in A'ingae (or Cofán, ISO 639-3: con) is complex and has received several treatments in the previous literature (e.g. Bennett et al., t.a.; Sanker, 2025; Sanker and AnderBois, 2024). In this talk, I focus specifically on nasality in the language's native roots, and observe a new restriction on its distribution: If present, nasality always "starts" from the left edge and extends through (a part of) the root. To account for this pattern, I propose that nasality in A'ingae is always a floating feature that associates from the left, and all segments [...]

Talk for A’ingae nasality always floats (Dr. Maksymilian Dąbkowski)2026-01-16T09:26:18+08:00
15 01, 2026

Research interns wanted for typological database development

2026-01-15T09:35:45+08:00

Prof. Jesus Olguin-Martinez, University of Hong Kong Linguistics Department D-CCCA: A database for syntactic typological research Syntactic typological databases have received a great deal of attention recently (e.g., The World Atlas of Language Structures online; Grambank; Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures online). These databases have contributed to our theoretical understanding of syntactic variation in typological perspective. However, much more work remains to be done. In particular, no syntactic typological database has focused on documenting groups of constructions that share similar semantic and pragmatic characteristics, as the following: (1) a. If you had gone, you would have seen her (standard [...]

Research interns wanted for typological database development2026-01-15T09:35:45+08:00
15 12, 2025

Precautioning purpose constructions in typological perspective: a functional trade-off between clause-linking devices and tense–aspect–mood (TAM) marking

2025-12-15T15:26:01+08:00

"Precautioning purpose constructions in typological perspective: a functional trade-off between clause-linking devices and tense–aspect–mood (TAM) marking" Journal of World Languages Olguín Martínez, Jesús. 2025. Precautioning purpose constructions in typological perspective: A functional trade-off between clause-linking devices and TAM marking. Journal of World Languages (published online).https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2025-0050 The study investigates how languages indicate precautioning purpose relations (e.g., I said it so that the child would not touch it) in a sample of 71 languages, focusing on the interaction between clause-linking devices and tense–aspect–mood (TAM) marking. It shows that languages either employ specialized clause-linking devices (e.g. equivalents of lest) or rely on non-specialized [...]

Precautioning purpose constructions in typological perspective: a functional trade-off between clause-linking devices and tense–aspect–mood (TAM) marking2025-12-15T15:26:01+08:00
4 12, 2025

Bottom-up modeling of phoneme learning: Universal sensitivity and language-specific transformation” published in Speech Communication

2025-12-06T12:28:42+08:00

“Bottom-up modeling of phoneme learning: Universal sensitivity and language-specific transformation” published in Speech Communication We are pleased to announce the publication of a new paper titled “Bottom-up modeling of phoneme learning: Universal sensitivity and language-specific transformation” in the journal Speech Communication. This study was conducted by Frank and Youngah. The research investigates the emergence and development of universal phonetic sensitivity during early phonological learning using an unsupervised modeling approach. The authors trained autoencoder models on raw acoustic input from English and Mandarin to simulate bottom-up perceptual development, focusing on phoneme contrast learning. The results demonstrate that phoneme-like categories and feature-aligned [...]

Bottom-up modeling of phoneme learning: Universal sensitivity and language-specific transformation” published in Speech Communication2025-12-06T12:28:42+08:00
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