“Conservativity in the scope of phonological generalization learning” published in Linguistics Vanguard We are pleased to share a new publication by Adam, Bingzi, and Youngah in Linguistics Vanguard: “Conservativity in the Scope of Phonological Generalization Learning.” The study investigates how people learn phonological patterns, or regularities in the sound systems of languages. In many languages, sound changes known as phonological alternations occur when words combine with affixes, often reflecting broader restrictions on which sound sequences are allowed in the language. Because of this relationship, many theories of phonology assume that knowledge of alternations and knowledge of phonotactics (sound-pattern restrictions within [...]

“Exploring Substantive Bias Through Incidental Phonological Learning: Accuracy and Conscious Status of the Resultant Knowledge” published in Language and Speech We are pleased to share a new publication by Xiaoyu, Yuyan, and Youngah in Language and Speech. The paper, titled “Exploring Substantive Bias Through Incidental Phonological Learning: Accuracy and Conscious Status of the Resultant Knowledge,” investigates how substantive bias emerges in phonological learning by comparing the acquisition of phonetically natural patterns (vowel harmony) versus unnatural ones (vowel disharmony). To address why many previous studies have struggled to find evidence for this bias, the team introduced a disguise task to minimize [...]

Clarifying when-constructions: Conversation, morphosyntax, lexicon, and mode and their interactions in language use Abstract: The present study investigates clarifying when-constructions (e.g., when I say more, I don’t mean that we should consume more, but really it’s about creating a rich life) in a sample of 971 examples from The Corpus of Contemporary American English. In this construction, a phrase or clause from a different or the same turn is repeated in a when-clause to provide clarification through the main clause, often accompanied by a refining clause. The present research centers around identifying configurations of variables that are correlated with whether [...]

Formal Linguistics Forum (FLorum) Director: Dr. Maksymilian Dąbkowski Description: What kinds of algorithms can capture how natural language sound systems work? What is the best way to represent the structure of words and sentences? What is the relationship between formal logic and the meanings of those words and sentences? What insights can theoretical models afford into the structure of conversations? These and other questions are discussed at the Formal Linguistics Forum (or FLorum, for short), a working group that advances cutting-edge research in theoretical linguistics. The group’s interdisciplinary scope encompasses formal approaches to any aspect of language structure (including phonology, [...]

HKU Linguistics Seminar 2026-27 Please feel free to disseminate this message to your friends, colleagues, and students who are interested in the topic, and contact us at linguist@hku.hk if you have any queries. Best wishes, Department of Linguistics The University of Hong Kong

Prof. Kofi Yakpo of HKU Linguistics received a prestigious Overseas Research Fellowship Scheme Award (ORFS) of the University Grants Committee of the Government of Hong Kong to investigate dynamics in the expansion of Swahili (East Africa) and Lingala (Central Africa). He will collaborate with the Universidade Agostinho Neto (Luanda, Angola) and Kenyatta University (Nairobi, Kenya) between August 2026 and January 2027.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0093934X26000209 Abstract We revisit Ellen Bialystok’s seminal chapter, “Selective Attention in Cognitive Processing: The Bilingual Edge”, exploring its impact on over three decades of research. We explore how theoretical and methodological advances have refined our understanding of the cognitive effects of bilingualism including shifts in how bilingualism is operationalized and assessed, the application of neuroimaging techniques, and the adoption of more robust statistical approaches. We also draw attention to ongoing challenges including mixed reports of bilingual effects identified across evidence syntheses, the role of individual differences, and the need for more ecologically valid research methodologies. Finally, we plot a course [...]

HKU linguist Prof. Kofi Yakpo on YouTube vodcast discussing his research on African Caribbean English Creole—a 150-million-speaker transatlantic language cluster including Nigerian Pidgin and Jamaican Creole: Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j9V6UArHH8 Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckMmUXP8nFs

“Machine-learning errors in Hong Kong Sign Language handshape recognition reflect markedness patterns attested in learning” published in Sign Language & Linguistics We report on a new publication by Frank, Aaron, Arthur, Jeff and Youngah, recently published in Sign Language & Linguistics. The paper, “Machine-learning errors in Hong Kong Sign Language handshape recognition reflect markedness patterns attested in learning”, is now available online. This study examines how errors made by a machine-learning model trained to recognise handshapes in Hong Kong Sign Language compare with the kinds of errors produced by human learners. Handshapes are a fundamental part of sign language structure [...]

“An Expanded Model for Perceptual Norming: Insights From Japanese Ideophones” published in Topics in Cognitive Science We report a new publication by Bonnie, Youngah, Arthur, and John in Topics in Cognitive Science. The paper titled “An expanded model for perceptual norming: Insights from Japanese ideophones.” It investigates how sensory experience is encoded in Japanese ideophones, a class of vivid words often described as sound‑symbolic. Using perceptual strength ratings across 13 sensory dimensions, the study moves beyond the traditional five‑ or six‑sense model. The results show that so‑called visual dominance is driven mainly by movement, while other visual properties such as [...]

The Linguistics Society recently had the wonderful opportunity to step out of the campus and connect with a younger audience. They were invited to host an English Assembly at Christian Alliance SC Chan Memorial College. In this event, they shared interesting linguistics concepts related to daily life with secondary school students through interactive games. The audience participated actively and brought incredible energy to the assembly! Well done the Linguistics Society. The Linguistics Society at HKU is run by students. If you are interested in organizing similar events by the Linguistics Society, please reach out to us. Linguistics Society Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hku_lingsoc/ [...]

Maksymilian Dąbkowski & Scott AnderBois. 2026. The apprehensional domain in A’ingae (Cofán). In Martina Faller, Marine Vuillermet & Eva Schultze-Berndt (eds.), Apprehensional constructions in a cross-linguistic perspective, 77–117. Berlin: Language Science Press. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19708126 This paper provides the first detailed description of the apprehensional domain in A’ingae (Cofán, iso 639-3: con), with the cross-linguistic category of apprehension defined as a mixed modality encoding both undesirability and epistemic possibility. We contribute to the study of apprehensional typology by reporting on a language of a so far unattested profile: one apprehensional morpheme =sa’ne ‘APPR’ spanning robust precautioning uses (both avertive and ‘in-case’), [...]

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 [...]

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- [...]

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 – 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