LING6032 Semantics Dr. Leo Hoye MA Elective course. Sem 2Monday, 9:30 am – 12:20 pm Venue: Course Description This course introduces students to the linguistic study of meaning. It focuses on the meaning of signs and the relation between signifiers and what they stand for. Topics to be examined include both traditional and current approaches to lexical and sentence meaning. The role of semantics in the language system will be addressed. Central problems and theoretical concepts of Semantics will be discussed, with illustration from a variety of languages. Course Details Assessment:100% coursework

LING7013 Language Emergence and Language Change Dr. Christophe Coupé MA Elective course. Sem 1 Wednesday, 9:30 am - 12:20 pm Venue: CRT-4.04, Centennial Campus Course Description How, when and why did the faculty of language emerge and evolve in our ancestors? How is it connected to the development of other cognitive abilities, of new behaviors and social interactions? These issues fuel today’s scientific investigations, but the question of how we came to communicate the way we do today has puzzled scholars for millennia, as evident from the legacy of ancient Greek and Chinese philosophers. In this course, we will paint a global picture [...]

LING6028 Topics in Language Acquisition Dr. Elaine Lau MA Elective course. Sem 1 Wednesday, 2:30 pm – 5:20 pm (Venue: CPD-4.04) Course Description The course introduces current linguistic approaches to language acquisition in bilingual and multilingual contexts. Topics will include the acquisition of Cantonese and English by bilingual children; acquisition of English as second language by Chinese speakers, and vice versa; and the acquisition of a third or additional language by bilinguals. The course is particularly suitable for those with some experience of language teaching. Course Details Assessment: 100% coursework

LING7012 Introduction to Data Science for Linguists Dr. Christophe Coupé MA Elective course. Sem 1 Monday, 9:30 am – 12:20 pm Venue: CRT-9.62 Course Description This course offers students a detailed introduction to data science and its application to linguistic issues. It covers both theoretical aspects and methods, and assumes no strong background in mathematics or computer science. Following an introduction to data science, a number of statistical concepts and tools will be introduced and applied to linguistic data. Simple natural language processing (NLP) techniques will also be covered. Topics include: sampling, descriptive and inferential statistics, basic parametric and non-parametric statistical tests, regular [...]

LING6021 Language Types and Universals Dr. Joe Perry MA Elective course. Sem 2 Wednesday, 1:30 pm – 3:20 pm; Friday 10:30 am - 11:20 am Venue: Course Description This course introduces linguistic typology as an approach to language structure based inductively on investigation of a wide range of languages.  It does not require prior knowledge of many languages, although some knowledge of a language such as German or Japanese is a useful asset.  The course includes applications of typology in the field of language acquisition. Course Details Assessment: 100% coursework.

LING6019 Grammar and Interaction Dr. Olivia Lam MA Elective course. Sem 2 Tuesday, 9:30 am – 12:20 pm (Venue: CRT-4.04) Course Description This course introduces students to the recent advances in the study of the interface between linguistic structure (grammar) and human interaction (spontaneous communication).  It focuses on issues of the identity of basic interactional units and how syntax, prosody, semantics and conversational structure shape one another in naturally occurring talk. Topics include: Syntax of sentences in progress, Adverbial clauses in conversation, Repair and syntax, Conversational turns and their extension. Assessment: 100% coursework

LING6014 The History and Structure of Cantonese Prof. Stephen Matthews MA Elective course. Sem 2 Saturday, 9:30 am – 12:20 pm Venue: Course Description This course offers a wide-ranging account of Cantonese in all of its major facets: its origins, historical development, phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexis, as well as dialectal and social variation. Recent advances in research on Cantonese will also be discussed and reviewed. Course Details Assessment: 100% coursework Please see course moodle for course information and lecture notes/handouts (HKU portal login required).