PolyU’s Linguistics Ranked 40th Worldwide

PolyU’s Linguistics, the discipline to which a majority of FH staff members belong, is consistently ranked among top 50 in the world. It is ranked 40th worldwide in the 2018 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject. PolyU’s Arts and Humanities is ranked 21st in Asia and 115th in the world. QS rankings are based on universities’ subject performance in terms of academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact. (Source: Quacquarelli Symonds University Rankings 2018) *By regional filtering of Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Faculty 2018.

PolyU 80th Anniversary Open Day - Faculty of Humanities Activities

To celebrate the PolyU 80th Anniversary, the Faculty of Humanities offers various activities on 2 and 3 December 2017:

23rd Congregation - FH Sessions

First Session Date 11 November 2017 Time 10:00am Venue PolyU Jockey Club Auditorium The programme will be conducted in English. Invitation Letter Opening Remarks Congratulatory Address Valedictory Speech Second Session Date 11 November 2017 Time 1:00pm Venue PolyU Jockey Club Auditorium The programme will be conducted in English. Invitation Letter Opening Remarks Congratulatory Address Valedictory Speech Third Session Date 11 November 2017 Time 4:00pm Venue PolyU Jockey Club Auditorium The programme will be conducted in English. Invitation Letter (BABS Only) Opening Remarks Congratulatory Address Valedictory Speech Conferment Procedure on the Stage: Video Congregation Arrangements: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/as/webpage/for-graduates/congregation-arrangements Award Parchment Collection: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/as/webpage/for-graduates/award

Dr Zhang Caicai Debunks the Myth of Tone Deaf in PolyU Milestones

Dr Zhang Caicai from the Faculty of Humanities was invited by PolyU Milestones to talk about her research findings on congenital amusia in tonal language speakers in the September 2017 issue. The research found that Cantonese speakers who suffer from congenital amusia have abnormal brain activities that affect both music and language tone processing. These differ from those observed in speakers of non-tonal languages with the same disorder. Read full story

New Book: An Oral Biography of Professor William S-Y. Wang

Drawn from original interviews with Prof. William S-Y. Wang, Prof. Kong Jiangping and Dr Wang Feng from Peking University compiled the biography of one of the most influential contemporary linguists. Prof. William S-Y. Wang, Chair Professor of CBS, is a pioneer in interdisciplinary linguistics studies and a distinguished scholar of evolutionary linguistics. His influence and contributions are well recognised in the international and regional communities. This book is a fascinating insight into the personal experience, academic philosophy and achievements of Prof. Wang. The recollections, as stated by Prof. Wang at the book launch held at Yunnan University, reflect not only his academic journey, but also the upheaval and displacement that people of his era went through.

Two PhD theses from CBS Shortlisted for FiCL Thesis of the Year Award 2016

CBS current Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Chen I-Hsuan and PhD graduate Dr Ding Jing have been shortlisted for the first Frontiers in Chinese Linguistics (FiCL) Thesis of the Year in Chinese Linguistics Award. The selection result was announced by Peking University Press and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University-Peking University Research Centre on Chinese Linguistics (RP2U2). The selection panel decided not to award a thesis of the year award this year but five PhD theses in total have been shortlisted as finalists. The revised version of all five theses will be published in Frontiers in Chinese Linguistics (《語言學前沿叢書》). Chinese monographs are published by Peking University Press, while English monographs will be published jointly by Springer Nature internationally and by Peking University Press in China. The finalists and their upcoming monographs are listed below (with their PhD award and their current affiliation) in alphabetical order: 1. Chen I-Hsuan (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; PhD, University of California at Berkeley) The Diachronic Development and Synchroni Distribution of Minimizers in Mandarin Chinese [The monography is exceptionally recommended to Studies in East Asian Linguistics, book series of Springer Nature due to publication quota of our series.] 2. Ding Jing (South China University of Technology; PhD, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University) A Lexical Semantic Study of Chinese Opposites 3. Liu Mingming (Hunan University; PhD, Rutgers University) Varieties of Alternatives: Focus Particles and Wh-expressions in Mandarin 4. Yan Hanbo (Shanghai International Studies University, PhD, University of Kansas) The Nature of Variation in Tone Sandhi Patterns of Shanghai and Wuxi Wu 5. Zhang Weiran (Communication University of China, PhD, Peking University) 〈基於認知形態學的漢語類詞綴構詞研究〉 Xiong Jiajuan, former Postdoctoral Fellow of CBS, will soon have her monograph Chinese Middle Constructions published in FiCL. It is the first book to apply a parametric approach to the study of Chinese middle constructions. Thesis of the Year in Chinese Linguistics Award 2017 is now open for application. Please contact Li Lynn (lilynn00@163.com) of Peking University Press or Tracy Luo (tracyxin.luo@polyu.edu.hk) of RP2U2 for details. More information of Frontiers in Chinese Linguistics can be found at: http://www.springer.com/series/15591

New Book by Faculty Dean Prof. Chu Hung-lam

The Faculty of Humanities is delighted to announce the recent publication of a new book Anthology of Liangfu’s Poems by the Faculty Dean Prof. Chu Hung-lam. Anthology of Liangfu’s Poems was published by Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Hong Kong, in August 2017. The collection includes 162 classical Chinese verses and 25 Chinese lyrical poems written by Prof. Chu between 1972 and 2016, with a preface by Prof. Yu Ying-shih (Yu Yingshi) in 2014, a preface by the author and a postface by Prof. Mok Wan-hon (Mo Yunhan) in 2017. Accompanying the poems are 155 pieces of illustrated painting and calligraphy by 24 artists from Wenzhou, China.

Oh, the Humanities!

With the continually rising global demand for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) talent, the value of humanities education has, at times, been called into question. The humanities, though often regarded as ‘soft’ subjects, are in fact just as important as ever in this digital age and as ‘marketable’ as any other ‘pragmatic’ disciplines. One may wonder whether humanities graduates can thrive in a world with rapid economic, scientific and technological developments. Transferable skills such as (intercultural) communication and critical as well as creative thinking are highly sought after by employers in the modern workforce. Humanities students learn not only how to write; they learn how to read a variety of texts and look at them from different perspectives. They learn how to think critically and to question. They become sophisticated professionals who understand better the nature and cultures of human beings, and hence are able to find optimal solutions to complex problems in an increasingly multicultural workplace and amidst a fast-changing world. Together with a broad knowledge base, these are the skills that humanities programmes guide students to learn before they graduate. The teaching quality, academic programme and curriculum design play a large part in an excellent education in humanities. PolyU Faculty of Humanities (FH) has gained worldwide recognition in several rankings in terms of its academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact. In the 2017 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, the subject of linguistics – the discipline to which a majority of FH staff members belong – is ranked 34th internationally while the area of arts and humanities is ranked among the top 20 universities in Asia* and 106th in the world. FH academic and teaching team consists of a good mix of nationalities and cultural backgrounds: more than 200 staff come from all over the world including Australia, Denmark, Iran, Japan, Korea, Sweden, the US and the UK to name a few. Our highly internationalised faculty members have been awarded external competitive research funding and involved in collaborative projects with international partners. The international network of FH – with partners including Corporate Communication International, Erasmus Mundus and Eurasia-Pacific Uninet – provides our students with global exposure through exchange programmes, internships and placements. The proportion of FH students engaged in outbound exchange is among the highest across PolyU departments. Not only are our programmes globally mobile, they also comprise the right balance between breadth and depth. Students are required to take up GE (general education) subjects and WIE (Work-Integrated Education) besides the discipline-specific subjects for their major study. To open more doors for students after graduation, our programmes allow curriculum space for a minor or other free electives. What humanities subjects teach is more important now than ever – to explore and understand the complex world and people through languages, history and culture, and to imagine and to build the future through lessons and insights drawn from the past. FH students are provided an education that encourages them to embark on a journey of transformation: to transform oneself and the world, making it a better place to live in. *By regional filtering of Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Faculty 2017.

Faculty Awards for Outstanding Performance/Achievement of 2015/16

The worthy endeavours of FH staff members in teaching, research and scholarly activities and services were recognised at a presentation ceremony held on 12 May 2017. The President’s Awards for Excellent Performance/Achievement and Faculty/School Awards of 2015/16 and 2014/15 were presented at the ceremony. Recipients of the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Performance/Achievement of 2015/16 are as follows: Teaching Awardee Individual Prof. Stephen Evans Department of English Team Mr Adam Forrester (Team Leader), Ms Bee DY, Ms Jessica Y. Xia and Mr Keenan Manning English Language Centre Research & Scholarly Activities Awardee Individual Dr Dennis Tay Department of English Services Awardee Individual Prof. Chan Shui-duen Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies Team Ms Shari Lughmani (Team Leader), Mr Jim Lo, Ms Chan Man, Miss Christine Burns, Ms Lucy Chan and Ms Au Yeung Yuen Yee English Language Centre

PolyU’s Linguistics Ranked 34th Worldwide

PolyU’s Linguistics is ranked 34th worldwide in the newly-released 2017 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject, climbing up from the 41st place last year. PolyU’s Linguistics, the discipline to which a majority of FH staff members belong, is being consistently ranked among top 50 in the world. PolyU’s Arts and Humanities is ranked among the top 20* universities in Asia and 106th in the world. QS rankings are based on universities’ subject performance in terms of academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact. (Source: Quacquarelli Symonds University Rankings 2017) *By regional filtering of Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Faculty 2017.