Research Projects

The project will approach pragmatic learning in Chinese as a second or foreign language (CSL/CFL)  from an under-explored perspective, i.e., the learners’ utilization of interlanguage pragmatic learning strategies (IPLS), which remains a little researched direction in the existing CSL/CFL literature. To obtain a broad picture regarding CSL/CFL pragmatic learning in Asian contexts, this project will recruit adult learners of Chinese from Beijing, Hong Kong, and South Korea, three linguistically different regions in Asia for Chinese learning. A longitudinal, cross-regional comparative study will be conducted to collect quantitative and qualitative data to examine the interactions between learners’ IPLS utilization, Chinese pragmatic development, and learning contexts.

Using a cross-lagged panel design, this study investigates the concurrent and prospective effect of strategy use on CCW performance through two groups of adolescent L2 beginners: 150 non-Chinese ethnic students from local schools in Hong Kong (CSL learners) and 150 students from Vietnam (CFL learners). Quantitative (including descriptive statistics, multiple regression and structural equation modelling) and qualitative analyses are conducted on two sets of longitudinal data, in order to: (i) evaluate the significant effectiveness of strategy use on CCW performance among CSL and CFL students concurrently and overtime; (ii) examine whether the bidirectional relationship of strategy use and CCW performance vary between CSL and CFL; and (iii) depict how context affects the relationship of learning strategies and CCW development among L2 learners. 
This study promises discoveries of significant theoretical and practical potential. It expands the scope of research on skill-specific learning strategies, and connects individual differences and learning settings to explore the underlying factors affecting the CCW component of literacy acquisition. Since effective learning strategies can be taught explicitly, the results of this study have important pedagogical implications in increasing learner autonomy and overcoming the learning difficulties of Chinese L2 learners globally.

This study aims to investigate the cognitive factors of word reading in CSL and native Chinese-speaking learners.

本項目計劃研究漢語代詞的歷史發展與印度佛教，主要是佛經翻譯的關係，是申請者已經結束的 GRF 項目 “漢譯佛經梵漢對比分析語料庫建設及其漢語歷史語言學研究” 工作的繼續。

本計劃以出土文獻，例如：清華簡和兩周青銅器銘文材料，輔以《尚書》等傳世文獻，重新研究《逸周書》這部著作。透過出土文獻，例如清華簡《皇門》和《逸周書.皇門解》的校讀，嘗試還原古本的某些原貌；并由其各篇所反映的具體內容、思想和語言現象，重新研究《逸周書》各篇的著作時代。希望找到一些帶有時代標記的語言、思想、文化等標準特徵。進而重塑上古漢語前段的資料。

Renowned for his work on the dictionary Shuowen Jiezi, Qing philologist Zhu Junsheng (1788—1858) is also author of Liushisi Gua Jingjie, a work generally viewed as a repository of existing interpretations without scholarly innovation and thus largely overlooked. However, to gauge its worth simply on the format presented is to conclude on bias rather than evidence. In fact, on top of being transmissive in nature, Zhu’s work is pivotal and innovative in many ways. It is proposed that the following two areas of Jingjie’s significance will be uncovered: (1)While Jingjie does incorporate a wealth of existing interpretations, Zhu would often present an abridged or restructured extraction, to which his own views are provided. Zhu is also keen on making historical references alongside his interpretations. His historiographical acumen reflects mid-Qing intellectual scholarship, invoking new understandings on astronomy and geography to support his theses, which in turn makes a fresh contribution to classical exegesis. The criticism that Jingjie is “with a clear lack of a critical eye” is an imbalanced assessment. Only through thoroughly understanding how Zhu accepts past scholarship and makes transformative innovations can we observe how new life is breathed into the Chinese classics that has seen continued reinvigoration throughout the ages. (2)It is indisputable that Zhu’s Shuowen Tongxun Dingsheng is his philological magnum opus. However, in evaluating the extent of his achievements, scholars often overlook the philological evidence presented in his other works. It must be acknowledged that Shuowen Jiezi is an analytical dictionary and Zhu’s work on it strives to examine each character’s basic (or definitive) meaning. Whereas the goal of Jingjie is interpret Zhou Yi and its philological exegeses serve such a purpose. It is therefore not surprising to see competing glosses between Zhu’s two works. Only through a systematic examination of Zhu’s philological evidence from Jingjie in contrast with that of Shuowen Tongxun Dingsheng can we observe how his preparatory work for the latter has informed the formation of his understanding of Zhou Yi, and more importantly, how Zhu applies his philological expertise in the interpretive and extended meanings of individual characters found in the Chinese classics. The research output would be pioneering in its evaluation of Zhu’s philological and linguistic achievements outside of the singular source thoroughly examined by other scholars.

The study examines the concurrent and prospective effect of executive functions on the integrated writing (IW) task performance in both Chinese (L1) and English (L2).

The study aims to examine the effects of task characteristics and intersubjective on the patterns of interaction in young non-Chinese speaking students in Hong Kong.

The inclusive-exclusive distinction in the first person plural pronoun attested in the Mandarin Chinese language has been poorly studied. This opposition appeared in Northern Chinese documents from 12th century and in The Secret of the Mongols from 13th century. The joint project aims to investigate the source and development of this use in Sinitic and Altaic languages. We will try to understand whether this phenomenon was due to independent innovations or to language contact between Han and non-Han peoples.

This project is a pilot study that aims to identify cultural resources, social contacts, and spatial repertoires that allow or inhibit ethnic minority students to negotiate across formal and informal contexts in Hong Kong secondary schools that serve ethnic minority students or students of mixed cultural backgrounds.

This study aimed to investigate the quality of Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) input as evident in the teaching and learning materials in Chinese for Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) students in Hong Kong. By comparing the materials adopted in teaching the Chinese Language subject and the General Studies subject, this study addressed the following questions: 1. What are the CALP features in Chinese Language as evident from the text analyses of teaching, learning and assessment materials for NCS students? 2. What are the CALP features in General Studies as evident from the text analyses of teaching, learning and assessment materials for NCS students?

This project aims to explore the phonological correlations as an impact on Chinese-character writing by students who learn Chinese as a second language.

The study aims to explore how students’ process of completing integrated writing tasks is affected by executive function factors, i.e., working memory and planning, among a group of colleague freshmen.

The project aimed to conduct an interventional study on adult L2 learning of the word order constraints on modifiers at internal and external interfaces in the Chinese nominal domain.

By evaluating the Chinese programs offered by local universities, together with those offered by Mainland China and Taiwan, this project aims to provide suggestions and recommendations on the competence structures of classical Chinese for Chinese major students to design and develop a feasible and efficient classical Chinese benchmark test. To present the latest research findings and to seek advice and gather the latest outputs from overseas experts, the project team also plans to organize a workshop and 2 consultant meetings to address the issues in classical Chinese teaching and learning.

This present study focuses on investigating the relationships between independent skills (i.e., reading, writing and listening) and integrated writing skills. The findings could deepen the theoretical understanding on the construct of integrated writing, and provide evidence on possible factors accounting for students’ individual difference in integrated tasks.

Most local children in Hong Kong acquire two Chinese languages successively: Cantonese since birth (first language, L1) and Putonghua since kindergarten or primary school (second language, L2). Putonghua subject is an important component of Chinese Language Education but is found difficult for many local children. In this project, we conducted both production and perception experiments among local primary school children, identified their pronunciation error patterns of Putonghua and reasons behind, and provided suggestions for further improvement.

This project aims to study the origin and development of Chinese personal pronouns from perspectives of language contact and linguistic typology. The focus of this study will be the number category of Chinese personal pronouns, the honorific of Chinese personal pronouns and the inclusive and exclusive opposition of personal pronouns in Chinese.

This project aimed at exploring alternatives for the development of school-based Chinese curriculum for NCS students. By interviewing teachers of Chinese Language and General Studies in the same schools, the difficulties in teaching Chinese Language and teaching General Studies in Chinese to NCSs were examined.

The project aimed to investigate the interaction effect, if any, between L2 proficiency and adult L2 Chinese learners’ performance in different types of interface knowledge within the nominal domain.

This project investigated tone and intonation production among aphasic patients and healthy controls, who were all native speakers of Cantonese. The comparisons between the two participant groups helped to specify the associations between brain damage and language deficits. Acoustic analysis was conducted to quantitively identify the production deficits. In addition to tones in isolated citation form (such as in naming tasks), tones in continuous speech (such as in narrative discourses) was also analyzed. This project helped us to better understand how pitch is encoded as linguistic representations of tone and intonation. The identification of the tone and intonation deficits in Cantonese aphasic patients also provided useful hints for their language assessment and therapy.

The study of the culture of Medieval China presupposes reading vernacular Chinese texts, which requires the help of dictionaries of Middle Chinese. Regarding the internationalization of the study of Medieval Chinese culture, however, existing monolingual Chinese dictionaries are not sufficient. A fine bilingual Middle Chinese dictionary can not only assist foreigners who study Medieval Chinese culture to better master the meaning and usage of Middle Chinese words with the help of their native language but also enable Chinese scholars to translate premodern texts more accurately.

The purpose of this project is to create a database of study of Middle Chinese vocabulary for the compilation of an online dictionary of the new words and new meanings of Middle Chinese at first step and compilation a bilingual Chinese-English dictionary at second step with the combined efforts of Hong Kong and American scholars mainly.

The compilation of a bilingual Chinese-English premodern Chinese dictionary is not only essential for foreign Sinologists but also necessary for Chinese students and scholars. More and more Chinese scholars participate in international conferences nowadays, and they need to render their research findings in English. As the Chinese economy continues to flourish and globalize, China needs to introduce Chinese culture, especially the rich premodern culture, to the world. This requires the translation of major works into foreign languages, particularly English. If this dictionary can be sponsored, and therefore published in the near future, it will definitely have an important impact on Sinological studies.

本研究計劃設計了考慮不同語言學因素的刺激字，通過聽寫和正字法意識的測試，考察不同漢語水平、不同國別的二語學習者對於不同類型漢字的書寫表現、以及對於真字/假漢字的判斷，進而探討二語學習者的漢字習得順序。