Vision
Language is all around us, and it is our primary means of communication with other people. The world we live in changes at an ever more rapid pace, and so does the role of language in it and its use. This challenging situation asks for innovative, transformative, and interdisciplinary approaches in a number of areas, such as language technology (including state-of-the-art computational techniques), language and society, as well as language and cognition. Language is a powerful tool human beings have at their disposal, but its exact nature, including its architecture and evolution, as well as its neuro-cognitive underpinnings remain largely unknown.
The Department of Linguistics and Translation (LT), in alignment with the CityUHK’s vision and in support of United Nations SDGs 4 and 10 strives to build and maintain comprehensive, innovative, and sustainable linguistic programmes of globally-recognized academic excellence that have maximal societal impact in frontier areas of linguistics as a cognitive science, such as language and the brain, natural language processing, AI-based language teaching and learning, and multilingualism. To pursue this ambition, LT provides a comprehensive range of language-related studies, including general linguistics (formal and functional approaches), corpus and computational linguistics, pedagogical linguistics, translation and interpretation studies, and experimental linguistics (psycho-, socio- and neurolinguistics). Our vision is to integrate these diverse routes to linguistics and become a global leader in these areas of research and education. This innovative approach will deepen our understanding of how language works.
Mission
LT’s mission is to:
- achieve academic leadership, international recognition, and global partnership in language-related studies through high-quality research output and alliances with globally recognized external partners.
- constantly refine our academic programmes to respond to global societal challenges, the changing needs of society, and the urge for continued innovation and adaptation through effective curriculum reform, admissions exercise, and PhD student recruitment.
- promote team-based, multi-disciplinary, inter-programme, inter-departmental, and inter-institutional teaching and research collaborations, including the promotion of inter-faculty collaboration (also beyond the department), student exchanges, and dual degree programmes.
- actively contribute to societal impact through the creation of platforms for knowledge discovery and transfer, including digital media presence and engaging with stakeholders in the public and private sector, facilitating societal impact.
- cultivate a positive and rigorous academic culture of mutual support, active exchange, and intellectual discovery, supported by initiatives such as the LT Research Forum presentations, the co-organization of inter-departmental seminar series as well as conferences and alumni and career events.
- support our students by providing diverse opportunities for internships, summer study tours, and exchange programmes, contributing to our College’s (CLASS) Go Global initiatives to promote internationalization programmes.
The Department of Linguistics and Translation at City University of Hong Kong is dedicated to achieving academic leadership and global recognition in language-related studies through high-quality research, innovative teaching, and interdisciplinary collaboration. In an open, dynamic and sustainable manner, we aim to address local needs and global societal challenges, foster knowledge discovery and transfer, cultivate a supportive academic culture, and provide students with diverse opportunities for internationalization and practical experience.