People

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Ariana Cheung

Lab manager
MA HKU

arianask@hku.hk

With a Master of Arts in English Studies from The University of Hong Kong, I am interested in applied linguistics, discourse analysis, and cognitive linguistics. My academic interests also encompass language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics, exploring how these disciplines intersect to influence communication and learning.

Aaron, Wing Cheung Chik

Senior research Assistant
BA HKU

aaeronc@connect.hku.hk

I graduated from HKU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Linguistics and German. My research interests are in Cantonese sociophonetics, Hong Kong Sign Language, and computer schema designs for linguistic structures.

Youngah_Do

Youngah Do

Principal Investigator
BA SNU
;
MA SNU
;
PhD MIT

webpage | youngah@hku.hk

I research learning and learnability issues in phonological learning through behavioral experiments and modeling techniques. My work centers on understanding learning biases (why certain patterns are easier for humans to learn), the construction and connections of phonological knowledge (how specific aspects are represented and related in our minds), and the relationship between learning and transmission of language. I explore these questions in both spoken and signed languages.

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Clarissa Ki

PhD Student
BA UCL

clarissaki@connect.hku.hk

I am a Year 2 PhD student interested in phonological acquisition and formal phonology. I plan to investigate how certain learning biases involved in phonological acquisition change over the course of development with a range of methods, including behavioural experiments and computational approaches.

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Qisheng Liao

PhD student
Bsc UCSC
;
Msc NYU

qisheng.liao@connect.hku.hk

With a background in computer science and deep learning, I have worked on a variety of natural language processing and computer vision tasks, including semantic matching, language identification, text-to-speech, and text-to-image generation. I am excited to explore research at the intersection of linguistics and deep learning, with a particular interest in phonology and related areas.

Ming Liu

PhD student
BLit PKU

mingliu_7@connect.hku.hk

I'm a PhD student working on phonetics and language acquisition. My research projects include: 1) lab experiments on non-native vowel acquisition, primarily using Ultrasound, 2) field work about sound changes in Hakka, focusing on tone sandhi and fricative vowel, and 3) computational modelling on multimodal learning of speech.

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Frank, Lihui Tan

PhD Student
BA HKU

frank.lhtan@connect.hku.hk

I am a PhD student working on computational modelling of phonetic and phonological acquisition, its developmental dynamics and its comparison with human learning trajectories. My other interests include: 1) exploring sound representation learning in terms of linear and non-linear transformation; 2) rule and item-specific representation learning; 3) modelling of linguistic knowledge transfer and sound change.

Rayne, Xiaoyu Yu

Postdoctoral Fellow
BA Tulane
;
MPhil Cambridge
;
PhD HKU

xyu97@connect.hku.hk

Trained as an experimental phonologist, I focus on the cognitive and linguistic factors involved in the learning and processing of sound systems. My research employs both behavioral and neurophysiological (e.g., EEG) approaches. More broadly, I am also keen to explore phonological learning from various perspectives, including second language/dialect acquisition, phonetics, language variation and change, language/dialect contact, and psycholinguistics.

Shuhao_Zhang

Shuhao Zhang

PhD student
BSc&BEng THU

shuhaoz19@connect.hku.hk

I began my PhD studies in 2024 with a focus on phonological acquisition. Currently, I am interested in the acquisition of phonetic categories through the integration of various cues, and I plan to investigate this question using multiple methods, including neural experiments and computational approaches.

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Ivy, Shuang Zheng

PhD student
BA McGill

ivyzheng@connect.hku.hk

I am a PhD student working on phonological learning and learning biases. I am interested in the role of phonetic substance in phonological acquisition. My current project employs computational simulations to uncover the nature of learning biases related to phonology.

Previous Lab Members

 

Postdoctoral researchers

Graduate students

Master students

Undergraduate Research Assistants/Interns

  • Tina, Ka Yee YU
  • Cathy, Yaying FU
  • Hazel, Parampara MAMGAIN
  • April, Xingrui ZOU
  • Jane, Jie ZHANG
  • Francy, Lingyue XU
  • Tilda, Yingqi Wang
  • Simon, Gao SUN
  • Lawrence, Hoi Ki Cheung
  • Kevin, Fei Peng Chen
  • Emelia, Yan Fangxiuyu
  • Joanna, Chuwen Chen (MSc University of Edinburgh)
  • Rachel, Pui Ching Chen (MA HKU)
  • Hannah, Yu Hei Chung
  • Olivia, Xin Liang
  • Mavies, Yu On Ngai
  • Judy, Chui Yin Ng
  • Grace, Ki Wai So
  • Jeff, Wing Tsun Yip (BSc HKU; MSt Oxon)
  • Albert Baichen Du (MA HKU; PhD UCLA)
  • Alex Zhongyu Hu (MA UNC-Chapel Hill)
  • Michael Mak O Hu
  • Stephen Tsz To Ho (MA HKU)
  • Wayne Tak Wang Li (PhD University of Washington )
  • Ping Hei Yeung (PhD Georgetown University; Research Assistant at Georgetown University)
  • May Pik Yu Chan (PhD UPenn; Doctoral Researcher at UPenn)
  • Kelly Chun Wing Cheng
  • Carrie Ka Yee Chan
  • Heidi Hui Lam Lui
  • Ryan Ka Yau Lai (MA UCSB; PhD UCSB; Assistant Professor at UGA)