MUST to present distinguished linguist at seminar on human language

Dr. William SY Wang, chair professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, will discuss linguistics at a Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) public lecture this afternoon.

To be held from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. today at the university’s Block D auditorium, the lecture will investigate the past, present and future of human languages, which is also the title of the lecture.

Besides holding the chair professorship of language and cognitive sciences at the Hong Kong university, Dr Wang has held the academician position at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan since 1992.

Audience members should expect to learn about language acquisition over the lifespan and the impact of aging and disease on a person’s ability to use language; topics that have attracted the interest of the acclaimed linguist, and which are collectively included within the discipline of cognitive neuroscience of language.

The linguist developed an early interest in biological and cultural evolution, and applied these concepts to the study of language change.

Being an influential scholar in academia, Dr Wang has published papers in various impactful journals and publications, such as Nature, PNAS and Scientific American.

He is also holder of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Anthropology, Shanghai Society of Anthropology and Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, University of Chicago. AL