Hi! Hi! My name is HAN Dong 韓冬, and I am currently a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) candidate in Chinese at Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
I am deeply fascinated by all aspects of emotion research. I am particularly interested in exploring how emotions influence our thoughts and behaviors, and how they are expressed and perceived across different cultures and languages. This fascination is the driving force behind my work in emotional prosody.
Currently, my MPhil research focuses on the production and perception of Cantonese emotional speech. Through acoustic analysis and perceptual experiments, I investigate the specific vocal cues that signal different emotions and explore how listeners interpret them. I believe that understanding the emotion in a voice is key to deeper interpersonal communication.
Alongside my work in phonetics, I am also passionate about language education. I am a firm believer that linguistic research should serve practical applications and have been involved in designing Cantonese courses, developing instructional videos for Jyutping (the Cantonese Romanization scheme), and providing support to learners from diverse backgrounds. My goal is to use scientifically-grounded methods to help learners not only achieve standard pronunciation but also grasp and utilize the prosody and emotion of the language for more vivid and natural cross-cultural communication.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language from Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, and a Master of Arts in Teaching Chinese as an International Language from The Education University of Hong Kong. In my research practice, I am proficient in using tools such as PsychoPy, Python, R, and Praat for experimental design, acoustic analysis, and data processing.
I have also completed a micro-major in Speech, Language, and Communication Disorders Science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which extended my research horizons into the clinical field. Building on this foundation and my background in phonetics, I hope to explore the role of emotional prosody in the assessment and intervention of speech disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and aphasia, aiming to make my research beneficial to those in need.
Beyond my research, I am also passionate about academic community building and service. I have served as a committee member for the Forum on Cantonese Linguistics (FoCaL) in Hong Kong and as a judge for the Hong Kong Non-Chinese Speaking Students Chinese Storytelling Competition organized by the Education Bureau, dedicating myself to promoting academic exchange and language education.
Through my research, I aspire to bridge the gap between theory and application, not only to deepen our understanding of the intricacies of human emotion and speech but also to provide valuable insights for language education and clinical speech therapy.
Please feel free to browse my website and contact me for any potential collaborations or discussions. :)