Language Matters: Dr Lisa Lim Reveals Nuanced Story of the Word “Junk”

28 August 2016 (Sunday) – online

Dr Lisa Lim, Associate Professor in the School of English, reveals the nuanced story of the word “junk” in her fortnightly Post Magazine column: Language Matters.

“Long before summer junk parties became trendy, the trad­itional boat – efficient, sturdy, multi-masted vessels, with fully battened sails, compartmentalised hull, stabilising lee- and centreboards, stern-mounted rudder – had been a Hong Kong icon, featured in the logo of the old Tourist Association.

It would be easy to assume, as many do, that the English word “junk” comes from Chinese – chuán in Putonghua or Southern Min chûn.

The story of the word junk is far more nuanced, though, involving two oft-overlooked actors…”

Please click on the following link for the complete article: 

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2008869/where-did-word-junk-come

Source: SCMP

文學院傳媒報道：現代語言及文化學院助理講師王志恒探討Pokemon Go旋風熱潮

【明報專訊】要數近日的城中熱話，一定是《Pokemon Go》，沒有之一。

《Pokemon Go》是已故任天堂社長岩田聰的遺作，亦是任天堂創辦127年來的首個手機遊戲。在它面世之前，其實任天堂早已陷入銷售的低潮，在2010年起，就出現了過去30年來的首次虧損。

最大的原因，一方面在於日本的遊戲廠商面臨一個很大的挑戰。相對歐美的廠商，無論技術、資金和人手也明顯被比下去。

另一方面，在於任天堂一直不太願意進入近年大熱的手機遊戲市場。因為任天堂除了是一家遊戲製作公司，更是一家硬體製造和銷售商，假如它將旗下遊戲打進手機市場，顯然會影響自家的掌上型遊戲機硬體銷售量，形成自己打自己的情况，最後未必帶來可觀的利潤。因此，在任天堂2014的原定計劃中，只是希望利用現有的iOS和Android設備宣傳品牌，推出旗下經典遊戲的試玩版，而非正式版，假定當玩家被試玩版吸引後，自然會花錢買主機和遊戲。

可是，任天堂大概沒有想過，自從《Pokemon Go》推出後，迅速成為美國、澳洲和新西蘭三大測試地連續三天App Store收入冠軍，連帶製作該遊戲的遊戲公司任天堂亦因此股價急升，數天內獲得90億美元的增值。除此之外，這遊戲更吸引了大量社交媒體關注，在遊戲推出後，Twitter的話題也在短短兩天內激增一倍。

那麼，《Pokemon Go》的魔力何在，使之成為全球各地的追捧遊戲？

閱讀全文 : http://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20160717/s00005/1468692074263

Source: www.pokemongo.com

Language Matters: Dr Lisa Lim Discusses How Singapore Is Embracing Multilingualism Five Decades After Independence

11 August 2016 (Thursday) – online         14 August 2016 (Sunday) - hardcopy

Dr Lisa Lim, Associate Professor in the School of English, congratulates Singaporean politicians for embracing multilingualism and diversity as part of their culture five decades after independence in her fortnightly Post Magazine column: Language Matters.

“Early policies, initiated by Lee Kuan Yew, took a hard line: supporting ‘standard’, official languages and suppressing all others. From 1979, the annual Speak Mandarin Campaign promoted the use of Singapore’s official Chinese language and discouraged all other Chinese varieties. This led to a significant shift in Chinese households from mother tongues such as Hokkien and Teochew, to Mandarin. Similarly, from 2000, the Speak Good English Movement discouraged the burgeoning use of Singapore English.

Fast-forward to 2015 and a more compromising, inclusive attitude prevails. The lead-up to Singapore’s 50th National Day, and Lee’s death earlier that year, prompted a rise in sentimentality and attention to heritage – including a sea change in official attitudes towards non-official languages.”

Please click on the following link for the complete article:
http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2002360/singapore-embraces-multilingualism-five-decades-after

Source: SCMP