Staff Profile

Biography

Describing himself as a language lover, Jonathan has a deep fascination with language matters ranging from pidgin English and prose style to learner strategies and lexicography. 

He graduated with distinction from Hong Kong Baptist College (now HKBU), where he majored in English Language and Literature while studying French and German. In addition to an MA in TESOL/TEFL from the University of Birmingham (UK), he holds an MA in Linguistics, an MA in Applied Linguistics (Distinction) and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hong Kong.

Formerly an English panel head, Jonathan has more than ten years of English teaching experience at the secondary level. He joined HKMU in 2017 and teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in linguistics and applied linguistics.

His current research interests primarlly centre on academic, journalistic and promotional texts, with a strong focus on stance, style and rhetoric. 

Teaching Areas & Research Interests

• Discourse Analysis (esp. academic discourse and journalistic discourse)
• Semantics
• Stylistics
• Research Methods in Applied Linguistics

Selected Publications

Books

• Ngai, Jonathan. (2022). Evaluation across newspaper genres: Hard news stories, editorials and feature articles. New York/London: Routledge.

Journal Articles

• Ngai, Jonathan. (2018). “It is imperative to …”: Importance markers and the construction of newspaper discourse. The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 156-169.
• Li, Cissy, & Ngai, Jonathan. (2018). Challenges and issues in academic writing: Perspectives from peer tutors. The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 104-116.
• Wang, Amber, & Ngai, Jonathan. (2023) “You look like my 14-year-old daughter”: A corpus-based study of sexist language in #everydaysexism Twitter stories. Journal of Language and Conflict. [online version]

Selected Professional & Community Services

Modified Date: 04 Jan, 2024
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