Staff Profile

Biography

Describing himself as a language lover, Jonathan has a deep fascination with different aspects of language 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 15 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 centre primarily on academic, journalistic and promotional texts, with a strong focus on evaluation/stance, style and rhetoric.

His book Evaluation across newspaper genres: Hard news stories, editorials and feature articles (Routledge, 2022) is the first book-length study of evaluation or stance in three major newspaper genres: hard news stories, editorials and feature articles. It offers “fascinating insights” (Yuan Ping, 2022) into how evaluation (or evaluative language) plays a vital and yet dynamic role in constructing the three newspaper genres. "[A]n engaging and profound examination of evaluation", the book "represents an inventive, perceptive, and practical contribution, offering considerable referential significance and inspiration to a wide-ranging readership intrigued by the intricacies of evaluation and its manifestation within newspaper discourse" (Wang & Wang, 2024).

Apart from his academic work, he writes regularly for the Chinese newspaper Hong Kong Economic Journal, sharing his thoughts about language.

 

Book review on Evaluation Across Newspaper Genres:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01968599241264518

20% discount (valid until September 30, 2024):

1. Go to:  https://www.routledge.com/Evaluation-Across-Newspaper-Genres-Hard-News-Stories-Editorials-and-Feature-Articles/Ngai/p/book/9780367713942

2. Enter the promo code “AFLY02” at checkout

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. Routledge (Routledge Studies in Applied Linguistics).

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]
• Ngai, Jonathan (2023). "Queen Elizabeth always kept her cool: Stance markers in opinion columns". Asia TEFL Proceedings 2023: Papers from the 21st AsiaTEFL Conference.

Selected Professional & Community Services

• He reviews for The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics and The Journal of World Languages.

Modified Date: 16 Sep, 2024
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