STAFF DIRECTORY
TANG Wai Lan Gladys
Research Professor (Director)
Prof. Gladys Tang received her doctoral degree in applied linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Her research interests…
Prof. Gladys Tang received her doctoral degree in applied linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Her research interests are language acquisition and language pedagogy. Her interest in sign language research also took her to embark on a series of research projects in recent years on the linguistics of Hong Kong Sign Language, the acquisition of sign language and the development of deaf literacy by deaf children. She has published on second language acquisition, second language pedagogy, sign linguistics, sign language acquisition and deaf education. She is Director of the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, Asian liaison of International Sign Linguistics Society and member of the Advisory Board of Sign Language Linguistic Society.
3943-7008
THIERFELDER David Philip
Deputy Director and Assistant Professor
Prof. Philip Thierfelder earned his PhD in Applied and Educational Linguistics from the University of Melbourne in 2020. His research is pri…
Prof. Philip Thierfelder earned his PhD in Applied and Educational Linguistics from the University of Melbourne in 2020. His research is primarily focused on the use of experimental methods, such as eye-tracking and event-related potentials, to investigate the unique characteristics of linguistic processing in deaf and hearing users of Hong Kong Sign Language. Prior to his PhD studies, he worked at CUHK’s Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, where he had the opportunity to contribute to the Asia Pacific Sign Linguistics Research and Training Program as a teacher, researcher, and sign language interpreter.
3943-7015
SZE Yim Binh Felix
Adjunct Associate Professor
Prof. Felix Sze received her M.Phil. in Linguistics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2000 and her doctoral degree from the Centre…
Prof. Felix Sze received her M.Phil. in Linguistics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2000 and her doctoral degree from the Centre for Deaf Studies, University of Bristol, in 2008. She was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, conducting research projects on sign language and providing sign linguistic training to the deaf junior researchers from Asia-Pacific countries. Her current research interests include the documentation of sign language lexical variants and discourse data in the Asia-Pacific region, sign language typology, information structure and non-manuals in Hong Kong Sign Language, as well as language development of deaf children in Hong Kong.
ZHAO Wenjing Jessica
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Zhao Wenjing received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2025. Her research explores bimodal bi…
Dr. Zhao Wenjing received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2025. Her research explores bimodal bilingualism, with a focus on language processing, sign language acquisition, the cognitive advantages of learning sign language, and Deaf education.
She also works as an HKSL interpreter, offering her expertise to support the local Deaf community.
LI Jieqiong
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr Jieqiong Li completed her PhD studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2023. Her doctoral thesis research focused on bimo…
Dr Jieqiong Li completed her PhD studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2023. Her doctoral thesis research focused on bimodal bilingual acquisition of nominal expressions in HKSL and Cantonese, based on data drawn from the Child HKSL-Cantonese Bilingual Corpus. The thesis has been adapted into a monograph titled Bimodal Bilingual Acquisition of a HKSL-Cantonese Deaf Child, which De Gruyter Mouton has accepted for publication.
She is now helping the Centre construct the adult HKSL-M2L2 Corpus at CUHK's Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies by working with a group of Deaf and hearing researchers.
3943-6029
LEE Yin Fai Jafi
Research Associate
Mr. Jafi Lee earned his M.Phil. in Linguistics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006. His academic background is in Hong Kong Sig…
Mr. Jafi Lee earned his M.Phil. in Linguistics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006. His academic background is in Hong Kong Sign Language linguistics, particularly sign language grammar, sign language lexicography, and sign language pedagogy.
As a Research Associate at CUHK's Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, he supports the administration and development of academic programmes, curriculum initiatives, and training activities. He works closely with students, faculty members, Deaf professionals, and community partners on programme coordination, project management, and knowledge transfer initiatives, as well as the promotion of sign language education in Hong Kong and across the Asia-Pacific region.
3943-1491
Kayley
Junior Research Assistant
