College: Darwin College
Email: khk37@cam.ac.uk
Supervisor: Professor Ianthi Tsimpli
Research Topic: The Interaction of Lexical and Grammatical Aspect in Cantonese-English Bilingual Children – Acquisition of Verbs and Resultative Verb Compounds
About
Arthur is a first year PhD student with a main research interest in the acquisition and processing of verbs and complex predicates (resultatives, verb-particle constructions, psych verbs, middles, causative alternations, etc). These structures are situated at the syntax-lexicon interface, and this line of research sheds light on the nature of vocabulary acquisition and the mental representations of events and argument structure. Arthur’s PhD project focuses on the development of resultative verb compounds (RVCs), which is a ubiquitous grammatical phenomenon in the Chinese languages. By comparing the use of RVCs and morpho-syntactic devices that express perfectivity and telicity in bilingual as well as monolingual children, we can model how age of onset and input quantity shape bilingual language development. After having completed his previous degrees, Arthur has also developed a sense of mission in assisting overseas Chinese-speaking children to preserve their language and culture.
Research
Language Acquisition (L1, L2 and Bilingual)
Psycholinguistics
Heritage Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese)
Syntax and Semantics of Argument Structure
Syntax of Code-switching
Conference papers
Kan, K. H., Mai, Z., & Yip, V. (2021) The acquisition of verb-particle construction in Hong Kong bilingual children and American heritage Chinese children. Paper presented at the 13th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB-13), Warsaw, Poland, 10-14 July.
Kan, K. H. & Yip, V. (2019) Bilingual acquisition of verb-particle constructions and directional verbs. Paper presented at the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) Annual Research Forum (ARF), December 7, 2019, The Education University of Hong Kong.
Kan, K. H. & Chan, K. L. (2018) A cross-sectional study on the acquisition of Chinese VV compounds in Deaf children. Paper presented at the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) Annual Research Forum (ARF), December 1, 2018, City University of Hong Kong.
