Wong Shik-Ling (also known as S. L. Wong) (1908–1959) was a prominent
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
in
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
research. He is famous for his authoritative book, ''
'' (), which is influential in Cantonese research.
He graduated from
Lingnan University
Lingnan University (LN/LU), formerly called Lingnan College, is a public liberal arts university in Hong Kong. It aims to provide students with an education in the liberal arts tradition and has joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance since ...
,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and then taught and researched Cantonese in the university. In 1941 he published his work, "''A Chinese Syllabary Pronounced according to the Dialect of Canton''". In 1949, he went to the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
and studied methods for linguistic research in the
School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
. In 1950, he returned to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
upon being hired as a lecturer in Cantonese at the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
for 1951. In the same year, he became the first
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
in the newly founded Language School and went on to teach foreigners Cantonese for 9 years, until the end of his life. He wrote two textbooks on Cantonese for the university: ''Cantonese Conversation Grammar'' (1963) and ''Intermediate Cantonese Conversation'' (1967). Both were published by the Government Printer of the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
.
See also
*
*
S. L. Wong (phonetic symbols)
*
S. L. Wong (romanisation)
Wong Shik-Ling (also known as S. L. Wong) published a romanisation scheme accompanying a set of phonetic symbols for Cantonese based on International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) in the book ''A Chinese Syllabary Pronounced according to the Dialec ...
External links
*
1908 births
1959 deaths
Linguists from China
Alumni of Lingnan University (Hong Kong)
Cantonese language
20th-century linguists
Alumni of SOAS University of London
Hong Kong expatriates in the United Kingdom
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