Program Overview

Introduction to the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Linguistics and Translation

The Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Linguistics and Translation is a comprehensive program designed to equip students with a deep understanding of linguistics, translation, and intercultural communication. This program is offered by the Faculty of Humanities at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Program Details

• Program Code: 72425-SYL
• Entry: September 2026
• Study Mode: Full-time
• Duration: 2 years
• Credit Required: A minimum of 60 credits plus 3 training credits
• Programme Intake: 12 senior year places
• Fund Type: Government-Funded

Aims and Characteristics

Programme Aims

• To train language and knowledge professionals for a knowledge-rich and highly connected world, with a special focus on biliteracy and trilingual proficiency.
• To endow graduates with sophisticated communication skills, especially in terms of culture and domain sensitivity in intercultural and corporate communication.
• To equip graduates with a general knowledge of the underlying concepts and profession-specific literacy and skills in linguistics, speech sciences, translation, and interpreting, and corporate communication.
• To equip graduates with competence in handling data analytics for language content and the ability to extract and distill relevant trends and information from big linguistic data.

Programme Characteristics

• Leveraging the combined strengths of linguistics and translation to create a synergy of theories, applications, and professional training.
• Capitalizing on advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) to prepare language professionals for digital applications across a wide range of language-related professions.

Medium of Instruction

• English and Chinese (Putonghua by default; Cantonese only used in elective subjects about the Cantonese language).

Recognition and Prospects

Career Prospects

With strong language proficiency and competence in technology, graduates can pursue careers in various professions, including but not limited to:

• Linguistic research
• Translation/interpreting
• Administration and management
• Education
• Corporate communication
• Language data analysis
• Digital/social media content creation and editing
• Social/cultural analysis
• Editing and publishing
• Civil service
• Marketing and sales

Curriculum

Applicants with Associate Degree or Higher Diploma qualifications are admitted to the senior year of the four-year degree program. They must complete general university requirements, compulsory subjects, and elective subjects to fulfill the credit requirements for graduation.

General University Requirements (GUR)

• Cluster-Area Requirements (CAR): 6 credits
  • 3 credits from CAR (M) Chinese History and Culture
  • 3 credits from a specially-designed CAR (A) Human Nature, Relations and Development English language with English Reading and Writing Requirements
• Service Learning: 3 credits
• General Education: Non-credit-bearing
  • 4 Essential Components of General Education E-modules
• Language and Communication Requirements (LCR): Students must meet the equivalent standard of the Undergraduate Degree Language and Communication Requirements (LCR).

Major (Discipline-Specific Requirement)

In addition to accumulating a minimum of 9 GUR credits, students need to complete at least 51 academic credits plus 3 training credits for WIE. Specifically, students are expected to accumulate:

1. 27 compulsory academic credits and 3 compulsory training credits.
2. At least 24 elective academic credits.

Compulsory and Elective Subjects

Compulsory Subjects

1. CBS2400 Work Integrated Education (WIE) - 3 training credits
2. CBS2904 Academic and Technical Chinese Writing - 3 credits
3. CBS2905 Introduction to Modern Chinese - 3 credits
4. CBS3802 Introduction to Interpreting - 3 credits
5. CBS3843 Translation for Corporate Communication - 3 credits
6. CBS4701 Project in Language Studies - 6 credits
7. CBS4801 Translation Studies - 3 credits
8. CBS4902 Comparative and Contrastive Studies of Chinese and English Grammar - 3 credits
9. ENGL2003 English for Advanced Academic Writing - 3 credits

Elective Subjects

1. CBS3446 Corporate Communication: Theory and Practice - 3 credits
2. CBS3842 Consecutive Interpreting - 3 credits
3. CBS3844 Translation for the Media in the Digital Age - 3 credits
4. CBS4446 Intercultural Communication in Corporate Context - 3 credits
5. CBS4840 Translation for Science and Technology - 3 credits
6. CBS4841 Translation for Legal Work - 3 credits
7. CBS4843 Simultaneous Interpreting - 3 credits
8. CBS4844 Machine Aided Translation - 3 credits
9. CBS4845 Literary Translation - 3 credits
10. CBS4846 Translation Criticism - 3 credits
11. CBS3947 Programming and Data Analysis for Language Studies - 3 credits
12. CBS3948 Semantics: Meaning in Language - 3 credits
13. CBS3949 Sounds and Sound Systems of Language - 3 credits
14. CBS3950 Pragmatics: Language in Use - 3 credits
15. CBS4943 Language and Society - 3 credits
16. CBS4956 Varieties of Chinese - 3 credits
17. CBS4957 Cantonese Linguistics - 3 credits
18. CBS4958 Fundamentals of Computational Linguistics - 3 credits
19. CBS4959 Syntax - 3 credits
20. CBS4960 Phonetics and Phonology - 3 credits
21. CBS4962 Corpus and Language Technology for Language Studies - 3 credits
22. CBS3402 Psycholinguistics - 3 credits
23. CBS3404 Language, Cognition and Brain - 3 credits
24. CBS3408 Language Acquisition - 3 credits
25. CBS4945 Analysis of Language Samples: Clinical Implications - 3 credits
26. CBS4949 Child Communication Disorders and Special Education Needs - 3 credits
27. CBS4950 Communication Disorders Across the Life Span - 3 credits
28. CBS4952 Language and Speech Production: Anatomical and Physiological Perspectives - 3 credits
29. CBS4953 Techniques in Language Sciences - 3 credits
30. CBS4954 Statistics for Language Studies - 3 credits

Credit Required for Graduation

A minimum of 60 credits plus 3 training credits.

Scheme/Programme Leader(s)

• Programme Leader: Prof. WU Zhiwei, PhD, MA, BA
• Deputy Programme Leader: Prof. WU Wing Li, PhD, MPhil, MA, BA

Entrance Requirements

• A Higher Diploma or an Associate Degree from a recognized institution in a relevant discipline.
• Applicants academic results and interview performance will be taken into account during the admissions process.

Interview Arrangement

• Aims: To evaluate the potential of applicants for admission to the program by assessing their translation competency and bilingual communication skills.
• Date of Interview: Between December and August.
• Duration: About 10 minutes for the interview.
• Medium: English and Chinese.
• Mode: Individual/group interview via Zoom, with a possible written test.

Additional Documents Required

• Transcript/Certificate: Required.

Application Procedures

Detailed application procedures are available upon request, emphasizing the importance of submitting all required documents and meeting the specified deadlines.

Policies

• Definition of Non-local Applicants: As defined by the university.
• Curriculum Structure: Subject to revision based on the department's discretion.
• Credit Transfer and Exemption: Available under specific conditions.
• Concurrent Enrolment: Subject to approval.
• Inter-institutional Transfer: Possible under certain circumstances.
• Re-admission: Available for eligible students.
• Applicants with Disabilities/Special Educational Needs: Support services are provided.
• Mature Applicants: Eligible to apply under specific conditions.

Fees/Financial Assistance

• Tuition Fees: As specified by the university.
• Other Fees and Expenses: Additional costs may apply.
• Financial Assistance: Available in the form of scholarships and other aid.