On 26 March 2026, PolyU CPCE’s Division of Languages and Communication held an online lecture titled “Cultural Codes in Language”, attracting around 60 students from PolyU HKCC’s Associate in Language and Culture, PolyU SPEED’s BA (Hons) in Chinese Language and Culture and MA in Chinese Creative Writing and Media Culture.
The lecture was delivered by Dr Zhang Jingfen, Associate Professor at Peking University’s Department of Chinese Language and Literature. A renowned scholar in Chinese dialectology, Dr Zhang explored how language serves as a carrier of cultural memory, shaping cognition and reflecting historical interaction. Through case studies including the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, the etymology of characters with the “貝(shell) ” radical, loanwords like “茶 (tea) ” and “站 (station) ”, as well as water-related metaphors in Cantonese, the lecture illustrated how language records civilisational exchanges and regional cultural traits.
The students engaged actively throughout the session, gaining deeper insight into the intrinsic connection between language and culture. The lecture not only enriched their understanding but also enhanced their ability to interpret cultural connotations hidden in linguistic phenomena—equipping them with broader perspectives on cross-cultural communication and language evolution.