Shengyun Gu is a linguist whose research aims to better understand language (including its structure, acquisition, and processing) through the lens of Shanghai Sign Language and American Sign Language (ASL).
Shengyun comes to Oxy from the University of Connecticut, where she earned her Ph.D. in linguistics and was a postdoctoral fellow. She also holds a Ph.D. in foreign linguistics and applied linguistics from East China Normal University and a B.A. in medicine and healthcare communications from Tianjin Medical University. Her research interests include language structure (phonology, morphology, phonetics, prosody), language acquisition (first language phonological development, second language accents, bimodal bilingualism), relationships between language and cognition, and language documentation.
What drew you to teach at Occidental?
Many things, such as excellent education, vigorous research, and advocacy for academic freedom.
With a full semester behind you, what are your impressions of Oxy students?
Oxy students are enthusiastic and curious about the unknown. They are active learners and good thinkers. The class I taught in the fall was new for many of my students, but I am very happy and impressed to see them bloom. I enjoy teaching and facilitating the students in this process; Meanwhile, they motivate me.
When did you first become interested in language structure, acquisition, and sign language?
For me, doing science is full of intellectual excitement. I also love learning different languages as a hobby (although linguists are not necessarily polyglots). As a linguist or a person who works on the science of languages, I am interested in the ways languages around the world differ and also the ways that they don't. Humans have evolved to be good at language, as seen in the uniform and successful learning of any language by young children around the world. I am interested in the computational system that underlies this astonishing ability we all have to produce and perceive our native language, with little or no effort. Languages can be heard, but languages can also be seen. This leads to my major research interests in different sign languages. Studying sign languages offers a unique way to inquire about how our mind works, how language is intricately related to other cognitive abilities, and crucially, the notion of multimodality as a property that is not only for the deaf communities, but extends to all of us. Linguistics is one of the fundamental disciplines of cognitive science. It also has a lot to say about humanity in important topics such as language equality, language rights, language preservation, and linguistic diversity. Writing down this part, I cannot help but think of the great linguists who have inspired and helped me along the way. I hope I can continue this significant work and contribute to the wonderful community here at Oxy.
Do you have a favorite class that you are teaching, and why?
I love all the classes I have offered to teach at Oxy, including COGS 260 (Language and Culture in the Deaf Communities), COGS 338 (Language Acquisition), and COGS 330 (Languages in the World: Universality and Diversity). Linguistics is a highly interdisciplinary field that intersects with many other disciplines in both science and humanity. These classes will be a good start of the journey for those who love languages and cultures, are passionate about how the human mind and brain work, and/or are interested in analytical thinking and logical puzzle solving.