Dr Mimi Huang

BA 1st Hons (Sun Yat-Sen University), MA and PhD (University of Nottingham)
Senior Lecturer in Language and Linguistics
Programme Leader English Language

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Contact details: School of Arts & Social Sciences Northumbria University Lipman Building, room 416d Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST phone: +44 (0) 191 227 3483 fax: +44 (0) 191 227 3696 mimi.huang@northumbria.ac.uk

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Biography

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I came to Newcastle and joined the department in the summer of 2008. Before that I studied at the University of Nottingham where I obtained MA and PhD degrees in linguistics.  During my postgraduate studies, I started teaching undergraduate linguistic courses at both University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. Prior to this I studied at Sun Yat-Sen University, China, and was awarded a BA degree in English Studies.

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Teaching Interests

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The current modules I deliver include ‘Cognitive Linguistics’ in Level 6 (Year 3) and Level 7 (MA), ‘Language and Literature’ in Level 4 (Year 1) and Level 5 (Year 2). I also contribute to the postgraduate programmes in TESOL, Applied Linguistics for TESOL, and MA Creative Writing.  Apart from these areas, I have also taught undergraduate courses on semantics, pragmatics and psycholinguistics, as well as language and communication.

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Research Interests

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My research interests cover cognitive linguistics, literary linguistics, discourse analysis, and sociolinguistics. My current research project examines the interpretation of metaphor in both literary and non-literary texts. The project studies the metaphorical mapping from both the textual aspects and the reader’s response. The project develops a salience-based analytical framework, which accounts for meaning construction involved in discourse processing. The framework has been applied to the study of metaphor, and is applicable to human communication in general.  My future research concerns further development of the salience-based framework, and the examination of a variety of discourse for their cognitive, social and cultural aspects.

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Postgraduate Supervision

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I am happy to supervise postgraduate students in the following areas: metaphor studies, cognitive linguistics, cognitive poetics, literary linguistics / stylistics and discourse analysis.

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Funding Awards

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British Association for Applied Linguistics: Conference Bursary, 2008.

Division of Modern English language, University of Nottingham: Conference Bursary, 2006 and 2007.

The Graduate School, University of Nottingham: International Travel Prizes, 2006.

Poetics and Linguistics Association: Conference Bursary: 2005.

University of Nottingham: International Research Scholarship 2003 – 2007.

School of English Studies, University of Nottingham: International Postgraduate Scholarship, 2002.

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Affiliations and Memberships

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British Association for Applied Linguistics

Poetics and Linguistics Association

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Publications

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‘Solving the Riddle of Metaphor: A Salience-based Model for Metaphorical Interpretation in a Discourse Context’, in V. Evans and S. Pourcel eds, New Directions in Cognitive Linguistics (Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2009), pp. 107-26.

‘Evaluation of Metaphor in a Discourse Context: a Cognitive Analytical Approach’, in L. Jeffries, D McIntyre and D Bousfield eds, Stylistics and Social Cognition (Amsterdam / Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 2007), pp. 39-55.

‘‘Using Text World Theory to Interpret Metaphor’ In N. Yanez-Bouza ed, Proceedings of the 14th Postgraduate Linguistics Conference (Manchester: Manchester UP, 2006), pp. 69-81.

‘Metaphor Comprehension: From Relevance to Salience’, in E. Beltran and L. Frey eds, Proceedings of the 3rd CILR Conference in Language Research (Cambridge: Cambridge Institute of Language Research, 2005), pp.227-34.

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Conference Papers

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‘Learning and Using Metaphor in a Cross-Cultural Context’, BAAL (British Association for Applied Linguistics) Annual Conference, Swansea, UK, 2008.

‘How Do We Interpret Metaphor?’ AAAL (American Association for Applied Linguistics) Annual Conference, California, USA, 2007.

‘Corpora and Readers: What Can They Tell Us about Metaphor?’ BAAL Annual Conference, Cork City, Ireland, 2006.

‘Two Sides of a Metaphorical Coin’, 26th PALA (Poetics and Linguistics Association) Annual Conference, University of Joensuu, Finland, 2006.

‘A Salience Analytical Account for Metaphoric Comprehension and Interpretation’, RaAM6 Conference (Researching and Applying Metaphor: Ten Years On), Leeds, UK, 2006.

‘Salience Hypothesis in Metaphor Interpretation’, 1st UK Cognitive Linguistics Conference, Brighton, UK, 2005.

‘Studies of Cognitive Metaphor: In and Out of the Mapping Process’. BAAL Annual Conference, Bristol, UK, 2005.

‘Evaluation of Metaphor in Literary Context: a Cognitive Analytical Approach’, 25th PALA Annual Conference, Huddersfield, UK, 2005.

‘Metaphor Comprehension: from Relevance to Salience’, 3rd CILR Conference in Language Research, Cambridge, UK, 2005.

‘Using Text World Theory to Interpret Metaphor in Context’, 14th Postgraduate Linguistics Conference. Manchester, UK, 2005.

‘Study Metaphor in Literary Context’, Research Seminar Series in the School of English, University of Nottingham, UK, 2005.

‘Literariness and Creativeness in Cognitive Metaphor’, Research Seminar Series in the School of English, University of Nottingham, UK, 2004.

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