Blockbuster film Avatar may be breaking box-office records and stunning audiences with its 3D effects, but the movie also has people talking for a different reason. The invented Na'vi language spoken by characters in the film's alien world, and credited to a university professor in California, has drawn new attention to the subject of linguistics.
The film highlights the concept of language and how systems of grammar and syntax give a recognisable and comprehensible structure to create communication and meaning from what would otherwise be just a series of sounds.
'Language defines us, especially when you ask why speech is not available to other species,' says Professor Thomas Lee Hun-tak, postgraduate programme co-ordinator for the department of linguistics and modern languages at Chinese University.
'You can look at it as a mental phenomenon, as a function of the mind and part of our human biology.'
Lee's own special area of interest is language acquisition, and while he would no doubt be interested if Hollywood came calling, he has his hands full teaching MA courses and overseeing research students completing their MPhils or PhDs.
He explains that Chinese University's MA in linguistics is already proving popular, with between 30 and 40 students enrolled each year. They can choose the one-year full-time or two-year part-time option, but have to be ready to tackle an extensive reading list and 'very intensive' coursework.