Teaching Areas

Courses include:
EL3211: Language in Contact
EL3258: The Sociolinguistics of Humour: Jokes and Comedies
EL4253: Language, Gender, and Text
EL4257: English in the Public Sphere: the Politics of Language
EL5110: Language in Society
EL6770: Graduate Research Seminar

Graduate Supervision

PhD Theses

2016~         Kapoor, Shrutika. A multi-modal analysis of print, online and video advertisements of enrichment programmes in Singapore.

2010-17      Teo Shi Ling, Cherise. A house by any other name: the spatialization of “home” for the Singaporean consumer.

MA Theses     

2017~        Wilkinson Daniel Ong Wong Gonzales. Hokaglish: Trilingual Mixed Language in the Post-colonial Manila. (co-supervisor: Leslie Lee)

2016~        Chong Si En Grace. Development of Colloquial Singapore English and Mandarin influence. (co-supervisor: Leslie Lee)

2015~        Mah Sa Nicola. Victim-blaming discourse: Scripting the female model citizen in Singapore anti-molestation posters.

2011-14     Leong Xue Wei Amelia. Never in Singapore English.

2010-12    Teo Siew Hui Dawn. “Who homeschools?”: towards understanding how the homeschooling families in Singapore and Japan construct themselves.

2009-12     Lo Wan Ni. Understanding interaction of visual and verbal grammar in comics using systemic functional linguistics.

Current Research

Mie's on-going research focus includes language in media (e.g., anime, advertisements, translated texts, comedy shows), and Colloquial Singapore English (CSE), i.e. Singlish. 

Since 2011, Mie has been working on a project focusing on the portrayal of Asian masculinity, analyzing a wide range of data including classic Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest martial arts films originally released in Hong Kong (by such well-known directors as King Hu, Chang Cheh, Liu Chia Liang, Sammo Hung) as well as newly released internationally acclaimed films by directors like Ang Lee, Tsui Hark, and Zhang Yimou.  Between 2012-2014, her collaboration with NUS alumni Cherise Teo yielded three papers focusing on female appropriation of Asian masculinity in martial arts films.

Since then, Mie has been narrowed her focus to more specific topics related to language and masculinity in martial arts films, particularly focusing on specific classes of characters such as westerners, religious, eunuchs, and maimed martial arts practitioners, and a more recent collaboration with Phoebe Pua on language in film, specifically examines East Asian typecasting in major action films (e.g., James Bond Films, ninja or martials arts-themed productions).

Mie is also conducting contact linguistics studies on the pragmatic and grammatical features of CSE.  Particularly, she is interested in novel innovative features of CSE such as non-modal uses of 'can' and sentence-final adverbs.  Since 2016, she has been collaborating with Leslie Lee, Tong King Lee, Jakob Leimgruber, Lim Jun Jie, and Jessica Choo, investigating a corpus of text message data ("finger speech"). 

Research Interests

Contact linguistics: Second dialect acquisition, Koineization, Pidgins and creoles, Hawai‘i Creole, Singapore English

Language, gender, and sexuality: Critical discourse analysis, Women's language, Masculinity studies

Linguistic Anthropology: Linguistic construction of identity, Media intertexuality, Textual discourse

Austronesian languages: Indonesian, Polynesian languages, Phonology/morphology interface, Comparative methods

Other Information

Selected Invited Presentations

Discussant, Panel: Queer Perspectives on Japanese, Lavender Languages and Linguistics 24th Annual Meeting. University of Nottingham. Apr 28-30, 2017.

Language variation in Colloquial Singapore English: the sentence-final particle sia as a dynamic repertoire, The University of Tokyo Language Variation and Change Association 10th meeting. University of Tokyo, Komaba, Dec 6, 2016. (with Tong Kee Lee)

Enregisterment of Asian masculinity in Hollywood martial arts films, 5th Annual International Conference on Language, Literature & Linguistics. Hotel Fort Canning, Singapore, May 30-31, 2016.

Discussant, Panel: The politics of language in postcolonial Hong Kong, Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Washington State Convention Center & Sheraton Seattle, Washington Mar 31, 2016.

An intensive summer seminar on sociolinguistics, Okinawa International University, Sep 15-19, 2014.

Mediation and mediatization of Chinese gender ideology through female kung-fu practitioners in films, School of English, University of Hong Kong, Sep 10, 2014.

Foreign-origin personal pronouns in oversea varieties of Japanese. The International Symposium on Linguistics, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Mar 7, 2014. (with Yoshiyuki Asahi.)

Globally local practice: a formation of a new cultural values through tattoos in Hawai‘i, the 85th Kagamiyama Language Science Colloquium, the Graduate School of Education at Hiroshima University, Aug 19, 2013.

Intervocalic voicing vs. mergers: change of Tôhoku dialect spoken in Hawai‘i. The Workshop on Oral History and Linguistics, the National Institute for Japanese Language, Japan, Sep 2, 2011.

Dialect contact and change seen in oral history records: a case of the northern Japanese plantation immigrants in Hawai‘i. International Symposium: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Oral History Data, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Aug 28, 2011.

Japanese dialect contact among the post-Meiji plantation immigrants in Hawai‘i, Linguistics Colloquium, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Education, Sep 23, 2010.

Phonological change of Tôhoku dialect spoken in Hawai‘i, The Workshop on Structures of Linguistic Change in Dialect Contact Situations, the National Institute for Japanese Language, Sep 20, 2010.

‘They get free pupus over here!’: construction of local identity in Hawai‘i Creole TV advertisements, the Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Oct 16, 2009. (honorarium)

Gendered and un-gendered speech styles by male and female characters in Japanese translation of Gone with the Wind, Japanese Society for Gender Studies and Center for Japanese Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Jan 17, 2008.

Selected Refereed Presentations

Hiramoto, Mie & Yanning Lai. "Umm so hot and yum": Neoliberalism and online discourse of fitness, masculinity, and sexuality. Lavender Languages and Linguistics 24th Annual Meeting, April 28-30, 2017.

Vitorio, Raymund & Mie Hiramoto. Wudang, Shaolin, and symbolic asexuality: Linguistic Landscape in the Chinese action films. Lavender Languages and Linguistics 24th Annual Meeting, April 28-30, 2017.

Hiramoto, Mie. Performances of marginalized masculinity: maimed heroes in Chinese martial arts films. Panel: Language, society and sexuality performativities in the margins. Sociolinguistic Symposium 21, University of Murcia, Spain, Jun 15-18, 2016.

Hiramoto, Mie & Yoshiyuki Asahi. An innovative use of Japanese ‘verb-te-ageru’ in instructional speech: A Japanese women’s language hypothesis. Sociolinguistic Symposium 21, University of Murcia, Spain, Jun 15-18, 2016.

Filzah Diyana Rahman & Mie Hiramoto. Style me modest: online self-mediatization of Singapore Muslim fashion bloggers. Product, Production and Productivity: A Women’s Studies Symposium, Nanyang Technological University, Dec 11, 2015.

Cherise Teo & Mie Hiramoto. Blurring lines with ‘cosmeceuticals’: scientific and technological discourse in beauty advertisements. Panel: Dimensions of adaptability: space, time, persons, objects. The 14th International Pragmatics Conference, University of Antwerp, 27 Jul 2015.

Mie Hiramoto & Cherise Teo. ‘Fear does not exist in this dojo’: Language and adaptability of Asian masculinity in Hollywood action films, The 14th International Pragmatics Conference, University of Antwerp, 29 Jul 2015.

Mie Hiramoto. Powerfully queered: Representations of sexual minorities in Asian martial arts films, Sociolinguistics of Globalization, University of Hong Kong, Jun 4, 2015.

Hiramoto, Mie & Yoshiyuki Asahi. Use of foreign-origin personal pronouns: observations in overseas varieties of Japanese, the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics 2015 Annual Meeting, Portland Hilton, Jan 10, 2015.

Hiramoto, Mie & Rusyidiah Razak. Clause final –nya and punya in Colloquial Malay: influence from contact languages, the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics 2015 Annual Meeting, Portland Hilton, Jan 9, 2015.

Hiramoto, Mie & Jan Goh. From Dr. No to Skyfall: changes of masculinity seen in the James Bond films. Panel: Sexing language: time and space. Sociolinguistic Symposium 20, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, Jun 16, 2014.

Hiramoto, Mie. ‘It’s a tramp stamp’: tattoo narratives of Hawai‘i locals, the 8th International Gender and Language Association Conference, Simon Fraser University, Jun 6, 2014.

Hiramoto, Mie & Esther Soh. Love makes a house a home: Heterosexual discourse of desirability and identity in housing advertisements, the American Anthropological Association 2013 Annual Meeting, Chicago Hilton, Nov 22, 2013.

Hiramoto, Mie & Cherise Teo Shi Ling. He deserved to die by a woman’s hand!: masculine and feminine traits of female kung-fu practitioners in films, the 7th International Free Linguistics Conference, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Sep 27, 2013.

Hiramoto, Mie, Faizaa Rahim, Natalie Hong & Rusydiah Razak. Bilingual/Multilingual speakers’ uses of pseudo-tag markers in Colloquial Singapore English, the 9th International Symposium on Bilingualism, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Jun 13, 2013.

Hiramoto, Mie & Tan Teck Heng. Wax on, Wax off: commodification of Asian masculinity through Hollywood films, the 20th Lavender Languages Meeting, American University, Washington DC, Feb 15, 2013.

Tan Teck Heng & Mie Hiramoto. Orienting the male body: evading the ‘gay label’ in advertising in Singapore, the 20th Lavender Languages Meeting, American University, Washington DC, Feb 16, 2013.

Hiramoto, Mie. Semiotics of tattooed personal identities: border-crossings in Hawai‘i local culture, the American Anthropological Association 2012 Annual Meeting, San Francisco Hilton, Nov 15, 2012.

Hiramoto, Mie. Can or not, can?: uses of the sentence-final can in Colloquial Singapore English, Language Contact in Asia and the Pacific, University of Macau, Sep 7, 2012.

Hiramoto, Mie & Gavin Furukawa. Formation of pan-immigrant localness in the city: tattooed symbols and personal identities, the 19th Sociolinguistics Symposium, the Freie Universität Berlin, Aug 22, 2012.

Hiramoto, Mie & Yoshiyuki Asahi. Use of foreign-origin personal pronouns: observations in oversea varieties of Japanese, the 19th Sociolinguistics Symposium, the Freie Universität Berlin, Aug 22, 2012.

Hiramoto, Mie & Hiroyuki Shiraiwa. Dialect contact and retention of the northern Japanese plantation immigrants in Hawai‘i, the 2nd New Ways of Analyzing Variation Meeting, Asia-Pacific Region, National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, Tokyo, Aug 4, 2012.

Hiramoto, Mie & Phoebe Pua. Fate made him a warrior: representations of masculinities in martial arts films, the Conference on Culture, Language, and Social Practice 3, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Oct 8, 2011.

Hiramoto, Mie. Phonological change of Tôhoku dialect, Methods in Dialectology 14, the University of Western Ontario, August 6, 2011.

Hiramoto, Mie & Yosuke Sato. Can-construction and substrate reinforcement in Colloquial Singapore English, Methods in Dialectology 14, the University of Western Ontario, Aug 4, 2011.

Hiramoto, Mie. Huli-huli chihuahua foh da Filipinos: mobility, class identity, and ethnic jokes in Hawai‘i Creole, the Mobility of Language Conference, Vineyard Conference Center, Cape Town, Jan 21, 2011.

Hiramoto, Mie, Yosuke Sato, Shawn Chia, Jacqueline Tan & Zechy Wong. ‘Got’-interrogatives and answers in Singapore English, the 15th English in South East Asia Conference, University of Macau, Dec 9, 2010.

Hiramoto, Mie. Space cowboys 2071: representation of hegemonic bohemian identities in a popular anime show, the American Anthropological Association 2009 Annual Meeting, Philadelphia Marriot, Dec 5, 2009.

Hiramoto, Mie & Emi Morita. The pragmatics of pronoun borrowing: the case of Japanese plantation immigrants in Hawai‘i, the 15th Japanese/Korean Linguistics Conference, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Nov 15, 2009.

Hiramoto, Mie. Consuming the consumers: semiotics of Hawai‘i Creole in advertisements, Oceanic Popular Culture Association Conference, Chaminade University, Honolulu, May 22, 2009.

Hiramoto, Mie & Gavin Furukawa. Multilingualism, language ideology, and language practice: representation of Hawai‘i Creole in advertisements, the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics 2009 Annual Meeting, San Francisco Hilton, Jan 9, 2009.

Hiramoto, Mie. Is dat dog you’re eating?: Mock Filipino, Hawai‘i Creole, and local elitism, the American Anthropological Association 2008 Annual Meeting, San Francisco Hilton, Nov 22, 2008.

Hiramoto, Mie. Slaves speak pseudo-Toohoku-ben: the representation of minorities in the Japanese translation of Gone with the Wind, the Arizona Anthropology/Linguistics Symposium, University of Arizona, Apr 11, 2008.

Hiramoto, Mie. Representations of hegemonic masculinities in Japanese anime: the gendered expressions of Cowboy Bebop, the Arizona Anthropology/ Linguistics Symposium, University of Arizona, Apr 9, 2008.

Hiramoto, Mie. Dialect contacts and change: a case of Tôhoku dialect spoken in Hawai‘i, the Linguistic Society of America 2006 Annual Meeting, Hyatt Regency, Albuquerque, Jan 6, 2006.

Hiramoto, Mie. Change of Tôhoku dialect spoken in Hawai‘i, the 34th New Ways of Analyzing Variation Meeting, New York University, Oct 23, 2005.

Anderson, Victoria, Mie Hiramoto & Andrew Wong. Prosodic analysis of the interactional particle ne in women’s and men’s Japanese, the 15th Japanese/ Korean Linguistics Meeting, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Oct 9, 2005.

Hiramoto, Mie & Andrew Wong. A prosodic analysis of Japanese women’s language and second language socialization, the 13th Symposium about Language and Society, Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Apr 15, 2005.

Hiramoto, Mie & Andrew Wong. Another look at Japanese women’s language: a prosodic analysis, the 41st Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society, University of Chicago, Apr 8, 2005.

Hiramoto, Mie & Andrew Wong. Perception of gender differences in Japanese pitch and politeness, the 3rd International Gender and Language Association Conference, Cornell University, Jun 6, 2004.

Fukazawa, Seiji & Mie Hiramoto. Chûgoku dialect terms that remain in Hawai‘i Creole English, the Summer Conference of the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics 2003, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Aug 14, 2003.

Hiramoto, Mie. Lexical strata of Indonesian vocabulary, the 13th South East Asian Linguistics Society Conference, University of California at Los Angeles, May 2, 2003.

Hiramoto, Mie. Speech communities and lexical strata of Indonesian vocabulary, the 10th Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association Meeting, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, March 28, 2003.

Hiramoto, Mie. Gender stereotype in prosody: Japanese interactional particles ne and yo, the 28th Berkeley Linguistics Society Meeting, University of California at Berkeley, Feb 16, 2002.