Southern Institute of Chinese Linguistics, initiated by Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and University of Macau (UM), is the flagship of the efforts of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Chinese (GHMUAC) to promote Chinese linguistics and intellectual exchange among colleagues and students of the field based in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area).

 

The Second Southern Institute of Chinese Linguistics, organised by GHMUAC, hosted by T.T. Ng Chinese Language Research Centre of the Institute of Chinese Studies at CUHK, and co-organised by SYSU, took place virtually on 5–15 December 2021.

 

A total of 13 speakers gave talks, including (in alphabetical order): Feng Shengli (Beijing Language and Culture University/CUHK), Guo Xi (Jinan University), Huang Chu-Ren (Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Huang Xing (Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai/Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Lin Huayong (SYSU), Pan Haihua (CUHK), Qu Shaobing (Guangzhou University), Shao Jingmin (Jinan University), Shi Dingxu (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies), Shi Qisheng (SYSU), Tang Sze-Wing (CUHK), Xu Jie (UM), and Zhang Yujin (South China Normal University).

 

Focusing on different aspects of Chinese linguistics, the 13 lectures of the Institute attracted an enrolment of more than 1,200 students and colleagues from not only the Greater Bay Area but another 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities nationwide; 12 countries in Asia; 15 countries in Europe and America; and one country in Africa. In addition to the mission of the Institute to mainly open to colleagues and students based in the Greater Bay Area while welcoming those beyond, it also reflects the motto of the Institute: “Precious is to appreciate cultures of others as one appreciates one’s own. Through mutual understanding of diversity, the world will be a harmonious and united one.”

 

With its purpose of building up an academic exchange platform of openness and inclusiveness, the Institute will seek to bring more events in various forms and promote the cooperation and exchange in Chinese linguistics within and beyond the Greater Bay Area.

 

 

Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Chinese (GHMUAC), a member of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance (GHMUA), was initiated and established in July 2019 by the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at CUHK, the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at SYSU, and the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at UM. It serves as a higher education platform that aspires to extend the efforts of the universities in the Greater Bay Area in promoting academic cooperation on Chinese and as a force for driving initiatives that unite the strength of the Chinese research and education at a higher level among universities in the area.

 

The 25^th International Conference on Yue Dialects

Prof. ZHAN Bohui delivered the opening speech at the 25th International Conference on Yue Dialects

 

The International Conference on Yue Dialects is a prestigious annual academic event in the field of Chinese linguistics and is organised mainly by the tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong in a rotational manner.

 

The 25^th International Conference on Yue Dialects took place on 18–19 December  2021. Organised by the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Alliance for Chinese (GHMUAC) and presented virtually for the first time, it is a momentous event. It is also co-organised by the T.T. Ng Chinese Language Research Centre of the Institute of Chinese Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). 

 

Prof. Zhan Bohui of Jinan University addressed the conference at the opening ceremony. He said he would like to see the further development of research on Cantonese grammar promoted by increasing studies on the sentence-final particles in Cantonese. He also called for more efforts in exploring the language as a crucial resource and as a cultural agent in Cantonese speaking regions. Prof. Tang Sze-Wing of CUHK delivered the welcome message on behalf of GHMUAC. He noted that the online conference organised by GHMUAC is a transregional collaboration within the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, which secures a traditional platform for scholars and researchers specialising in Cantonese studies in a novel manner.

 

A total of 106 speakers at home and abroad presented their papers in eight sessions on various topics, including phonetics, sound systems, lexicology, morphology, syntax, discourse analysis, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, the use of Cantonese, applied linguistics, etc. Thanks to the online mode, over a hundred participants joined the event and exchanged ideas regardless of time and space. It is worth noting that a special panel session focusing on the sentence-final particles in Cantonese was carried out in the form of a workshop, fostering fruitful discussions on issues in terms of syntactic and prosodic properties, semantic functions, classification, language acquisition, and origins.  

 

Prof. Cheung Kwan-hin (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Prof. Gan Yu’en (Jinan University), Prof. Kwok Bit-Chee (CUHK), and Prof. Tong Choi Lan (Macao Polytechnic Institute) addressed the conference at the closing session, respectively. Besides their thoughts and observations on the conference, they also brought up constructive suggestions, such as carrying out cross-disciplinary dialogues among colleagues within and beyond humanities. Prof. Tang Sze-Wing concluded the session by extending gratitude to all the staff and expressing his expectation of the sooner finalisation of the planning of the 26^th International Conference on Yue Dialects.


Prof. Cheung Kwan-hin, Prof. Tang Sze-Wing, Prof. Tong Choi Lan, Prof. Gan Yu’en, and Prof. Kwok Bit-chee at closing ceremony of the 25th International Conference on Yue Dialects

 

Current Research in Chinese Linguistics (Volume 101 Number 1)

 

Current Research in Chinese Linguistics (volume 101 number 1) has been released. There are four articles in this issue.

 

1. Xiuting Chen: The Grammatical Functions of the Auxiliary Word NE(呢) in Non-interrogative Sentences in HK Cantonese since Mid-20th Century: A Case Study Based on Audio Corpuses
2. Huihui Lu: A Study on the Pragmatic Function and Development of the Neoteric Chinese Topic Marker “bu zai hua xia”
3. Cafe Lingua: Report: The Second Southern Institute of Chinese Linguistics
4. Cafe Lingua: Report: The 25th International Conference on Yue Dialects

 

PDF copies of these articles can be downloaded freely via http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/clrc/.