News and Kudos

理大開辦香港首個「全國翻譯專業資格（水平）考試」PolyU hosts the first China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI) in Hong Kong

(The English version is available after the Chinese version.)   在中文及雙語學系(本系)推動下，香港理工大學(理大)於2022年9月7日與中國外文局全國翻譯專業資格（水平）考試（CATTI）項目管理中心簽訂合作協議，成為香港首個獲官方認可的CATTI考點，並由本系負責考場設置及考務管理等事宜。 CATTI於2003年推出，是唯一納入中國國家職業資格制度的語言類考試，合格者可獲國家認證的「中華人民共和國翻譯專業資格（水平）證書」。CATTI的翻譯專業資格認證備受全國廣泛認可，去年全年累計報考人數逾35萬，是對參試人員口譯或筆譯雙語互譯能力和水準的評價與認定。 本系自1988年成立以來，一直致力提升本港中英文專業翻譯的水平。除提供與翻譯相關的本科及碩士課程外，本系翻譯研究中心亦為CATTI的指定培訓中心，為考生提供中英文的筆譯及口譯訓練。隨著理大成為本港首個CATTI考點，本系將繼續積極培育本地語言及翻譯人才，促進翻譯專業在本地及國內的發展。 首場在本港舉行的中英文筆譯及口譯考試將於2022年11月5至6日舉行，並於即日起至10月10日接受考生報名。詳情請瀏覽https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cbs/cts/hk/catti/。   相關新聞︰理大新聞稿、大公網     The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) signed a cooperation agreement with the China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI) Management Center of the China International Communications Group (CICG) on 7 September 2022. Facilitated by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS), the agreement marks PolyU as the first official CATTI test center in Hong Kong, and CBS is responsible for the management and organization of the test. Launched in 2003, CATTI is the only language test incorporated into China’s national vocational qualification system. Candidates who pass the test will obtain a Qualification Certificate of Proficiency issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) and CICG. The test is designed to access the proficiency and competence of candidate translators and interpreters, and it is widely recognised by employers throughout the country. Last year, over 350,000 candidates took the test. Since 1988, CBS has been committed to uplifting the professional standard of Chinese-English translation in Hong Kong. We offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses of translation, and our Centre for Translation Studies is designated to provide training for the English-Chinese translation and interpreting test in CATTI. With PolyU organising the CATTI test in Hong Kong, we will continue to cultivate talents in languages and translation, and promote the development of the translation industry in Hong Kong and the Mainland. The first English-Chinese translation and interpreting test in Hong Kong will be held during 5-6 November 2022. Applications are welcome until 10 October 2022. For details, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cbs/cts/en/catti/.   Media coverage: PolyU Press Release, Ta Kung Pao (in Chinese only)

Secretary for Education visits CBS Speech and Language Sciences Laboratory

Accompanied by PolyU’s President Prof. TENG Jin-Guang, Dr. the Hon. Christine CHOI Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education, visited CBS Speech and Language Sciences Laboratory on 5 September. The visit was also joined by Ms. Michelle LI Mei-sheung (Permanent Secretary for Education), Mr. Jeff SZE Chun-fai (Under Secretary for Education), Dr. YAO Yao (Acting Dean, Faculty of Humanities), Dr. ZHANG Caicai (Associate Professor, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies) and Dr. CHEN Si (Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies). During the visit, the CBS researchers present introduced the lab equipment that supports research in speech and language sciences, including a social robot to assist in the speech training for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), an electroencephalography (EEG) system to measure electrophysiological activities in the brain, and an eye tracker to capture eye movements of a participant during language processing. We also shared with Dr. Choi our research initiatives in language, cognition and neuroscience, and how the research findings would inform and be conducive to education development and clinical applications.

CBS Chair Professor has been elected a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America

Congratulations to our Prof. William S-Y. WANG, Chair Professor of Language and Cognitive Sciences, for being elected as 2023 Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA). LSA Fellow is a prestigious recognition of a member's contributions to the discipline, and up to eight members of the Society may be named Fellows each year.   Founded in 1924, LSA aims at advancing the scientific study of language and its applications. It plays a critical role in supporting and disseminating linguistic scholarship both to professional linguists and to the general public.   For details: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/news/2022/08/12/lsa-announces-2023-class-fellows  

PolyU-trained students achieve brilliant results in the 19th International Linguistics Olympiad

Trained by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS) and the Department of English and Communication (ENGL), the Hong Kong student representatives have achieved excellent results in the Nineteenth International Linguistics Olympiad (19th IOL), held at Isle of Man on 25-29 July 2022. Competing with 184 contestants from 50 teams, the four-member team has won one silver medal and one bronze medal in the individual contest, and an Honorary Mention in the team contest. In addition, the Hong Kong team has captured two best solution awards (out of the total of 10 awards) and is the only team that won multiple best solution awards in the competition. Congratulations! The IOL, held since 2003, is one of the 13 officially recognized International Science Olympiads for secondary school students. The four team members this year are from Diocesan Boys’ School (2), La Salle College and Pui Ching Middle School, selected based on Hong Kong participants' performances at the Asia Pacific Linguistics Olympiad (APLO) and the Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad held earlier. A team of experts in Hong Kong, led by CBS and ENGL of PolyU, provides regular training sessions on linguistics olympiads for gifted talents in language and communication.   Full results of 19th IOL: https://ioling.org/results/2022

CBS student wins the HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship

Ms. MAN Cheuk Lam, Year 1 student of BA (Hons) in Linguistics and Translation (BALT), was awarded the prestigious HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship (HK$50,000) in recognition of her outstanding academic performance and active contribution in community services in Hong Kong. Congratulations!

CBS PhD student brings home the 1st prize in translation competition

CBS PhD student Miss ZENG Weixin won the first prize in the 7th Paper Competition of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Postgraduate Academic Exchanges in Foreign Languages and Translation Studies 2022. Co-organised by Guangdong Society of Foreign Languages, Guangdong Provincial Foreign Literature Association, Hong Kong Translation Society and Sun Yat-sen University, the competition has received 254 thesis submissions from 86 universities across the Greater Bay Area, covering various topics including foreign literature, linguistics and applied linguistics, translation studies, intercultural studies, and international and regional studies. Out of 12 finalists, Miss Zeng was awarded the first prize and expressed that this opportunity has allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of academic research and inspirations. Well done!   Details of the competition: https://www.sysu.edu.cn/news/info/1901/688711.htm Online coverage: https://polyu.me/3mP82g4

CBS Assistant Professor wins the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022

CBS Assistant Professor Dr. CHEN Si has been awarded the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022, with her research focus on “Robot-assisted training for children with autism spectrum disorder”. Multilingual and multimodal robot-assisted training programs have been developed to improve the use of speech prosody and cross-domain emotion recognition of autistic children in Hong Kong. The PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) is a university-wide award to honour young PolyU researchers under the age of 35 who have demonstrated novelty, contributed to technology advancement, and propelled transformational innovation into solutions for addressing problems in society with a vision for a positive change to the future. Among 59 submissions across 22 departments covering all faculties and schools, Dr. Chen has been selected as one of the six YIRA awardees and received research funding support of HK$500,000 and a personal cash prize of HK$20,000. We are very proud of Dr. Chen’s achievement which is in line with the University’s commitment to research excellence and innovation. Congratulations!

CBS Minor in Korean student wins the 1st place in the Korean Speech Contest in Hong Kong

Ms. LEE Nok Sze Eunice, a CBS Minor in Korean student has won the champion prize in the 6th Korean Consul General Cup Korean Speech Contest. The prestigious contest is hosted annually by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong. The prizewinner is nominated to represent Hong Kong in the speech contest organized by the King Sejong Institute Foundation to be held in Korea this October. Congratulations! Details of the competition: https://hk.korean-culture.org/en/1073/board/745/read/115889

CBS undergraduate students excel in national translation competition

Congratulations to our undergraduate students MA Jianfei (BALT Year 1 student) and LIN Meishan (BACBS Year 3 student) for winning the first-class awards in the China Young Translators’ Contest (B Category). Organized by China Translation Corporation, the biggest state-level enterprise of language services in China, the competition has attracted over 10,000 participants, including students of over 1,600 local and overseas schools, language professionals and amateur translators. Competing with other language undergraduate students, it is remarkable that our students are capable to make themselves the top 5% of the participants. Well done!   Details of the competition: https://www.saikr.com/vse/Translation Online coverage: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7103531054967144963/

CBS Associate Professor’s project on neurolinguistics funded by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)

CBS Associate Professor Dr. ZHANG Caicai’s project has been awarded the prestigious fund by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), under the Young Scientist category of the National Major Project on Brain Science. The funded project is entitled “Neurocognitive markers for typical language development and language disorders in children: A longitudinal study based on long-term memory, sleep and brain development”. The MOST’s National Major Project on Brain Science involves 59 research areas and directions with overall funding beyond 31 billion. Among all successful proposals, Dr. Zhang’s project is the only one in Hong Kong funded in the area of brain and cognition mechanisms under the Young Scientist category. We are very proud of Dr. Zhang’s achievement in pioneering a new source of funding for research in the area of language, cognition, and neuroscience. Congratulations!