PolyU Launches Yuen Ren Chao Prize in Language Sciences Recognising Outstanding Scholars in the Field

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is proud to announce the launch of the Yuen Ren Chao Prize in Language Sciences (“the Prize”) which aims to recognise the study of language sciences and honour those who have made distinguished contributions to the field. The Prize is named in honour of the late Prof. Yuen Ren CHAO who is widely regarded as the father of modern Chinese language studies. Prof. Chao’s legacy as a distinguished linguist, poet, composer, translator and educator has left an indelible mark on scholars in China, Asia and around the world. Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU and the University senior management, joined by Prof. LI Ping, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Prof. William Shi-Yuan WANG, Chair Professor of Language and Cognitive Sciences as well as distinguished guests including Dr Louis NG Chi-wa, Director of Hong Kong Palace Museum; Prof. Ovid Jyh-Lang TZENG, Academician of Academic Sinica; Dr Warren MOK, Artistic Director of Opera Hong Kong and renowned tenor; Ms Bing Bing WANG, renowned soprano; and Prof. XU Jie, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Macau, officiated at the Launch Ceremony. The Ceremony opened with welcoming remarks from Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, followed by a remembering of Prof. Yuen Ren Chao by Prof. William Wang, a sharing of Prof. Chao’s academic influences by Prof. Ovid Tzeng and other distinguished academics, and an insightful talk on Prof. Chao’s academic achievements and contributions by Dr Louis Ng. Prof. Jin-Guang Teng said, “PolyU and the Faculty of Humanities are honoured to uphold and further advance the legacy of Prof. Yuen Ren Chao. The Faculty pursues excellence in education and research by adopting a multidisciplinary approach that draws upon language, history, culture, communication and technology. It aims to become a leading hub connecting world-class linguists and language scientists around the globe to advance knowledge for the benefit of society. We are confident that the Prize will serve as a crucial catalyst in fostering greater linguistic and cultural understanding in the years to come.” Dr Louis Ng described Prof. Yuen Ren Chao as a scholar whose knowledge traversed times, cultures and disciplines. He said, “Prof. Chao’s scientific knowledge enabled his use of scientific methods and means, while his musical knowledge inspired his countless linguistic studies. The cross-disciplinary combination of science, language and art prompted him to open a new world for modern Chinese linguistics research.” The programme also included captivating singing performances of How Can I Help But Think Of You and The Sea Rhyme, both composed by Prof. Chao, by renowned artists Dr Warren Mok and Ms Bing Bing Wang. Additionally, a meaningful moment was captured through the recitation of one of Prof. Chao’s essays, Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den, by two PolyU students, symbolising the continuation of his language sciences legacy. A book exhibition also paid tribute to Prof. Chao’s remarkable contribution to language sciences.   Prof. Ovid Tzeng and distinguished academics including Prof. CHEN Zhongmin of Fudan University, Prof. LI Jen-Kuei of Academia Sinica, Prof. SHI Feng of Nankai University, Dr Peter ZHOU of University of California, Berkeley and Dr CHEUNG Kwan-hin, Former Head of PolyU’s Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies also shared their thoughts on Prof. Chao’s influence on their own academic and personal pursuits via video. During the ceremony, Prof. Li Ping introduced the background of the Prize and announced nomination details and the selection process. Two awards, namely the Lifetime Achievement Award and Early Career Contribution Award, will be presented biennially, starting from 2024, to senior and junior scholars who have made distinguished contributions to research and education in language sciences respectively. A committee composed of world-renowned experts will select the candidates for the awards. The awardees will be featured as presenters of a distinguished lecture hosted by the Faculty of Humanities, along with the conferment of the Prize and cash awards. Nomination starts on 1 September 2023. The host of the Prize, the PolyU Faculty of Humanities, is emerging as a leader in tertiary education in Asia Pacific and the world in the field of language sciences. Capitalising on its strengths in areas such as speech therapy, health communication and language neuroscience, the Faculty is poised to become a hub of language sciences research to create and advance knowledge for the benefit of mankind. The Prize exemplifies PolyU’s commitment to advancing humanities studies and education, and will inspire new generations of students and scholars to innovate in language science research. For more information about the Prize, please visit the official website www.polyu.edu.hk/fh/chao-prize or send enquiries to chao.prize@polyu.edu.hk.

CIHK Scholar Explores Northern and Southern Dynasties Poetries on Local TV Programme

Dr Li Meng, Teaching Fellow of the Confucius Institute of Hong Kong at PolyU, co-hosted RTHK’s TV programme Dialogue with Masters and talked about the poetries and verses in the Northern and Southern dynasties in the latest episode with Prof. Nicolas Chan Wai Shun of CUHK. The TV series covers a total of 13 episodes on poetries and literatures from Pre-Qin period to 1990s. Click HERE to watch the episode.

FH Hosts Roundtable on ChatGPT and Large Language Models: Linguistic, Cognitive, and Humanistic Perspectives

The Faculty recently hosted a successful roundtable with lively discussion on ChatGPT and Large Language Models: Linguistic, Cognitive, and Humanistic Perspectives. Held on Saturday, 5 August 2023, the event brought together esteemed professors and distinguished researchers. With Dean, Prof. Ping Li, serving as the Convener and Chair, the roundtable included Prof. Hualou Liang from Drexel University, Prof. Nian-Shing Chen from National Taiwan Normal University, Prof. Ovid J-L. Tzeng from National Taiwan Normal University, Dr Samuel Nastase from Princeton University, and Dr Qihui Xu from Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language. The roundtable aimed to foster valuable conversations and idea exchange surrounding the challenges and opportunities presented by ChatGPT and large language models. Engaging in thought-provoking discussions, the participants showcased their expertise and provided insights into the best strategies for using emerging technologies. The Faculty remains dedicated to organising impactful events that promote interdisciplinary dialogue and drive innovation. Stay tuned for our future initiatives that continue to enhance constructive discussions and academic-industry collaboration.

Summer Camp Empowers Students with Language and Culture Skills

More than 200 students from both local secondary and international schools participated in a three-day PolyU summer camp. The Faculty Dean Prof. Li Ping, Associate Dean (FH) Prof. Hu Guangwei and Associate Head of Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Prof. Li Dechao expressed their warmest welcome to participants at a welcoming dinner. Around 20 participants engaged in a diverse array of activities organised by the Faculty of Humanities and its departments. The activities were designed to convey practical skills and knowledge relating to language, culture, and communication within a university context. The experience provided a glimpse into the life of a Faculty of Humanities student, which equipped participants with the necessary insights to make decisions concerning their future academic pursuits.

Team Hong Kong Triumphs at International Linguistics Olympiad 2023

Our Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad team has achieved excellent results at the 20th International Linguistics Olympiad held in Bulgaria this year, taking home a gold medal and two silver medals at the individual contest, as well as an honourable mention in the team contest: Absolute Gold medal (highest score in the whole Olympiad) Ian Tam (individual contest) Silver medal Henry Wong (individual contest) Zhang Yixuan (individual contest) Honourable mention Ian Tam, Henry Wong, Zhang Yixuan and Ryan Lo (team contest) Best solution award Ian Tam (problems 2, 3 and 5) The team is jointly trained by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies and the Department of English and Communication. Please visit the HKLO page for more information about the team.

Prof. Louise Cummings Appointed as Associate Editor of the New Journal Language and Health

The Faculty is delighted to share the news that Prof. Louise Cummings of the Department of English and Communication has been appointed as Associate Editor of the new journal Language and Health. Published by Elsevier, Language and Health aims to illustrate the complex relationship between language and health. It covers studies on human language in the field of health and medicine, and explorations of health and medicine from the perspective of language, with topics including language and physical health, language and mental health, language and social adaptability, ranging from children, adults to elder people. Click HERE to read more about the journal.

Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2023

Congratulations to the following award recipients on receiving the Faculty’s Outstanding Alumni Award (in alphabetical order of the last name): Outstanding Alumni Award in Community Service Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2023 Ms Doris LEUNG Shuk Yi Founder of Diamond Tech (Hong Kong) Limited Founder and CEO, Diamond Cab (Hong Kong) Limited BA (Hons) in Language and Communication (1993) Department of English and Communication Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Professional Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2023 Mr NIU Yi Founder of Unicow Education & Technology (International) Holdings Limited Chinese IB/MYP Language Teacher/ Advisor, Chinese International School Master of Arts in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (2010) Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2023 Mr ZHANG Quan Founder and CEO of Twelve Flavors Group Master of Arts in Chinese Culture (2012) Department of Chinese Culture The Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Humanities (website) aims to recognise the graduates of the Faculty for their contribution to University and Faculty, and their diverse accomplishments in various areas, including professional achievement, scholarly achievement, and community service achievement. Read more about the awardees: Outstanding Alumni Award in Community Service Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2023 Ms Doris LEUNG Shuk Yi Ms Leung is an award-winning and pioneering social entrepreneur and founder of Diamond Cab, the first wheelchair-accessible taxi service company in Hong Kong. Over the past 12 years, Ms Leung’s work has inspired the taxi industry within Hong Kong to recognise the need for and to allow increased access to barrier-free taxis. Currently, with over 100 wheelchair-accessible taxis of different brands operating throughout Hong Kong, Diamond Cab has set the benchmark of running quality taxi services with empathy. Ms Leung’s work has demonstrated how commercial business can be improved by adopting a social mission, especially with the untapped need for ageing care. Ms Leung has just co-founded Diamond Tech to further scale up the impact of Diamond Cab with new technologies. The first project is to create a driving simulator to train the new barrier-free taxi drivers with the veteran Diamond Cab drivers programmed in the software. Diamond Cab will start to provide training courses with the simulator for marginalised groups e.g. ex-prisoners, low-educated youth, women, etc. Ms Leung has received numerous recognition and awards from the industry and community, including the Ira Dan Kaye Community Service Award 2022, Top 10 Business of Improving Lives at Cartier Impact Awards 2022, and JESSICA Most Successful Women 2015. Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Professional Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2023 Mr NIU Yi During the past 13 years, Mr Niu’s teaching reputation across global IB schools has gained wide recognition. He organised and coached students to participate in the World Scholars Cup actively. His team has won the world team championship and two individual global championships for two years at Yale University. As a passionate educator, he has developed his patented product (both USA and HKSAR), Niu Xiaozi AR Chinese Flash Cards, which is used by more than 200 schools and kindergartens worldwide and won him the Asia International Innovative Invention Gold Award in 2018. He has actively contributed to academic workshops as a leader and a keynote speaker in different workshops and seminars to share his teaching experience with other educators at home and abroad from 2012 till now, which has contributed to his selection as Hong Kong Outstanding Youth Teacher Awardee in 2017. Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2023 Mr ZHANG Quan Mr Zhang was born in Zhejiang province. He received the Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the East China Normal University in Shanghai in 2011, and obtained the Master of Arts in Chinese Culture from PolyU in 2012. During his study in Hong Kong, he was the co-founder of the website “Gang Piao Quan” which is now the most influential online platform for Mainland Chinese in Hong Kong. He is the founder and CEO of the Sichuan restaurant Twelve Flavors, the largest Sichuan cuisine chain in Hong Kong. Mr Zhang has rich experience in digital upgrading of traditional enterprises, and he is also committed to deliver Chinese Culture through food and to enhancing cultural exchanges and integration between young people in Hong Kong and mainland China. In 2021, he served as Council Member of the Hong Kong Quality and Talent Migrant Association and Chairman of the Hotel and Catering Industry Committee.

10 Faculty Members Awarded GRF/ECS Research Grants in 2023-24 Exercise

10 Faculty members have been awarded the General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) grants in the 2023/24 exercise (eight GRF and two ECS projects): GRF “Neo-Confucianism and Political Culture in the Mid-Southern Song Dynasty” (PI: Dr CHANG Weiling(CC)) “Group-level and individual-level precision functional mapping of the linguistic cerebellum: comparisons across linguistic and motor domains” (PI: Dr FONG Cheuk Man Manson(CBS)) “Online corporate instructional videos for branding: A qualitative investigation of pre-flight safety videos” (PI: Dr Jenifer HO(ENGL)) “A corpus-driven study of formulaic language in constrained English: A multimodal approach” (PI: Prof. LI Dechao(CBS)) “Technologies, Data, and Learning: Digital language learning (DLL) and second language representation” (PI: Prof. LI Ping(CBS)) “The Politics of Recontextualizing the Hong Kong Basic Law in News Media: A Corpus-assisted Discourse Study” (PI: Dr LIU Ming(CBS)) “The cultural context of moralisation as a driver of health stigma in Hong Kong SAR and Australia” (PI: Prof. Stefano OCCHIPINTI(ENGL)) “Understanding Vulnerabilities in Narrative Performance in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Developmental Language Disorder” (PI: Prof. SHENG Li(CBS)) ECS “Discrimination and self-branding on online language tutoring platforms: An Applied Linguistics approach” (PI: Dr Nate Ming CURRAN(ENGL)) “Poetic Tectonics: Collection, canon formation, and the landscape of versification in Chinese manuscript culture, c. 479 BCE–220 CE” (PI: Dr David J. LEBOVITZ(CC)) Under the Research Grants Council, GRF aims to supplement universities’ research support to researchers who have achieved or have the potential to achieve excellence. The ECS, introduced in 2012/13, is intended to nurture junior academics. The assessment criteria include the scientific and scholarly merit of the proposal, originality, potential for social, cultural or economic application, and more.

PolyU, Tsinghua University and the University of Macau Organise Tripartite Exchange Programme to Promote Chinese Culture

The Research Centre for Chinese History and Culture of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), established on 17 January this year, successfully held its inaugural event from 26 to 30 June. The Research Centre jointly organised an academic and cultural exchange programme with Tsinghua University and the University of Macau, enabling students from Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau to engage in Chinese historical and cultural exchange. The exchange programme provided an important platform for students to explore modern Chinese history, new perspectives on traditional Chinese culture, and deepen professional learning in the context of national development. PolyU was honoured to receive strong support from Tsinghua University’s Rixin College and Faculty of Humanities, and the University of Macau’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Approximately 70 teachers and students from the three universities gathered in Hong Kong to participate in the five-day exchange programme. In addition to lectures, participating students were tasked with writing a 3,000- to 5,000-word paper on one of three topics: 1) Modern China and the World; 2) Modern China: Thought, Culture and History; or 3) New Interpretations of Traditional China. Students then presented their papers for discussion with instructors and peers. The Research Centre arranged excursions for teachers and students to cultural sites including the Sheung Wan Heritage Trail, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong Palace Museum, Tai Kwun and The Peak. These visits provided first-hand experience of Hong Kong’s modern historical and cultural developments. Dr Louis Ng, Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (4th from left) and Mr Kenneth Ng King-tsun, General Manager, Communications and Public Affairs of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (1st from left) introduced the Hong Kong Palace Museum and cultural facilities of the West Kowloon Cultural District to participants. Dr Lam Tai-fai, Chairman of PolyU’s Council and Advisory Committee Chairman of The Research Centre for Chinese History and Culture, said, “The Research Centre is committed to enhancing young people’s interest in Chinese culture and their awareness of national identity. Through this exchange programme and other upcoming activities, we hope participating students will gain a deeper understanding of China, build national pride, and contribute to the Nation’s development.” He added, “Moving forward, the Research Centre will continue establishing close partnerships with Tsinghua University and the University of Macau for cooperation in education, research, and innovation. This includes co-hosting high-level academic symposia, developing Chinese history learning materials, and providing teacher training - all with the aim of promoting Chinese culture together.” Read More: https://polyu.hk/wCKLS

New Research Documents Positive Attitudes towards Hong Kong English

Previous research in Hong Kong has consistently found that people have negative attitudes towards Hong Kong English (HKE), the local variety of English widely spoken in the community. They prefer standard American or, even better, standard British English voices, which have been rated significantly more favourably than HKE in virtually every study that has been published on the topic since the 1980s. A new research paper titled “Teachers’ attitudes towards varieties of Hong Kong English: Implications for English language teaching” published in English World-Wide (online first) by Prof. Hans J Ladegaard in the Department of English and Communication and Dr Roy Chan, former postdoctoral fellow in the Department, has found that attitudes towards HKE in the City are changing. They asked 100 English language teachers in Hong Kong to listen to recordings of five HKE voices speaking as naturally as possible and evaluate the speakers on a number of perceived status and competence traits (intelligent, educated, successful etc.) as well as solidarity traits (kind, friendly, honest etc.). The voices had more or less local features from a ‘heavy’ HKE accent to a ‘mild’ one. The results showed that all five voices received relatively positive evaluations. The most negative evaluation was given to the ‘heavy’ HKE accent, but mostly on status dimensions. All five voices were ranked highly on solidarity and, for four out of five, also on status dimensions. Listener judges were also asked to indicate where the speakers were from, and all five speakers were identified as Hongkongers with close to 90% accuracy. This suggests that speakers of HKE are now receiving the recognition they did not get in the past. The authors see it as evidence of increased localism in the City: HKE allows Hongkongers an identity which is uniquely local and provides differentiation from other Chinese identities. More information about the research paper can be found at this link: https://benjamins.com/catalog/eww.21060.lad.