CityU hosts Cantonese dialect conference … alongside pre-historic rock carvings

What are the difficulties faced by native Cantonese-speakers in learning Putonghua (modern standard spoken Chinese) and written Chinese? What is meant by the particles of speech in Cantonese like “ba la”, “gua” or “bo”? Did you know that, a century back, the Cantonese opera was performed in the then standard spoken Chinese, rather than in Cantonese? What is the link between Cantonese and the languages used by the Baiyue peoples in prehistoric times?

These are some of the questions that will be addressed at the 13th International Conference on Cantonese and Yue Dialects at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) from 18 to 20 December. Among the topics to be covered by the conference will be the origins, evolution, and applications of the Cantonese language.

The opening ceremony of the 13th International Conference on Cantonese and Yue Dialects cum the Exhibition on Pre-historic Rock Carvings in Hong Kong and the Region will take place at Wei Hing Theatre on the 6/F, Amenities Building at CityU on 18 December. Guests officiating at the event will be Mr Tsang Tak-sing, Secretary for Home Affairs, Professor Jonathan Webster, Head of the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics at CityU, and Professor Benjamin T’sou Ka-yin, Convenor of the Conference and Director of the Language Information Sciences Research Centre.

CityU is committed to enhancing academic quality through the promotion of academic exchanges. The three-day conference on the theme of A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Cantonese will not only discuss linguistic issues but also explore related disciplines encompassing language education, music, history and comparative cultural studies. Scholars from countries and regions including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, the US, Japan, Germany and the UK will participate in the conference and present more than 80 papers. Keynote speakers are Professor Mai Yun from the Institute of Linguistics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China, Professor Bell Yung from the Department of Music at University of Pittsburg, US and Professor Thomas Lee Hun-tak from the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at The Chinese University of Hong Kong,.

Professor Mai will discuss how the evolution and qualities of Cantonese help studies into varieties of Chinese in his address, Cantonese Studies and Chinese Linguistics. Professor Yung will deliver a lecture on Linguistic Tones, Lyrics and Melody in Cantonese Opera. In his keynote address, What Cantonese-speaking Children Can Tell Us About the Structure of Cantonese, Professor Lee will explore the linguistic development in children’s brains, analyse the linguistic patterns of native Cantonese speakers and discuss the difference between Cantonese and Putonghua.

“The International Conference on Cantonese and Yue Dialects has been held 12 times, and CityU is pleased to have the privilege of hosting this year’s event. We hope the multi-disciplinary approach adopted this year will give us a better understanding of Cantonese and promote further academic interest in, studies of, and discussions on the subject,” said Professor T’sou.

In addition to the conference, an exhibition of prehistoric rock carvings found in and around Hong Kong will also be held. About a dozen replicas of them borrowed from the Antiquities and Monuments Office will be on display. They represent the original rock carvings still on site in coastal areas of the territory, including Tung Lung Island, Cheung Chau, Big Wave Bay and Lung Ha Wan. Also on display are photos of rock carvings discovered in Zhuhai, Macau, Taiwan and Fujian, which reflect the civilisation of Baiyue peoples who lived in southern China more than 3,000 years ago.

The exhibition will be held at CityU Gallery, 6/F, Amenities Building from 18 December 2008 to 31 January 2009.

Media coverage of the opening ceremony, the conference and the exhibition is welcomed. For details of the 13th International Conference on Cantonese and Yue Dialects, please visit the website: http://www.rcl.cityu.edu.hk/yueconf2008.

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Sharon Ng (3442 6819 / 9304 5337) of the

Communications Office, City University of Hong Kong.