14/08/2026
“Linguistics+” nurtures future linguists in the Chinese Mainland
The T. T. Ng Chinese Language Research Centre (CLRC) at CUHK is dedicated to the study of Chinese language, with an emphasis on both the traditional and modern aspects of Chinese linguistics and on integrating theory with practice. Formerly known as the Chinese Linguistics Research Centre, founded in 1966, the Centre celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. To commemorate six decades of heritage and development, CLRC established a workstation at the CUHK Shanghai Centre this April, creating an incubator for creative research in the humanities in Shanghai. Its first academic event, “Linguistics+”, was successfully held from 15 to 22 July.
“Linguistics+” was a student summer workshop which aimed to promote and popularise linguistic research among undergraduate students in the Chinese Mainland, thereby nurturing and attracting new talent for the field of Chinese linguistics. The “+” in the workshop title carries two meanings. In Chinese, it is a homophone of “家”(jiā), meaning “expert,” reflecting the goal of nurturing future experts in linguistic research. It is also a homophone of “加”(jiā), meaning “add” or “increase”, signifying that the workshop will enhance the participants’ knowledge of linguistics.
This meaningful eight-day workshop was held at the CUHK Shanghai Centre, attracting 43 student participants coming from across the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and overseas. Most were undergraduates, with majors not only in Language, Literature, Translation, and International Chinese Language Education, but also in diverse fields such as Accounting, Architecture, and Computer Science and Technology. The workshop featured lectures by Prof. Deng Dun (CUHK), Prof. Sun Yenan (CUHK), Prof. Hu Hai (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University), and Prof. Zhou Peng (Zhejiang University). The content covered cutting-edge topics in four areas: Chinese Syntax, Chinese Semantics, Computational Linguistics, and Child Language Acquisition. In addition to lectures, the workshop also included seminars to deepen students’ knowledge.
Under the expert guidance of the four instructors, participants found the event highly rewarding and expressed great satisfaction. Building on the resounding success of the workshop, CLRC will continue to organise more academic activities in the future to further advance linguistic research in the Chinese Mainland.
* Reposted from CUHK in Focus, 14 August 2026 (https://www.focus.cuhk.edu.hk/en/20260814/linguistics-nurtures-future-linguists-in-the-chinese-mainland/082-mainland-engagement-en/)
