[EDLING:137] CFP: 1st HCLS Conference on Becoming a World Language

[Tamara Warhol]

via the Linguist List . . .

Full Title: 1st HCLS Conference on Becoming a World Language
Short Title: HCLS-C1

Date: 05-Dec-2007 - 07-Dec-2007
Location: Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Contact Person: Joey Wong
Meeting Email: hclscityu.edu.hk
Web Site: http://www.hallidaycentre.cityu.edu.hk/HCLS-C1-2007

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics

Call Deadline: 25-Aug-2007

Meeting Description:
The Halliday Centre for Intelligent Applications of Language Studies of 
the City
University of Hong Kong will organize a Conference on 'Becoming a World
Language: the growth of Chinese, English and Spanish' - the first of a 
series of
annual conferences - to be held from 5 to 7 December 2007 in Hong Kong. The
Conference will be preceded by a Pre-Conference Institute on 3 and 4 
December 2007.

Officially launched in March 2006, The Halliday Centre has the distinct 
honour
of being named after the world-renowned linguist, Professor M.A.K. 
Halliday. The
Halliday Centre aims to expand opportunities for collaboration with global
partners in China and the Asia-Pacific Region, Europe, North America and
elsewhere, concentrating on research relating to corpus linguistics,
computational linguistics, and comparative language studies.

The Conference will provide an international forum for scholars, 
researchers,
and other professionals to discuss the phenomenon of becoming a world 
language
of Chinese, English and Spanish, and how an applicable linguistics might
contribute to an understanding of the short and long term effects of the
phenomenon both on speakers and on speech systems. Keynote speakers include
Professor Cecilia Colombi, Professor Fang Yan, Professor M.A.K. Halliday,
Professor Yamuna Kachru, Professor Christian Matthiessen, and Professor 
Larry
Smith.

Dear Colleagues,

I write on behalf of The Halliday Centre for Intelligent Applications of
Language Studies to invite you to participate in an International 
Conference on

''Becoming a World Language: the growth of Chinese, English and Spanish''
City University of Hong Kong, 5 - 7 December 2007
http://www.hallidaycentre.cityu.edu.hk/HCLS-C1-2007

Plenary Speakers:
Cecilia Colombi (University of California, Davis)
Fang Yan (Tsinghua University)
M.A.K. Halliday (University of Sydney)
Yamuna Kachru (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Christian Matthiessen (Macquarie University)
Larry Smith (Christopher, Smith & Associates LLC; and Japan-America 
Institute of
Management Science, Honolulu)

The objective of the conference is to explore from a multiple 
perspective the
significance of a language becoming a world language. English is already
acknowledged as a world language, but both Chinese and Spanish appear to be
moving in the same direction. This raises some interesting issues. For 
example:
is the pattern of emergence to this status the same in all three cases, 
or do
they have different trajectories? Does the system of language change in 
this
process, and if so, how? What kind of resources, if any, does the 
language have
to develop along the way, and what are the consequences of its growth 
for those
who speak it? What relevance do modes of language education have to this
process? What are its effects on the formation of speaker identity, for 
both the
native speakers of the world language and the foreign learners?

The field is thus excitingly open to, and in need of, interpretation. We 
invite
you to participate in this venture by presenting your thoughts on any 
aspect
relevant to becoming a world language. Papers could be of (i) 30 minutes 
or (ii)
50 minutes duration. Please send your abstracts to HCLScityu.edu.hk no 
later
than 25 August 2007. The length of the abstract should be 150 - 250 words
(Microsoft Word format preferred). Please show name, institution and 
country of
residence at top of page and indicate whether your paper is intended for
category (i) or (ii).

There will be a Pre-Conference Institute on 3 and 4 December 2007. The
instructors and titles of the courses are as follows:

M.A.K. Halliday: Theoretical Foundations of Systemic Functional Linguistics
Ruqaiya Hasan: Analysing Text: Meaning in Context
Paul Thibault: Image and Language in Pedagogic Discourse: An Application of
Systemic Functional Linguistics

Participants will be offered a certificate of attendance. For details of 
course
design and fee and online registration, please visit
http://www.hallidaycentre.cityu.edu.hk/HCLS-C1-2007/institute.htm.

Advance registration (with concession) for the Conference will be available
until 29 September 2007.

We look forward to receiving your abstracts and hope you will be able to 
join us
in Hong Kong in December 2007.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Jonathan Webster & Emeritus Professor Ruqaiya Hasan
Convenors, International Conference on ''Becoming a World Language: the 
growth
of Chinese, English and Spanish''