Events

8 Jul 2011

4:30 pm

LT2, 7/F, Mong Man Wai BuildingThe Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professor Chen Ping

Professor Chen Ping is Chair in Chinese Studies at The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.  He received his MA in Chinese from the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in Beijing, and MA and PhD in Linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  He held teaching and research positions at UCLA, University of Oregon, Institute of Linguistics at CASS, and City University of Hong Kong before joining The University of Queensland.  Professor Chen served as Head of Department of Asian Languages and Studies, and Director of Research of the School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies at UQ.  He is currently Deputy Head of School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies, and Director of Confucius Institute at UQ.  Professor Chen's main research interests include functional syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics and historical linguistics.  He has published extensively in these areas, and has also been serving on the Editorial or Advisory Board of many international linguistics journals.
 

Free

3943-8893

"Language as an Instrument of Social Reform in Modern China"

As well as being a medium of cognitive and conceptual development, and the most important means of communication, language may also serve as a powerful instrument of social reform.  This utilitarian role has been brought into full play in Modern China since the late 19th century at a scale hardly paralleled elsewhere.  One of the major goals of the social and linguistic reform from the outset was unification of speech and writing (言文合一).  This lecture will examine the gamut of social, political, and linguistic factors underlying major arguments and proposals on relevant issues, and  practice towards that goal.  Their implications on language education in the Chinese community, and on teaching Chinese as a second language will also be explored.