Bulletin Number Four 1987

Internationa l Symposium on Psychological Aspects o f the Chinese Language The Fourth International Symposium on Psycho logical Aspects o f the Chinese Language organized by the Department o f Psychology was held at the Univer sity from 25th to 27th August. Professor Hsu Bay- sung, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, officiated at the opening ceremony and addressed the gathering. The Symposium was attended by about sixty participants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, the United States, Canada, and Japan. It was divided into seven sessions, w ith the following topics for discussion: character recognition, language acqui sition, neurolinguistic studies, speech production and perception, writing and testing, character and text perception, database and macroanalysis. Over twenty papers were presented. The general meeting following the last session o f discussion was chaired by Professor Liu In-mao, Convener o f the Organizing Committee o f the Symposium and Chairman o f the Department o f Psychology. The International Symposium on Psychological Aspects o f the Chinese Language is held every three years. It was decided that the fifth symposium, to be renamed the Symposium on Cognitive Aspects o f the Chinese Language, be held in Hong Kong, and the sixth in Japan. First Internationa l Conference on Cantonese and O the r Yue Dialects An International Conference on Cantonese and Other Yue Dialects, jo in tly sponsored by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong and the Department o f Anthro pology, The Chinese University o f Hong Kong, was held from 1st to 3rd July at the University. It was attended by about sixty scholars from China, Japan, Australia, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Some fo rty papers were presented. The opening ceremony took place at the Sir Cho Yiu Hall. Addressing the ceremony were Dr. Sin Chow-yiu o f the University o f Hong Kong, Convener o f the Organizing Committee of the Conference, Professor Hsu Baysung, Acting Vice-Chancellor o f The Chinese University o f Hong Kong, Dr. Benjamin T'sou, President o f the linguistic Society o f Hong Kong, and Dr. Eric Zee, Acting Chairman o f the Department o f Anthropology, The Chinese Univer sity o f Hong Kong. Two keynote speeches were delivered: 'Yue Dialect Research: Past and Future' by Professor Gao Hua-nian o f Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, and 'Methodology, Theory and Dialect Research' by Professor William S.Y. Wang o f the University o f California, Berkeley. The Conference was conducted in thirteen sessions. Discussions covered a wide range o f topics including morphology, syntax, language acquisition and pathology, phonology, tone, tone and music, applied studies, contrastive studies, diachronic studies, sociolinguistics, and dialect survey. The last day o f the Conference took place at Y.C. Liang Hall. Professor Huang Bo-rong o f Lanzhou University and Dr. Cheung Hung-nin o f the University o f California, Berkeley, spoke at the closing cere mony, expressing their impressions o f this three-day event. The first o f its kind, the Conference was not only a major event o f the year in Hong Kong linguis tics circles, but also marked a milestone in the studies in this field. It was suggested that the second Inter national Conference on Cantonese and Other Yue Dialects be held in Guangzhou in 1989 under the jo in t sponsorship o f the Guangdong linguistic Society and Jinan University. 18