Participants' feedback:

Here are some comments on the Conference from our participants:

"The International Conference on Bilingualism and Comparative Linguistics once again affirms Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong as the Asia World hub and intellectual leader of bilingualism and comparative linguistics research. The linguistic diversity in China and Asia makes bilingualism and cross-language research inevitable. What sets the Conference apart is the quality and breadth of the studies presented. Participation by the cast of world-leading keynote speakers reporting their seminal and recent groundbreaking work was only icing on the cake. Kudos to CUHK!"

"Thanks for organizing the conference. The presentations successfully bridged academic research and daily life and demonstrated how research in bilingualism can impact and enrich our everyday life. I was tremendously fascinated by Prof. William Wang's keynote speech on the status of linguistics as a science and the invention of Chinese Ring Speller (CRiSp) by his team members which help the communication of patients with neuromuscular disorders with the external world. And as a researcher in childhood bilingualism, I was deeply impressed by Prof. Patricia Kuhl's keynote speech on the latest neuroscience evidence which displays how early bilingualism provides lifelong benefits for children. Moreover, as a teacher of Cantonese to non-native learners, I was also particularly concerned with the state of the art in second/third language research. The establishment of Third Language Learner Corpora of Modern Languages can surely facilitate research in this area with rich empirical data, and it will benefit the language teaching and learning in the long run."

Thank you very much for organizing this amazing conference. This was really a Herculean task, and you made it! It put the department on the map, and also presented the Modern Languages programmes in a positive light. The Modern Languages colleagues enjoyed their chance to present their pilot studies and research, and filled them with pride to be part of such an outstanding event.

"Thank you so much for organizing the most exciting, stimulating, memorable historic event – the International Conference on Bilingualism and Comparative Linguistics. It is most impressive that you were able to get together such an illustrious group of internationally renowned scholars in so many different yet very closely connected fields. The presentations were worth more than endless hours of reading. They were brilliant and thought-provoking. History was made in those short two days and I don’t know if it would be possible to wait for another one that can come close to the breadth and depth of this conference and the intellectual excitement generated from it. I was so elated with all the talks that I felt I could sit through more days of such impressive presentations even though I should have been exhausted from the traveling and jet lag. I don’t know if you had video or audio recordings of the sessions. I would love to be able to go through every single one, especially those in the parallel sessions that I had to miss. They will also be of tremendous interest to the majority that did not have the fortune to attend this history-making conference. Congratulations on a most rewarding, memorable conference!"

"Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to attend this wonderful conference.  It clearly showed the depth, maturity, intellectual rigour and breadth of this area of rich inquiry.  The quality of the keynote and invited speakers were of the highest level.  Having the chance to interact face-to-face with luminaries in the field of linguistics was truly an honor.  The sheer display of intellect during this afternoon's final plenary session by Prof. Fred Genesee was something to observe.  It is a reflection of the vibrancy of linguistics where there are more questions than answers."

"The organizing committee has done a great job in hosting the International Conference on Bilingualism and Comparative Linguistics! The keynote speeches were stunning and other research talks were inspiring too. I would like to express my gratitude to the organizing committee for the conference and look forward to attending more international conferences hosted by CUHK."

"The conference was very well organized. I really enjoyed the insightful talks given by the speakers especially the ones by Prof. Patricia Kuhl and Prof. Audrey Li."

"I really enjoyed this conference and would like to thank you for organizing this amazing event and inviting the symposium on neuro- bilingualism. You had a terrific list of keynote speakers, and I was very impressed by both the quality of the talks and the perfect organization of the conference."

"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to you for organizing such a successful event for the linguists in Hong Kong! The dialogue between the two Bills was of course momentous in the Hong Kong's history. The keynotes and other presentations that we were able to attend were all of high quality and very stimulating. We hope you will have a good rest after the conference and are looking forward to another successful conference organized by your department in the near future!"

"I think the conference was a huge success in integrating the research ideas from leading scientists across the globe. It also tried to colligate the field of linguistics and cognitive science. Overall it was an enriching experience and many congratulations to the organizing committee."

"It was an inspiring and successful conference. I was very glad to have the opportunity to interact with the leading scholars from linguistics, psychology, engineering and education. The keynote and invited speakers delivered insightful presentations on current research issues, from theoretical to pedagogical issues. This was a good chance to put research into practice. We learned a lot from this conference. "

"本次會議中，來自不同國家和地區的專家從不同的角度對雙語習得進行了深入探討和分析。作為會議的參加者，能和不同領域的專家互相切磋和交流，實在是令人振奮。近幾年來「雙語」教育在中國大陸也迅速發展。但總體而言缺乏相關的研究。香港中文大學的兒童雙語研究中心為大陸的雙語研究提供了寶貴的經驗和樹立的良好的榜樣。 "

"It was a fruitful conference for me. I'm glad that my poster presentation received enlightening comments and suggestions from participants of the conference. Some of them offered me very useful data that are not found in the literature. My comparative study of Mandarin also drew interest from researchers working on other languages. I am really fortunate to have attended the conference."

"這次會議我很有收穫。我的報告收到很有啟發性的建議。一些與會者給我提出了一些在我讀的文獻中沒有出現但是很有用的語料。我的研究主要是基於漢語普通話的比較研究，我很高興研究其他語言的研究者對我的研究也感興趣。我覺得能參加這個會議是非常幸運的。"

"I had a wonderful time in Hong Kong and also at the university. Thank you very much for a very well organized and planned conference."

"Thank you so much for the photos, and for organizing such a great conference. I had a very good time there."

"Congratulations on successful hosting of the Bilingualism conference. We really appreciated your kind invitation to attend this amazing conference, which gave us a good opportunity to interact with those leading scholars and learn from their recent contributions. Meanwhile, we are also amazed at the new directions in your department and the achievements this department made under your leadership. We are looking forward to more exciting events like this Conference."

"Thank YOU for all your incredible hard work to make the conference happen! It was a great success, and it was really special for us to be able to spend a bit of time with Bill and Gillian again - and a real pleasure and honor for me to meet Prof. William Wang. Thanks to all of your organizers as well - everyone has been just great."

"You were a genius at organizing it all, and making it all come together beautifully. It was all deeply appreciated."

"Thank you so much for a wonderful trip and a stimulating, first-rate conference -- we had a great time and learned a lot, and were very touched by your warm hospitality despite all the demands on your time."

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in your conference. I send this letter to you to inform you that your outstanding hospitality made my stay in Hong Kong very delightful and enjoyable."

"The informative and engaging lectures and presentations opened my eyes to the exciting, cutting-edge research happening at this moment in bilingualism and comparative linguistics. Thank you for the opportunity to interact with phenomenal scholars and fellow students. I learned so much in the two days and feel extremely inspired to pursue research as well."

"This conference was a very valuable experience in that it provided us a chance to meet and learn from world renowned researchers such as Pat Kuhl and William Labov. I also learned a great deal from numerous innovative studies presented at the conference. Moreover, through presenting my own work I was able to obtain invaluable feedback from various researchers in the area.

The conference was indeed an excellent occasion for researchers around the world to come together and share their research in bilingualism and comparative linguistics. It does not only give the researchers in Hong Kong an opportunity to learn directly from overseas researchers, it also helps make the research in Hong Kong known to researchers from other countries. It was definitely a great way to promote the research in these areas in Hong Kong. Overall, it was a very satisfying experience."

Comments on the Dialogue on Sound Change