Beijing Jiaotong University Hosts the 22nd Annual Conference

     of the International Association of Urban Language Studies

From September 19 to 21, 2025, the 22nd Annual Conference of the International Association of Urban Language Studies (IAULS) was successfully held at Beijing Jiaotong University. The Conference was co-hosted by the School of Languages and Communication Studies of the University, the International Association of Urban Language Studies, and the China Language Strategy Research Center of Nanjing University. It attracted nearly 130 philologists, educators, and industry experts from 10 countries and regions, including the UK, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, Mongolia, and France. Vice President Gao Liang of the University attended the opening ceremony and delivered a welcome speech. Also present were Director Guo Ming and Deputy Director Wu Jing from the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deputy Director Bi Fei from the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, leadership team members of the School, and over 30 faculty members and students from the School.

The opening ceremony featured addresses from the following distinguished guests: Gao Liang, Vice President of the University; Chen Yunsong, Deputy Party Secretary of Nanjing University and Director of the China Language Strategy Research Center (via video link); Xu Daming, Chair of the International Association of Urban Language Studies.

Gao Liang extended a warm welcome to the participating scholars from various countries. He emphasized that the Conference not only responds to new national requirements for language affairs and educational development but also serves as a vital platform for academic exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. He expressed his hope that the Conference would promote the integration of Industry, University, Research, and Application, linking disciplinary research with educational practice, industrial development, and urban governance to yield both theoretical outcomes and practical applications for societal benefit. Chen Yunsong highlighted the profound impact of globalization and digitalization on language ecology, noting new opportunities and challenges for urban language studies. He hoped the Conference would further build international consensus and deepen cross-disciplinary cooperation to collectively contribute wisdom and strength to building a community of language civilization. Xu Daming reviewed the Association's development history and its achievements in the field of urban linguistics over the years, expressing gratitude to the host institutions.

Under the theme "New Scenarios of Language and Communication", the Conference featured one main venue and 12 parallel sessions, including a special panel on "Language Policy and Planning for International Students from a Global Communication Perspective".

On the mornings of September 20 and 21, the Conference held 11 keynote speeches. On the morning of September 20, Professor Li Yuming from Beijing Language and Culture University addressed emergency language services and resilient city construction, emphasizing that such services should span the entire lifecycle of building urban resilience. He advocated for preparatory plans, sound infrastructure, accumulated resources, and professional teams of emergency language services at ordinary times. Professors Li Wei and Zhu Hua from University College London delivered insightful reports on the multilingual and multicultural language and communication methods in the transformation of London, pointing out that cultural translation and translingual practices could enrich individual transnational experiences and enhance community cohesion and cultural vitality. Professor Li Guofang from the University of British Columbia, Canada, explored the critical role of family bilingual literacy environments in children's bilingual development within globalized urban contexts. Professor Richard VanNess Simmons from the University of Hong Kong used Hangzhou and its old dialects as a window to examine the characteristics of urban society and the material environment in traditional times, and how community dialects were shaped by their historical contexts. Mr. Zhang Yue, Executive Dean of the Beijing Language Intelligence Research Institute and the founder of Pigai.org, discussed "How data elements reshape language learning", noting that language quantification and visualization technologies are driving innovation towards a "quantitative and visual" language learning model.

On the morning of September 21, Professor Marinus van den Berg from Leiden University, Netherlands, based on analyses of spoken language practices, discussed the significant role of participant identity in sociolinguistics. Professor Yin Jing from Beijing Jiaotong University constructed a theoretical framework for children's language development rights, identifying children in early childhood, multilingual children, special children, and vulnerable children as rights holders; defining core rights including language contact, expression, education, and choice; and outlining legal, resource, environmental, and social support as safeguard mechanisms, all grounded in the values of equality, diversity, inclusion, and empowerment. Professor James Walker from the University of Melbourne delivered an excellent speech on migration and mobility in urban linguistics, emphasizing that transnational and internal population flows create new ethnolinguistic ecologies, challenging existing urban sociolinguistic theories and methods. Professor Yoshiyuki Asahi from the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (online) studied Japanese as a lingua franca, linking linguistic forms to social context to explore the dynamic shaping effect of an increasingly multilingual and urbanized Japanese society on the evolution of the Japanese language itself. Professor Xu Daming from Nanjing University explored the speech community, proposing that understanding it as an informal institution could enhance its theoretical and practical value. Mr. Li Hua, the founder of Zhixueshu English, introduced the underlying logic, teaching philosophy, and theoretical basis of the Zhixueshu Intelligent English System, emphasizing its ability to help learners allocate cognitive resources more effectively.

On the afternoon of September 20, over 130 scholars participated simultaneously in 12 parallel forums. They engaged in in-depth dialogues on seven key themes: "language application in new social scenarios, new urbanization and urban dialects, language technology and application innovation, language policy and planning, linguistic landscape, language acquisition and education, and linguistic symbols & communication strategies in city image". The sessions fostered vibrant exchanges of cutting-edge ideas in a lively atmosphere.

The successful hosting of the Conference not only deepened academic exchange and cooperation in the field of international urban language studies, but also highlighted the unique value and policy significance of linguistic diversity in the urbanization process. Moving forward, the participating experts and scholars will use this Conference as a catalyst to continue exploring innovative paths for multilingual harmony and coexistence, injecting continuous linguistic and cultural vitality into building inclusive and sustainable urban development.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the conference were chaired respectively by Sun Wenbo, Party Secretary, and Hao Yunhui, Vice Dean of the School.