From November 8 to 10, 2024, the Martin Center for Applied Linguistics at the School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (referred to as the "Martin Center"), held the 9th International Conference on Applied Linguistics, with the theme "Language Description from a Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective". The conference focused on exploring language description within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), providing foundational support for discourse analysis, legal linguistics, educational linguistics, translation studies, international communication, media discourse analysis, diplomatic discourse studies, and multimodal research, among other areas of applied linguistics. More than 60 scholars, experts, and students from both domestic and international institutions participated in the conference.

The conference officially opened on the morning of November 8. Dr. Wang Pin, Director of the Martin Center, hosted the opening ceremony, and Professor Tao Qing, Vice Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, and Professor Wang Zhenhua, the founder of the Martin Center, delivered opening speeches. Seventeen distinguished scholars and experts from home and abroad were invited to give keynote and plenary speeches during the event.

On the morning of November 8, Dr. Wang Pin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University delivered the first plenary speech, titled "An Extended Systemic Functional Description of the Interrogative Mood in Chinese", chaired by Professor Jim Martin. Dr. Wang analyzed and described Chinese interrogative sentences from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics, discussing their functional realization within the mood system and comparing them across different languages.

Professor Van Van Hoang from Vietnam National University gave an online keynote speech titled "Systemic Description of the TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM: A Vietnamese Experience", also chaired by Professor Jim Martin. Professor Van provided a systematic and detailed description of the transitivity system in Vietnamese.

Professor Wang Yong from Sun Yat-sen University presented a plenary speech titled "A Systemic Typology of the Existential Clause", chaired by Dr. Wang Pin. Professor Wang analyzed the existential clauses, widely found in natural languages, from a functional typological perspective, with Chinese and English as the main examples. He explored the lexical, grammatical, and semantic functions of existential clauses across languages.

Dr. Lungguh Bangga from the University of Sydney gave an online keynote speech titled "Sundanese Ideational Grammar: A Reflection Towards Current Development", chaired by Dr. Wang Pin. Dr. Bangga discussed the ideational grammar of Sundanese, emphasizing its expression in discourse semantics to promote understanding and use of the language.

Dr. Anna Crane from the University of Sydney delivered an online keynote speech titled "Recontextualizing SFL Description in Language Revitalisation Pedagogy: Insights from Recent Work with Gija Elders and Adult Learners", chaired by Dr. Zhang Dongbing. Dr. Crane explored the application of Systemic Functional Linguistics in the documentation and revitalization of the endangered Gija language in Australia, discussing the crucial role of language description from an SFL perspective in saving endangered languages.

In the afternoon, Dr. Zhang Dongbing from the University of International Business and Economics presented a plenary speech titled "Reflections on Describing the Interpersonal Grammar of Khorchin Mongolian", chaired by Professor Gi-Hyun Shin. Dr. Zhang reviewed the systemic description of Khorchin Mongolian interpersonal grammar, discussing the interaction between discourse and grammar and providing insights for the description of interpersonal grammar and discourse pattern construction.

Dr. Isaac Mwinlaaru from Cape Coast University in Ghana gave an online keynote speech titled "Describing a 'New' Language: Methodological Considerations from an Insider-Fieldwork Perspective", chaired by Professor Gi-Hyun Shin. Dr. Mwinlaaru reflected on the methodology for describing a "new" language from a systemic functional perspective, using Dagaare as a case study, and discussed the importance of field research in describing languages with incomplete grammatical systems.

The afternoon sessions were held in five parallel venues, covering topics including language description, language comparison, discourse analysis, international communication, legal linguistics, and educational linguistics.

On the morning of November 9, Professor Gi-Hyun Shin from the University of New South Wales delivered a plenary speech titled "Interpersonal Dimensions in Describing Korean: Reflections on SFL in a Diverse Linguistic Landscape", chaired by Dr. Zhang Dongbing. Professor Shin shared his experiences in applying Systemic Functional Linguistics to describe Korean, discussing the challenges encountered in the process and emphasizing the importance of the SFL framework in understanding the Korean language.

Dr. Pattama Patpong from Mahidol University in Thailand gave an online keynote speech titled "An Architecture of Systemic Functional Description of Thai: A Contribution to Multilingual Studies", chaired by Dr. Zhang Dongbing. Dr. Patpong introduced the construction of Thai language description from an SFL perspective, using the metaphor of building a house to illustrate the process of language description and emphasized the importance of corpus selection.

Dr. Yaegan Doran from the Australian Catholic University presented a plenary speech titled "Boundaries of Description: Language and Mathematics as One System", chaired by Dr. Yu Zhigang. Dr. Doran explored the boundaries in describing language and symbolic resources, comparing different approaches to treating language and mathematics either separately or as one system.

Dr. David Rose from the University of Sydney gave an online keynote speech titled "Description as Reinstantiation", chaired by Dr. Yu Zhigang. Dr. Rose introduced the SFL description method, using re-institutionalization to perform grammatical and semantic analysis of texts, providing insights for large-scale typological language research.

In the afternoon, Dr. Yu Zhigang from Beijing Institute of Technology presented a plenary speech titled "The Intrinsic Functionality of Chemical Equations: A Systemic Functional Semiotics Perspective", chaired by Dr. Yaegan Doran. Dr. Yu discussed the meaning functions of chemical equations at multiple levels from a systemic functional semiotic perspective, revealing the realization of relevant metafunctions and providing examples and inspiration for the description of non-verbal symbolic systems.

Professor Christian Matthiessen from the University of International Business and Economics / Comillas Pontifical University in Spain delivered an online plenary speech titled "Systemic Functional Linguistics as a Resource for Describing Particular Languages", chaired by Dr. Yaegan Doran. Professor Matthiessen discussed how to describe specific languages using the SFL framework, highlighting the comprehensiveness and meaning-oriented nature of SFL descriptions and emphasizing the specific choices made during the description process.

The second afternoon's parallel sessions were held in five venues, covering topics such as evaluative analysis, media discourse analysis, and multimodal and multi-semiotic research.

On the morning of November 10, Professor Hu Jianhua from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies / Chinese Academy of Social Sciences delivered a plenary speech titled "Focus Sensitivity and Exhaustivity in Quantification", chaired by Dr. Wang Pin. Professor Hu explored the meaning of the Chinese quantifier "du" (都) through a range of examples, providing a detailed analysis and comparison, and highlighted the differences in focus sensitivity and exhaustivity between Chinese and English quantifiers.

Dr. Beatriz Quiroz from the Catholic University of Chile gave an online keynote speech titled "The Search for Structural Patterns in SFL Language Description: Drawing on Available Accounts in Relation to Nominal DEIXIS in Spanish", chaired by Dr. Wang Pin. Dr. Quiroz discussed the application of Systemic Functional Linguistics to describe nominal deixis in Spanish, analyzing existing descriptions and emphasizing the importance of exploring expressive patterns in structural functions.

Dr. Giacomo Figueredo from the Federal University of Uberlândia in Brazil delivered an online keynote speech titled "Learning as You Go: Reflections on How to Describe a Language", chaired by Dr. Wang Pin. Dr. Figueredo shared his experiences in language description, discussing interpersonal values and other elements in the description process, and used Brazilian Portuguese to explore how context influences language description.

Professor Jim Martin from the University of Sydney delivered the final plenary speech of the conference titled "Tagalog Retrospective: Recruiting Meaning", chaired by Dr. Zhang Dongbing. Professor Martin reflected on his research on the grammar and semantics of Tagalog, sharing his experiences with its systemic functional description and the challenges encountered, demonstrating the flexibility and applicability of the Systemic Functional framework for language description.

The closing ceremony of the conference was hosted by Dr. Wang Pin, Director of the Martin Center. Professor Jim Martin from the University of Sydney delivered the closing remarks. Finally, Dr. Wang Pin provided a summary of the conference and expressed gratitude to all participants. With that, the conference successfully concluded.