The 16th World Congress of Applied Linguistics kicked off Wednesday in a Chinese university, marking the first time for it to be held in the world’s most populous country.

More than 1,500 participants from 63 countries and regions are attending the five-day congress under the theme of “Harmony in Diversity: Language, Culture, Society,” according to the China English Language Education Association (CELEA), one of the Chinese organizers.

During the congress, linguists will discuss linguistic teaching, language application in different careers, and language in society.

Applied linguistics is usually described as dealing with the theoretical and empirical investigation of real world problems in which language and communication are the central issue.

The five-day congress is held every three years. Since its debut in Nancy, France in 1964, each has focused on the discussion of the most heatedly debated linguistic issues of the time.

The International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) organizes the congress, and it’s hosted by branch institutions in different countries and regions.

Chinese scholars made their first bid for the 15th congress at the 2002 Singapore Congress, hoping to host the “Applied Linguistics Olympics” side by side with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but lost to Essen, Germany.

It was not until July 23, 2005, when a second bid won the right to host.

See: Cri English. com