The Workshop on Innovations in Cantonese Linguistics (WICL) -- the first event held in North America that was devoted solely to Cantonese linguistics -- was held on 16-17 March 2012 in Hagerty Hall, on the Ohio State University campus. Organized by OSU’s Graduate Association of Chinese Linguistics (GACL) and the Institute of Chinese Studies, it was sponsored by eight different organizations and departments, including DEALL. The WICL Organizing Committee consists of Professor Marjorie Chan (DEALL) and Tsz-Him Tsui (Linguistics) as co-chairs, with Professor Zhiguo Xie, Yutian Tan, and Litong Chen (DEALL) as committee members. They were assisted by other GACL officers and GACL members, as well as faculty members in DEALL and other units.

Twenty-six presenters from the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and Italy participated at the 1-1/2 day workshop. Including faculty and students at Ohio State University and neighboring institutions such as Ohio University, some eighty people attended the event. Three keynote speakers were invited to present their work at WICL:  Professor Alan Yu (University of Chicago),  Professor Anne Oi-Kan Yue (University of Washington), and Professor Benjamin Ka-Yin T'sou (Hong Kong Institute of Education). OSU alumni who participated in the event were: Professor Dana Scott Bourgerie (Brigham Young University), Roxana Suk-Yee Fung (Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Chunsheng (George) Yang (Northwestern University), Jing Yan (Columbus Academy), John (“Jack”) Rouzer (School of Teaching & Learning, OSU), and last but not least, keynote speaker Professor Anne Oi-Kan Yue, who completed her dissertation in 1966 under Professor William S-Y. Wang and was the second graduate student to receive a Ph.D. degree in linguistics at OSU.