A Brief Introduction of China English

LI Yongxian

【Abstract】China English does exist. The recognition and knowledge of China English can not only empower English learners of the English variety they are using in their surroundings， but it also can enhance learners communicative competence in cross-cultural communities. This paper overviews the current situation of China English in terms of its definition and linguistic features at four levels： phonology， lexicon， syntax and discourse pragmatics.

【Key words】China English； linguistic features； phonology； lexis； syntax； pragmatics

1. Introduction

The English variety in China is categorized regionally into East Asian varieties and functionally into non-institutionalized varieties of the Expanding Circle （Jenkins， 2009， p.44）. English is spoken by Chinese people for international business and communication more often with other English speakers from Outer Circle countries than with native speakers of Inner Circle countries. Like any other variety in the Outer Circle， codification is very important for the legitimization of English variety in Expanding Circle countries where English is used as a foreign language rather than a second or an official language. So far， the most comprehensive achievement at codifying Asian Englishes is the Macquarie Regional Asian English Dictionary， which documents the Englishes of South-East and South Asian， but not East Asian Englishes （Jenkins， 2009， pp. 91-95）. Despite the fact that there is a lack of codified references and grammar books of China English， it is yet an undeniable fact of the existence of China English （Wang， 1991）.

China English does exist. The recognition and knowledge of China English can not only empower English learners of the English variety they are using in their surroundings， but it also can enhance learners communicative competence in cross-cultural communities. Helping learners get familiar with different English varieties in college English classrooms is preparing them for code-switching in international communication. This paper briefly introduces China English in terms of its definition and linguistic features at four levels： phonology， lexicon， syntax and discourse pragmatics.

2. The Definition of China English

In the existing literatures， “Chinglish”， “Chinese English”， “Sinicized English” and “China English” have been mentioned （see He and Li， 2009， overview）. Wang （1991） concludes that “Chinese English” is being considered as non-standard， and “Chinglish” is obviously derogative for its indication of broken English with inappropriate use of words and incorrect grammar. He also thinks that “Sinicized English” is inappropriate for the semantic meaning of the suffix “-ize”， and he proposes the use of “China English” for its neutrality. In addition， “China English” is a proper name because it represents the nature of an emerging English variety in China. Mufwene （1994） has argued， “it is better to label an institutionalized variety of English with a pre-modifying adjective （e.g. Indian English， Philippine English， American English）， whereas a pre-modifying noun would be more appropriate for a performance variety like ‘China English” （ as cited in He & Li， 2009， p. 71）. In this sense， it seems inappropriate to use “China English” and “Chinese English” interchangeably.

Wang （1991） first defines China English as “the English used by the Chinese people in China， being based on standard English and having Chinese characteristics” （as cited in Kirkpatrick， 2007， p. 146）. Later， several scholars have redefined “China English”， which is summarized by He and Li （2009）. This paper adopts He and Li's （2009） definition of China English that is a performance variety of English， based on standard Englishes and having Chinese characteristics in terms of phonology， lexis， syntax and discourse pragmatics， which appropriately express Chinese culture and things of China.

3. Major Linguistic Features of China English

China English is at its early stage as an emerging English variety. Even though there is a lack of codified dictionaries， grammar books for teaching/learning reference， there are some distinctive features documented in recent literatures. These literatures provide salient features of China English and are the basis of further research and studies.

3.1 Phonology

Kirkpatrick （2007） points out that little research has been done to explore phonological features of China English. He and Li （2009） also think it is impossible to claim any features that distinctive but common to all speakers of China English （p.72）. Maybe one salient feature that marks China English is its suprasegmental characteristic： stress， intonation and rhythm. Like Mandarin Chinese， China English is syllable-timing rather than stress-timing.

Deterding （2006） analyzes the features of pronunciation of thirteen Chinese students from three different parts of China （northeastern， eastern and central China）. Among those features， some of them are widespread among the thirteen participants， “including replacement of /θ/ with [s]， insertion of a final [?]， avoidance of weak forms for function words， and stressing of final pronouns”（p.194 ）. Others only occur to some participants depending on where they are from. This indicates that people from different regions speak English with regional accent that is influenced by their mother-tongue dialect. Although Deterding's （2006） work does not cover a larger number of China English speakers across China， it does shed light on future research in this field.

There are seven major dialect regions in China： 1） Northern dialect （used by 73% of Han people in China）， 2） Wu dialect （7.2%）， 3） Xiang dialect （3.2%）， 4） Gan dialect （3.3%）， 5） Hakka dialect （3.6%）， 6） Min dialect （5.7%）， and 7） Yue dialect （4%） （Huang & Liao， 2007， pp. 4-5）. Each of the dialect has its own distinctive phonological features. On the other hand， Mandarin Chinese is the medium in school education across China. Therefore， it is argued in this paper that there must be some common phonological distinctive features of China English， which are influenced by Mandarin Chinese in mainland China. In addition， there must be some other distinctive features dependent on dialect regions. In the future， research on phonology of China English should include both widespread features and major regional features in order for a whole picture of China English with linguistic diversity and richness.

3.2 Lexis

Compared with phonology， lexis is well documented in literatures on China English. One important function of word coinage is to bridge the lexical gap between two languages. Considering the unique culture and economic and political systems of Chinese characteristics， it is not surprising to see words of native Chinese to express its uniqueness in all aspects： music， food， politics and current event， etc.

Two most commonly mentioned means of Chinese borrowing are transliteration and loan translation. Transliteration means importing Chinese words without changing form （spelling in pinyin without tones） and meaning， such as： “pinyin （the romanised script for Chinese characters）， Putonghua （Modern Standard Chinese）” （Kirkpatrick， 2007， p.146）. Loan translation means translating Chinese word into English either word-by-word or rearranging word order， e.g.， “criminal policeman” （xíngjǐng in Chinese）， “Foreign experts” （Wàiguó zhuāngjiā in Chinese） （explanation added， Yang， 2005， p. 431）.

Li （1993） concludes that there are in general three means of Chinese borrowing： transliteration， transliteration plus English word and loan translation （p. 20）. Kirkpatrick （2007） gives an example of this “hybrid compound”： ‘xioakang society， a society that all can embrace a better life enjoying better social welfare （p.146）. This is very common in translations of names of road， street such as Jianshe Road and Guofang Street. Also discussed by Kirkpatrick （2007） are direct translations of metaphor， such as 'a flowered pillowcase'， metaphorically means good-looking but useless （p. 147）.

3.3 Syntax

Many scholars have more or less discussed syntactic features of China English. Among them， Xu （2005） provides a summary of these syntactic features as follows （as cited in Kirkpatrick， 2007）.

1. Adjacent default tense （ADT）

2. Null-subject/object （NS/O）

3. Co-occurrence of conjunctions

4. Subject pronoun copying

5. Yes-No response

6. Topic-comment sentence structure

7. Unmarked object subject verb （OSV） word order

8. Inversion in subordinate finite wh-clauses

9. Head nominalised noun phrase

10. Premodification nominalised noun phrases

11. Postmodification nominalised nounphrases

12. Paratactic compound nominalised noun phrases （NPs of equal weight）

13. Hypotactic compound nominalised noun phrases （one NP subordinates to the other）

Compared to phonology， syntactic features of China English are more likely common to all Chinese English speakers since they share the same written language， Chinese.

He and Li （2009） also argue that the special sentence structure of Chinese idioms and proverb should be considered as features of China English （p. 73）. Nearly a five-thousand-year history and culture endows a large number of Chinese idioms and proverbs that have rich cultural connotations， which deserves more attention and effort in cross-cultural communications.

3.4 Discourse Pragmatics

In general， as shown in Kaplan's Doodles that Asian people are thinking in a circular way rather than a linear as Western people （British and American） do （Kaplan， 2005， p. 387）. This way of thinking largely influences the rhetoric pattern of China English： writing inductively rather than deductively. As He and Li （2009） puts “[i]n other words， the most significant point tends to be delayed until a considerable amount of background information has been presented”（p. 74）. Kirkpatrick and Xu （2002） analyze and simplify Kirkpatrick's （1991） schema of a letter of request and they suggest that this transfer of Chinese pragmatic norm into China English is appropriate when communicating with other English speakers in Asian regions. They consider this transfer of pragmatic norms as a marker of identity （p. 274）. Different cultures entail diversified social conventions and certain etiquette in social interactions and cross-cultural communications. As for when to speak what to whom in what situations， Kirkpatrick and Xu （2002） propose a very good code of conduct： “Speakers of Variety X must accommodate to speakers of Variety Y when in the cultural domains of Variety Y speakers and vice versa. When in 'neutral' domains， speakers must accommodate to each other” （p. 274）.

4. Conclusion

China English， a performance variety of English， is characteristic of Chinese language and culture. Linguistic features of phonology， lexis， syntax and pragmatic are documented by scholars. Ignorance of the existence and features of China English may be detrimental to college English teaching and learning. In contrast， knowing China English is not bad， broken language， but another variety of World Englishes can legitimize learners use of China English and strengthen their confidence in using English for communication. Some basic linguistic knowledge of China English helps learners develop their awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. Additionally， it helps learners switch code to ensure appropriateness and efficiency in cross-cultural communication.

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作者简介：李永仙（1980-），女，云南耿马人，文山学院外国语学院讲师，TESOL硕士，研究方向：英语教学、二语习得。