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1、A Brief Study of China English1. IntroductionOf the over five thousand languages in the world, English is the most widely used language. Since the past half century, English has become a Lingua Franca. It is estimated that the total number of the persons speaking English in the world had reached two
2、 billion by the end of the twentieth century (Todd 1995: 41). From the Eastern Hemisphere to the Western one, people can hear various “ Englishes, ” which means that English has many varieties. Apart from the “ standard ” British English and American English, there are other Englishes such as Canadi
3、an English, Australian English, New Zealand English, Indian English, South African English, Singapore English, Malta English, Zambia English, Hongkong English, Japanese English, China English. We can see clearly that English has become an international language. The fact that the English varieties s
4、erve various functions of social communication requires us to make a full investigation and research in the varieties and their distinctive cultures. Only by doing so, can English as a world language successfully serve its communication function across cultures and national boundaries.2. A Brief Acc
5、ount of the Study of China English2.1 Achievement of the Study on China English.English has been widely used all over the world as a communicative language. In some way, it is an international language. It has been more than 200 years since Robert Morrison, the first missionary from Britain, came to
6、 China to teach English in 1807. Nowadays, English has rooted on China since Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1841. English is more widely used in China than ever before with the development of the socialist market economy. So it is very important to focus on the study of English in China. Language
7、 is closely related to culture. Every language is part of its culture. Meanwhile, it is a tool used for cultural exchange. On the one hand, a given language is inseparable from its cultural settings. The specific language pattern can represent its cultural patterns. On the other hand, one language c
8、an be combined with another culture. Once the reconstruction of a given language with another culture diverges from the language patterns of a prior culture, the new variant is different from the original language. Chinese culture is different from English culture. It has its own characteristics. Ac
9、cordingly, once English is combined with Chinese culture, it becomes a new language with Chinese cultural features that is no longer Standard English (Standard English means the English which is used by Englishmen and the Americans). The language is called Chinese/Sanitized/ China English.2.2 Foreig
10、ners researchesForeign scholars have noticed the phenomenon of China English. But they use the term of “Chinese English” instead of “China English.” The phrase “Chinese English” is listed in the book International English Usage coauthored by British scholar Todd and American scholar Hancock (1986) w
11、ho expound Chinese English in the aspects of phonology, lexicon and grammar with inclusion of China English and Chinese English. All the living examples in the book are about Chinese interference. The following are the characteristics of Chinese English in the book by the two foreigners mentioned:In
12、 phonology, the phonological variation of Chinese English results from the Chinese language and the dialects of the Chinese speakers. Since Chinese is a language with four tones, Chinese people feel that it is very hard to master English intonation well, and they either bring Chinese tones to Englis
13、h or have no obvious intonation when speaking English.In lexicon, the authors cite many English words concerning Chinese food, philosophy and historical dynasties.In grammar, the two cases are mentioned. One is that Chinese people tend to use active sentence structure instead of passive one that is
14、frequently used in English; the other refers to the mistakes in tense due to Chinese interference.3China English and Chinglish3.1 Historical studiesGe Chuangui (1980) is the first scholar who coins the term “ China English” in a paragraph of about six hundred Chinese characters. In this paragraph, h
15、e suggests that much attention should be drawn to distinguish China English and Chinglish. Ge also holds that the English language originally is the language of English people. Other peoples who use English should follow the idiomatic and conventional ways of the English people. However, each nation
16、 has its specific culture. As in China, there must be typical Chinese culture and way of life to be expressed in English; that is, China English is to express Chinese phenomena and ideas. Ge points out: “Every country has its own situation. As for our China, be it old or new one, it has many things
17、with Chinese characteristics that need to be expressed when they are spoken or written in English.” To support his idea, he cites the examples as follows:Imperial examination (科举), Hanlingyuan (翰林院), May Fourth Movement (五四运动), Mr. Science (赛先生), Mr. Democracy (德先生), Xiucai (秀才), eight-legged essay
18、(八股文) Baihuawen (白话文), two hundred policies (双百方针), ideological remolding (思想改造), four modernizations (四个现代化), and so on.According to Mr. Ge, all these English versions with Chinese characteristics are correct English and should belong to China English (Ge Chuangui 1980: 91-92).Wang Rongpei (1991),
19、in his article The Objective Existence of China English, holds that the definition of China English should include the following three aspects:1) China English is used by Chinese people in Chinese native land.2) China English should have the Standard English as its core.3) China English has its uniq
20、ue features.Li Wenzhong (1993: 19) challenges Wang Rongpeis definition of China English by publishing his article China English and Chinese English. Here are Lis arguments about the point:1) The use of China English is not restricted to Chinese native land. Many English words from Chinese have enter
21、ed English by means of transliteration and loan translation, for example, tea (茶), kowtow (叩头), Great Leap Forward (大跃进), Gang of Four (四人帮), and so on. All these English words or phrases, be they used in China or abroad, are China English. He thinks that even such expressions as “Little Red Book” a
22、nd “Communist China” might be considered as China English, which are coined by the westerners and are never used in the native land of China. Furthermore, China English is now mainly for the international use, and its nativization does not mean that it must be used in the land of China.2) The wordin
23、g of “Standard English” seems questionable. Considering the fact that neither British English nor American English is regarded as the “Standard English,” but just as a variety of English, so-called “Standard English” ceases to exist and should be replaced by “Normative English” which complies with t
24、he general rules of the English language and can be accepted and understood by English-speaking peoples. Based on his argument, Li Wenzhong makes his definition of China Englishbelow: “China English is an English variety that has Normative English as its core, expresses the social and cultural matte
25、rs specific in China, frees from Chinese interference or influence, enters the English language by means of transliteration, loan translation, semantic regeneration and reflects Chinese features at the aspects of lexis, syntax and discourse.”Li thinks that Chinglish is deformed English and is caused
26、 by the interference of Chinese language which does not follow the universal rules of the native English language, culture and custom. In other words, Chinglish refers to the “Sinicized English” which can be seen in sound, vocabulary and text due to the linguistic transfer or the rigid translation b
27、y Chinese people, thus it is not accepted by the native English-speaking people. Its composition and use scope are unstable and limited; it can cause obstruction to foreign communication and culture exchange. With frequent communication and culture exchange between China and the western countries, t
28、his kind of unaccepted “English” will be less and less. In brief, although China English and Chinglish are interrelated in some aspects, there is a fundamental distinction between them. The former is regarded as an accepted English variety that can enrich the English language, while the latter is un
29、acceptable and will bring barriers and misunderstanding in international communication.3.2 What is China English?The author in the present paper thinks that the above definitions of China English have a concentration on the following four points:The first is about the “standard English.” The author
30、holds that the “standard English” does not exist at all since neither British English nor American one is regarded as a “standard” English, but each of them as an English variety. However, we may refer to such Englishes as British English, American English, Australian English and Singapore English a
31、s “normative” English which conform to the general rules of English language and can be understood by the native English speakers.The second concerns the scope of China English, that is, whether it has been use in native Chinese land. Modern sociolinguists divide English varieties into two kinds int
32、ernational and international in terms of their purpose and function(Sun Li 1989). This division clearly indicates that any English variety can be used beyond its native land and enter international use. China English is mainly an international variety. We take Chinese borrowings for instance. From t
33、he seventeenth to twentieth century, many Chinese borrowings directly entered English through transliteration such as tea (茶), kowtow（叩头）, yamen （衙门）, Great Leap Forward（大跃进）, Great Cultural Revolution （文化大革命）, Gang of Four （四人帮）,Four Modernizations （四个现代化）. All these English versions of course belo
34、ng to China English no matter where they are used.The third is whether China English has the interference from Chinese. As is well known, the relation between language and thought is of dialectical unity. Language development can promote that of thought, and vice versa. An accomplishedlanguage acqui
35、sition marks the formation of a certain thinking mode. Ones English inevitably has Chinese features once he or she has acquired Chinese and formed the way of Chinese thinking. Accordingly, the Chinese features of China English are unavoidably caused by the intrinsic thinking model specific to Chines
36、e people and culture (Jiang Xiaohong 2001). China English does not exist without Chinese interference. When ones English proficiency is improved, ones Chinese interference may be less, but it can never disappear completely. This is even so for an expert in English. So long as one has Chinese as ones
37、 native language and thinks in Chinese way, ones English is definitely characteristic of Chinese flavour. Professor Yang Zijian once asked Chinas famous translator Ye Junjian, “You have written many novels in English, and do you think there is Chinglish in your novels?” Ye replied with no hesitation
38、, “Yes, there is; however, it is not called Chinglish but sinicized English (汉化英语).(We call it now China English). I am a Chinese and I cannot be free from Chinese thinking when using English.” (Xie Zhijun 1995). Xie Zhijun (1995) once makes a contrast between the two English versions of a very famo
39、us Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions translated by Mr. Yang Xianyi and his wife, and by D.Hawkes and John Minford respectively; he finds that there are many cases about China English in Yangs version, for example there are a lot of short sentence patterns and less relative words.The fourth is on
40、 the scope of the features of China English, that is, whether China English has the features at the level of phonology. Theoretically, since China English is an English variety, its features should be shown at all the linguistic levels: phonology, lexis, syntax and discourse. In practice, Chinese al
41、ways have the Chinese talk when speaking English. For example, even the English announcers in the program of CCTV (China Central Television) International utter English with the obvious Chinese accent.On the basis of the argument above, the author in the present paper defines China English in this w
42、ay: China English, with Normative English as its core, is an English variety used by Chinese people; it has the Chinese features unavoidably influenced by both the Chinese language and the way of Chinese thinking; it possesses the linguistic characteristics shown at the levels of phonology, lexis, s
43、yntax and discourse.3.3 What is Chinglish?Chinglish, or Chinese English, is a deformed English phenomenon misused by Chinese people, and it obviously violates the general English rules, culture and custom; its composition and use scope are unstable and limited; besides, it does great harm to interna
44、tional communication and the spreading of Chinese civilization. Therefore, Chinglish is not accepted by native English speakers. Most sentences of Chinglish are produced by misunderstanding semantic meaning or logic relations, and some are even arranged in Chinese structures. The following sentences
45、 are good examples about Chinglish:My stomach is hungry. “我的肚子饿了.”My age is very young. “我的年龄很轻.”His brain is clever. “他的脑子聪明.”All the English versions above are organized in Chinese structures and are publicly thought of as non-normative English.There are many Chinglish sentences directly translate
46、d from Chinese with the Chinese terms, culture and taste; and all of them are Chinese-flavoured English. The sentence below can well exemplify this point:Whatever men comrades can accomplish, women comrades can too.“凡是男同志能做到的, 女同志也能做到.”The normative English sentence for it should be:“Women can also
47、accomplish whatever men can do.”3.4 The relationship between China English and ChinglishChina English and Chinglish are interrelated in some aspects: both of them are to express Chinese things and have Chinese features. Yet there is an essential distinction between them: China English is normative E
48、nglish and a member of the world English; its composition and use scope are much richer and wider than Chinglish. China English, with its increasing publicity to the world, will exert a great influence on the English language. However, Chinglish is a deformed language with the unstable composition a
49、nd narrow use scope; it can cause barriers in Chinas international communication and culture spreading. Some Chinglish sentences have entered English, for instance，the sentence “Long time no see.” (好久不见了。) originally is a pidgin English, but now it is uttered by many native English speakers. Nevertheless, such cases are very rare.It should be noted that there is a great deal of pragmatic errors in the materials publicized to overseas countries a
