English is the lingua franca in the world and the importance of English has been recognized in China. The country is changing at a remarkable speed, and this can be seen in the increasing number of people learning English which foster the growth of China English. Like other English varieties in the world, China English is a developing new variety with its own lexicon, structure, and discourse. However, a unique feature of China English is that it expresses Chinese culture and has Chinese characteristics in its lexis, sentence structure and discourse.
Phonetic features
Speakers of China English tend to pronounce /s/ where a speaker of Standard English would use /θ/ which is an unvoiced dental fricative because Mandarin has no sound equivalent to /θ/. Thus, speakers choose the closest linguistic component available to them, which is /θ/, as a substitute. Because Mandarin is a language which each word has a single syllable so there is a tendency for China English speakers to use a short clear cut way of speaking.
Speakers of China English tend to pronounce /s/ where a speaker of Standard English would use /θ/ which is an unvoiced dental fricative because Mandarin has no sound equivalent to /θ/. Thus, speakers choose the closest linguistic component available to them, which is /θ/, as a substitute. Because Mandarin is a language which each word has a single syllable so there is a tendency for China English speakers to use a short clear cut way of speaking.
Lexical items
Lexical items in China English express ideas or entities which are specific to Chinese culture. Thus, sometimes it will be meaningless in the context of standard or international Englishes.Terms such as Mid-Autumn festival, red envelope and Four Books are examples of China English’s lexical items. Although these terms can be identified as English, their meaning is often inaccessible to English speakers who do not know Chinese culture. For instance, red envelope can be visualised as an envelope which is red for speakers of other varieties of English. However, for people who know Chinese culture, they would interpret red envelope as a special monetary gift, often given at Chinese New Year. So speakers of other varieties of English may not understand the meaning of these lexical items.
Sentence structure
The sentence structure is also different from Standard English. In question 1-4, do you know which sentence has the syntax of China English?
1)
a Mary bought a television yesterday.
b Mary yesterday bought a television.
2)
a It is Sunday
b Today is Sunday
3)
a I gave him the book that I bought yesterday.
b I bought a book yesterday and I gave it to him.
4)
a He had been engaged in a construction job, and after he completed it he went to Beijing and now he just flew back the day before.
b He had flown in just the day before from Beijing after the completion of the construction job he had been engaged in.
Discourse
The written discourse patterns of China English differs from Standard English’s because ‘face work’ plays an important role in it. Face work helps an addresses or a speaker to have ‘good face’ which preserves or boosts their image. Users of China English usually have ‘facework’ at the first half of the letter and introduce the reasons for a particular request before making the actual request. For instance,China English speakers make a request by a salutation. Then, they will engage in face work to preserve their image or complement the speakers. I hope my English won’t let you down or It is a happy experience to write to you are some of the examples. Then, they will explain their reasons for writing and continue to employ ‘facework’. Sentences like Your experience and story is very valuable for our website and tourists and I appreciate your writing style and creative idea are some of the examples. Then, they will write their actual request and sign off. In the Chinese cultural context, face is crucial in Chinese society so speakers needs to take extra efforts in engaging in positive face work in discourse so that they can preserve their image. But for the same discourse in Standard English, writers do not need to praise the addresses and find ways to boost their image.
Answers:
1)
b Mary yesterday bought a television.
>There is a preferred word order in China English which is Subject+
Adverb/Adjunct+ Verb+Object.
2)
b Today is Sunday
>Special subjects are often used to replace the dummy pronoun it.
3)
b I bought a book yesterday and I gave it to him.
>Simple and compound sentences are more preferable than complex sentences.
4)
a He had been engaged in a construction job, and after he completed it he went to Beijing and now he just flew back the day before.
>Speakers of China English tend to arrange sentences according to time sequence of the events.
