China English And Its Linguistic Features

The appearance of the concept of "Englishes" reflects the reality that English is no longer what it used to be. British English and American English are not considered as the only two existing standard Englishes but just as the two English varieties used in the two different countries. People in different regions or countries have their specific English expressions. Apart from British English and American English, there are other Englishes such as Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English, Indian English, South African English, Singapore English, Malta English, Zambia English, Hongkong English, Japanese English, Pakistan English, China English and so on. China English is an English variety used by the native-Chinese people for communication under the specific language environment. China English is quite different from Chinglish which is a deformed English phenomenon misused by Chinese people. This paper, on the basis of the comprehensive analysis on the differences between China English and Chinglish, presents a new definition of China English: 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, syntax and discourse. The Chinese features shown in China English are helpful to spread Chinese civilization and culture. This paper mainly describes and analyses the linguistic features of China English shown at the linguistic levels of phonology, lexis, syntax and discourse. It is also pointed out that the study of China English especially its linguistic features is of great value to English teaching and learning in China.