Explanation For The Formation Of China English From The Perspective Of Adaptation Theory

It is a truth universally acknowledged that English has become an international language. It is bound to be influenced and consequently be integrated with local cultures and thinking, due to its increasing popularity and importance around the world. As a result, there are many English varieties. Besides American English, many countries and regions, such as India and Singapore among many others, have developed their own ways of using English. China English, an English variety which can be seen as a combination of English language and Chinese culture and mindset, also begins to draw attention from home and abroad.For a long time, we Chinese have failed to give China English its due attention while excessively being fond of so called Standard English. Previous studies on China English largely concentrate on its linguistic description. For this very reason, the main purpose of this study tries to reveal the driving factors for the formation of China English and prove its realistic and legitimate existence through the perspective of Adaption Theory introduced by Verschueren.Beijing Review issued from June2013to April2014is taken as the major resource of linguistic materials. Those linguistic materials reflect the features of China English at lexical, syntactic and discourse level. Qualitative analysis is the major method applied in this study. The vocabularies of China English are chosen and sorted out based on their contents. They should reflect uniqueness of Chinese culture and current lives. At the syntactic level, sentences are collected according to findings of previous studies. Syntactic features are revealed through comparison between China English and Standard English. In order to illustrate textual features, argument essays are collected manually and the discourse pattern of China English is concluded based on statistic figures. With those findings, the author continues to discuss the underlying factors for the formation of China English with Adaptation Theory. According to Verschueren, language has three properties, namely variability, negotiability and adaptability. In contextual correlates, language users have to make proper linguistic choice by adapting to the physical world, the mental world and the social world respectively and China English can be seen as a result of constant adaptation to the three aspects in Chinese contexts.This study has found that those features at the lexical level involve adaptations to the physical world and the social world; the characters at syntax and discourse level are the result of adapting to the mental world and the social world. Those findings prove that China English is an objective and legitimate existence and will lay a solid foundation for its further study.The research of China English is of great significance both in theory and in practice. It can enrich the study contents of world Englishes and raise interest of scholars from home and abroad, thus establishing its position in the big family of world Englishes. Moreover, proper application of China English in English teaching and publication to the outside world can enhance our soft power with a distinctive voice in the international community.