Emerging Englishes

This book encourages further conversation on the expanding circle in World Englishes, offering a detailed look at âChina Englishâ through the academic writing of Chinese students at a British university.

The volume seeks to blur the simplistic binary of âChinglishâ, a broad term often understood to encompass grammatical or lexical errors or seemingly âunnaturalâ expressions, and âChina Englishâ, which the authors articulate here as its own variety, as evidenced in language use marked by predictability. The research framework begins with analysing student essays in one programme at the University of Manchester, predominantly made up of Chinese students. In highlighting recurring features and supported by online surveys of the students, the authors demonstrate how âChina Englishâ displays the systematicity in grammar and lexis observed in varieties of English. In focusing on academic writing, a genre which bears prominence in assessment, the book raises key questions about implications for teaching, what is considered appropriate language, and whether, rather than seeking to replace âStandard Englishâ, the notion of what is âstandardâ might be broadened to encompass other varieties. The book further promotes implications beyond pedagogies, to include learning more broadly, marking, curriculum/policy, training, and identity negotiation.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars in language and education, World Englishes, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics.