Chinese Englishes
Chinese Englishes
AUD$82.95
inc GSTThis book explores the history of the English language in China from the arrival of the first English-speaking traders in the early seventeenth century to the present. Kingsley Bolton brings together and examines a substantial body of historical, linguistic and sociolinguistic research on the description and analysis of English in Hong Kong and China. He uses early wordlists, satirical cartoons and data from journals and memoirs, as well as more conventional sources, to uncover the forgotten history of English in China and to show how contemporary Hong Kong English has its historical roots in Chinese pidgin English. The book also considers the varying status of English in mainland China over time, and recent developments since 1997. With its interdisciplinary perspective, the book will appeal not only to linguists, but to all those working in the fields of Asian studies and English studies, including those concerned with cultural and literary studies.
- Provides the first thorough treatment of the pedigree of Hong Kong English
- Describes the interface of the worlds two largest language complexes (English and Chinese) since first contact, using detailed original research
- Offers important new insights for the study of World Englishes, giving illustrations that are interestingly distinct from the better-known regional Englishes, e.g. South Asia or the Caribbean
Reviews & endorsements
'Bolton's Chinese Englishes presents us with a detailed and insightful account of English in Hong Kong and southern China from linguistic, sociolinguistic, and historical perspectives. In this respect, it is a unique contribution to the literature on World Englishes, which has so far largely ignored the historical dimensions of varieties of English around the world. It is clearly a book that anyone interested in this area of research should own, not least because it is likely to become the standard source of reference for future research on the English of China. At the same time, it should be of considerable interest to others in the field of World Englishes for the comprehensive and radically historical approach that it takes to its subject matter.' Journal of English Language and Linguistics
Product details
November 2006Paperback
9780521030014
360 pages
233 × 154 × 20 mm
0.5kg
25 b/w illus. 6 maps 10 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- List of maps
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1. New Englishes and World Englishes: pluricentric approaches to English worldwide
- 2. The sociolinguistics of English in late colonial Hong Kong, 1980–1997
- 3. The archaeology of 'Chinese Englishes', 1637–1949
- 4. The emergence of Hong Kong English as a 'new English'
- 5. Hong Kong, China and Chinese Englishes
- Appendices
- References
- Index.
