Chinese perspectives on native English speakers' authority in English

Wang, Ying (2015) Chinese perspectives on native English speakers' authority in English. The 8th International Conference of English as a Lingua Franca, Beijing, China. 24 - 26 Aug 2015.

Abstract

The research into English as a lingua franca (ELF) has challenged the communicative order in the world of English use, which is traditionally centred on native English speakers. Today, English is taking a prominent role of lingua franca as to China’s engagement with globalisation, where the role of English as a foreign language (EFL) is weakening. Given that the changing role of English has a lot to offer to our understanding of English and, in turn, our practice in relation to English, this presentation aims to explore the extent to which Chinese speakers of English for whom ELF is increasingly relevant perceive native English speakers’ authority in English. For this purpose, this presentation reports on the data retrieved through 35 semi-structured interviews with both university students and professionals who had frequent experience of ELF use. The findings show an array of attitudes. Some participants treat native English speakers’ authority in disparaging terms, others view native English speakers as distant idols, and still others believe in the reference to native English speakers’ English. The discussion of different types of attitudes draws on some key points made in the considerate body of literature on ELF and leads to the conclusion that there is the hope that Chinese speakers are claiming their ownership of English and having their own versions of ELF

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