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Chinese perspectives on native English speakers' authority in English

Chinese perspectives on native English speakers' authority in English
Chinese perspectives on native English speakers' authority in English
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
Wang, Ying
dae44497-8e51-48ab-8173-7844f152f6e9
Wang, Ying
dae44497-8e51-48ab-8173-7844f152f6e9

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.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Other)

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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More information

Published date: August 2015
Venue - Dates: The 8th International Conference of English as a Lingua Franca, Beijing, China, 2015-08-24 - 2015-08-26
Organisations: Modern Languages

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 381272
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381272
PURE UUID: ad8619a4-3719-4f32-bd45-6a31c62441b3

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 Sep 2015 15:47
Last modified: 11 Dec 2021 07:34

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