Chinese Englishes: A Sociolinguistic History

Description

This 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.

Kingsley Bolton is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Hong Kong, where he lectures on sociolinguistics and World Englishes. He has published a number of books and articles on sociolinguistics, Asian Englishes, Hong Kong English, Chinese pidgin English, and Chinese secret societies.

'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