China English: Attitudes, legitimacy, and the native speaker construct

Abstract

China English (CE) is the fastest growing variety of English in the world. While some estimate that there are between 200-400 million learners of English in mainland China, other researchers put the numbers between 440-650 million (cf. Bolton & Graddol, 2012; He & Zhang, 2010). Although not all learners of English in China will become active users of English, the numbers above are staggering, especially if we consider that the population of the United States is currently 319 million (United States Census Bureau, 2014). As Kirkpatrick (2007: 151) notes, CE is 'soon likely to be the most commonly spoken variety of English in Asia'. One could argue that, judging by the numbers given above, CE will become the most commonly spoken variety of English in the world.