English-related linguistic creativity and language commodification are a constant topic of interest and analysis for scholars. This volume is intended to initiate a dialogue between these two domains of inquiry that have been abundantly addressed but rarely documented together or in relation to one another.
English as used in mainland China is presented as a case study where it remains rather unclear the extent to which the language is actually used in people’s lives, outside the domain of education. The volume enriches existing empirical studies by exploring the creative and innovative uses of English in people’s lives and its commodification at different language-centred economic spaces within China while also providing an update of our understanding of the sociolinguistic situation of English in China, a country undergoing rapid socio-economic transformation.
English in China is the first attempt to discuss the possible relationship, intersection, and tension between two seemingly inseparable research topics. The book is an important resource for students and scholars in the fields of Applied Linguistics, Bilingualism, Sociolinguistics, Translation, and Contemporary Chinese Studies.
List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Introduction
Songqing Li
Part I: Theoretical framework
1. Linguistic creativity and language commodification research: An intersectional perspective
Songqing Li
2. The politics of English as a commodity in China: From neoliberal globalization to neoliberal nationalism
Shuang Gao
Part II: Creative practices with English
3. Stylization in Chinese online communication: English as resource for creative linguistic practices
Yi Zhang
4. Translational creativity in the linguistic landscape of Shantou: Negotiating the middle ground between globalization and localization in a postcolonial context
Mingming Yuan
5. Creative uses of English in the linguistic landscape of Suzhou
Songqing Li
Part III: English as commodity
6. Teaching English on Douyin: Language commodification and translanguaging
Yaqian Jiang
7. Individualization of Chinese society and commodification of English: Appropriation of English as a valuable resource by the state and individuals in China
Xuesong Andy Gao
8. Exploring commodification of English in advertising posters of online ELT tutoring platform in China
Hui Zhang and Yin Ling Cheung
9. Displaying and commodifying English on shop name signs: Perspectives of business practitioners in China
Guowen Shang and Xianwu Zhou
Coda: New perspectives on English in contemporary China
Kingsley Bolton
Index
Biography
Songqing Li works as Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China where he developed the MA in Applied Linguistics with specialization in Multilingualism, the first programme of its kind in China, for which he currently serves Programme Director. He is the author of Identity Construction in Bilingual Advertising: A Critical Analysis (Routledge, 2019) and co-author (with Junshuan Liu) of Native-Speakerism in English Language Teaching: The Current Situation in China (Cambridge Scholars, 2019). His research has appeared in journals including Applied Linguistics, International Journal of Multilingualism, Semiotica, World Englishes, Journal of World Languages, and English Today.
