摘要
China English is defined as a developing variety of international English spoken in China with some characteristic features at the level of phonology, grammar, lexis and pragmatics. The authors present the analysis of the use of the first-person plural pronoun we by Chinese senior English majors in spoken English as a way of illustrating how the pragmatic features of these students＇ choice of first-person pronoun manifest according to their social positions. Analysis finds that for these speakers we is used in ways that are consistent with wo-men, first person plural pronoun in Chinese, which is often used ambiguously for non-specific reference. Findings indicate that speakers lacking social power will use the pronoun to reproduce a mainstream or generic discourse. The authors conclude by arguing that Chinese university students＇ use of we can simultaneously be seen as an expression of their English language proficiency and as an adherence to Chinese cultural and pragmatic norms.
中国英语被定义为正在形成的国际英语的一种形式,它的特点表现在音韵、语法、词语以及语用等各个层面。本文作者通过分析中国高年级英语专业本科生在英语口语中对第一人称代词复数we的使用来诠释学生对第一人称代词的选择如何呈现与其社会地位相符的语用特点。分析表明,学生对we的使用与他们对汉语中常指称模糊的第一人称代词复数我们的使用是一致的。研究发现拥有较少社会权力的说话者会使用代词再制主流话语或通指话语。作者认为学生对we的使用表现出他们的英语语言能力,同时也遵守了中国文化及语用准则。
