ELF环境下在华各国留学生对英语国别变体的语言态度研究

An Investigation into the Language Attitudes of Multinational Foreign Students in China toward National Varieties of English under ELF Settings

本研究调查了长期在ELF环境下学习和生活的在华各国留学生对各种英语国别变体(包括China English)的语言态度。结果表明,受访者的语言态度总体上较为保守:大多数人对World Englishes、ELF和China English等概念较为陌生,英国英语和美国英语依然被绝大多数受访者奉为完美的标准英语,多数人对非本族语英语变体评价较低。但他们的语言态度也有开放和多元的一面,如:超过一半的受访者认为英语的所有权既属于本族语者,也属于全球的非本族语者。另外,超过一半的受访者认同China English作为新英语国别变体的存在。最后,本次研究还发现,在ELF环境下交流的最大障碍是各国交流者的不同口音,而文化差异并未构成很大障碍,这也体现出交流者有一定的多元文化意识。

In the present study,a questionnaire investigation was carried out into the language attitudes toward different national varieties of English(including“China English”)on the part of international students from a number of countries who are now studying and living in China under ELF(English as a Lingua Franca)settings.The result of the study indicates that their language attitudes remain conservative as a whole,for example,most of them are not familiar with the concepts of“World Englishes”,“ELF(English as a Lingua Franca)”or“China English”;British English and American English are still held by an overwhelming majority of them as perfect Standard English;and most of them hold a rather low opinion of nonnative varieties of English.However,there also seems to be an open and pluralistic aspect of their language attitudes,for example,more than half of the subjects believe that the ownership of the English Language belongs to both native and non-native speakers of the language all over the world,and over half of them have a consensus on the existence of China English as a new national variety of English.At last,the study reveals that the different accents of the speakers of the English language from various countries constitute the biggest obstacle to their mutual communication under ELF settings,whereas,the differences in their native cultures are not so much of a significant barrier.This reflects a certain degree of the consciousness of multiculturalism on the part of the communicators.