English Language Education (ELE) and the Graduate School (GS) jointly organized a seminar titled "China English or Chinese English? The Coming of Age of an Indigenized Variety" on October 10th. The seminar was honored to have Prof. David C.S. LI as the guest speaker, and over 30 participants attended both in person and online.

At the beginning of the seminar, Prof. LI explained that his exploration of "China English or Chinese English" stemmed from the ongoing debate in World Englishes regarding the terminology used to describe English in China. He highlighted the widespread use of "China English" but emphasized the need for consistent terminology to study English usage in China. Motivated by these, he presented his insights based on literature review and data analysis.

Prof. LI found that the number of English learners and users in China has significantly increased in recent decades. English in China has evolved beyond being merely a performance variety and has become a sophisticated language with extensive usage. While "China English" refers to the nation, "Chinese English" emphasizes its use by the Chinese people and their ownership of this global lingua franca.

In conclusion, Prof. LI argued that the term "China English" no longer accurately represents the sophisticated use of English by educated bilingual users in China. Instead, he proposed embracing the term "Chinese English" to better reflect the connection between the language and its users, particularly emphasizing its use within China, including spontaneous Chinese-Chinese interactions.

During the Q&A section of the seminar, many attendees posed interesting questions, leading to scholarly interactions and further in-depth exploration of the topic.