The Corpora of China English: Implications for an EFL Dictionary for Chinese Learners of English

The localization of the English language in China has brought about a distinctive English variety which has come to be known as China English. Recently, several corpora of China English have been or are being built; these will help us to identify the established linguistic features of this variety, and should greatly facilitate the compilation of an English dictionary for Chinese learners of English who operate in Chinese cultural contexts and need to refer to China-specific concepts and phenomena. This paper briefly introduces China English corpora in terms of their principles, components and current status, and explores their potential application to lexicographical projects in terms of lemma selection and inclusion, definition extraction, and glossing and labeling systems.