English as a linguistic resource

Abstract

With the intensification of globalization and advancement of digital communication, interactions online have gained increasing vitality in our life. Online communication now influences the spread of various languages (e.g., English) and semiotic signs (e.g., emoticons) to many countries, especially for those characterized by Kachru (1986) as belonging to the Expanding Circle (e.g., Japan, China — countries where English is usually practiced as a foreign language). Recent inquiries of digital discourse analysis have researched how English and its features are adopted in countries of the Expanding Circle (e.g., Crystal, 2008; Zhang, 2012). This paper continues to explore the linguistic landscape of English practices online, and specifically focuses on how micro-blogging users in mainland China adopt English as a resource for meaningful multilingual communication.