Author(s)

YiShun Tao, Hang Yu^*

Affiliation(s)

School of Foreign Studies, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710129, Shaanxi, China.

Corresponding Author

Hang Yu

ABSTRACT

This study presents a sociolinguistic analysis of the lexical features of China English through a close textual examination of Amy Tan’s novel, The Kitchen God's Wife. The findings reveal that China English vocabulary in the novel exhibits culturally distinctive semantic traits and unique structural patterns shaped by dual cultural influences. Specifically, the lexicon displays strong Chinese characteristics across four semantic domains: material life, addresses and names, folklore and customs, and idioms and sayings. Meaning analysis underscores the intimate relationship between language and culture. These lexical items are realized through three main construction strategies: transliteration, transliteration with paraphrase, and loan translation. The flexible use of these strategies reflects the authors' distinctive bicultural background and literary style. This study aims to enhance the understanding of China English in literary contexts and to contribute to the analysis of Chinese American literature and the translation of Chinese culture.

KEYWORDS

Chinese American literature; China English; Lexical features

CITE THIS PAPER

YiShun Tao, Hang Yu. China English in fiction: lexical features and sociolinguistics function in The Kitchen God's Wife. Journal of Language, Culture and Education Studies. 2025, 2(1): 54-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/jlces3017.

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