World Englishes, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 270–280, 2010. 0883-2919 Chinese perceptions of Inner Circle varieties of English BETSY E. EVANS ∗ ABSTRACT: Research from populations around the world on attitudes to varieties of English is essential in order to have a better understanding of how the complexities of globalization play a role in the form of English as a world language. To that end, university students in China were asked to name countries around the world where they believe English is spoken and indicate what kind of impression they have of those varieties without the presentation of voice stimuli. This type of data elicitation enables the participants themselves to provide the researcher with evaluative categories and avoids problems associated with using voice stimuli. The results indicate that the effect of the cultural hegemony of US English as a variety is complex, and that, contrary to assumptions, US English is unlikely to be a model for a ‘standard’ variety of world English in the traditional sense. INTRODUCTION Discussions of the spread of English around the world often include an assumption of a hegemonic influence of US English that will cause world English to resemble that of the US. According to Phillipson (2003: 166), “‘World Standard Spoken English’ is bound to be based on Anglo-American mother tongue norms”. Phillipson concludes that media influence is the reason for this: in entertainment, popular culture, ‘lifestyle’, and consumerism, Americanization and McDonaldization are massively influential. Hollywood products are ubiquitous on television screens, either dubbed or in the original language, on both private and public service channels. (2003: 72) Phillipson isn’t alone in believing in this. Barber (1996: 84) states: the global culture speaks English – or, better, American. In McWorld’s terms, the Queen’s English is little more today than a ‘high-falutin’ dialect used by advertisers who want to reach affected upscale American consumers. American English has become the world’s primary transnational language in culture and the arts as well as science, technology and commerce. In addition to little empirical support for the preference of the American variety as a standard for English, little research has been conducted on the effects of media on language attitudes and language change to sufficiently substantiate this popular belief (Stuart-Smith 2006). Even Graddol’s (2006) assessment of the state of global English does not address how perceptions and attitudes to different varieties of English will play a role in the use and form of global English. If we are to believe the conclusions from the substantial body of research on attitudes to language (e.g. Lambert, Hodgson, Gardner and Fillenbaum 1960; Giles 1970; Giles and Ryan 1982; Niedzielski and Preston 2003), which ∗ University of Washington, Department of Linguistics, Box 34430, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. E-mail: evansbe@u.washington.edu C  2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation C  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.