Mute English is a phenomenon, especially common in the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, where people can read and understand English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 as a second language

Second language acquisition

Second-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process...

 but cannot speak it well. The phrase is a translation of the Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 phrase, "哑巴英语" ("ya ba ying yu" in pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

). The phenomenon is sometimes referred to as Dumb English.

Mute English occurs primarily due to the lack of native English speakers

First language

A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...

 to emulate or practice with, particularly in a country as large as China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. Efforts to mitigate Mute English in China have resulted in numerous commercial products including TEFL schools

Teaching English as a foreign language

Teaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. TEFL usually occurs in the student's own country, either within the state school system, or privately, e.g., in an after-hours language school or with a tutor...

 and teach-yourself courses, international exchanges

Student exchange program

A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...

, and the eagerness with which Chinese students strive to practice their English with foreign visitors.

Though any language can have its form of mute speakers (e.g. Mute Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

), the phenomenon of 'Mute English' in China is a massive, acknowledged problem, one which the school systems and students are attempting to address.

A related concept is the less-common Deaf English.

Sources

• Minglang Zhou and Hongkai Sun, Language Policy in the People’s Republic of China, http://www.springerlink.com/content/r8342831108m3748/
• Kinam Jin, and Hyun Jong Song, Short-term Migration and the Acquisition of a World Language Gillian Stevens
• People.com.cn, Headline: Do not Learn "Mute English" (Silent English), http://www.people.com.cn/english/9807/10/head.htm
• Guo Fang, A Comparison Between Online English Language Teaching and Classroom English Language Teaching, http://www.beiwaionline.com/tutor/2003collection/guofang.htm