Over the years, scholars in the field of world Englishes and other relevant areas of research and practice refer to ‘Chinese English’, assuming that it exists, by a number of different names, e.g., Chinese English, China English, Chinglish, New Chinglish, Chinese Pidgin English, and Chinese Englishes, to list just a few. There are underlying ideologies and perspectives to these names: e.g., whether Chinese English is conceptualized as a variety of English, an interlanguage, a lingua franca, or a constituent of a multilingual repertoire for intercultural communication involving Chinese speakers of English.

Over a year ago, our English Today editors proposed to develop a ‘special feature’ section devoted to the controversies related to the naming of English varieties. Such a topic can be of broad interest to our readers and the English Today community, since the naming of Englishes is an ongoing issue with many varieties of English. This is also something that comes close to a debate, as some of the authors in this current ‘special feature’ section describe it as ‘terminological puzzles’ and ‘a terminology turf war’.

In this ‘special feature’ section, we include six curated essays showcasing a collection of different views, perspectives and positions regarding naming Chinese English. The essays include ‘Living with 中式英语 Zhongshi Yingyu: An autobiographical account’ by Li Wei; ‘China English and Chinese culture’ by Lin Pan and Philip Seargeant; ‘China's English – what's in the name?’ by Zoya Proshina; ‘Proposing Chinese English as a lingua franca (ChELF) to address terminological puzzles in researching English and Chinese speakers in international communication’ by Ying Wang; ‘The China English fallacy: A terminology turf war’ by Yiyang Li; and ‘Why China English should give way to Chinese English’ by David C. S. Li.

The issue of naming a variety of English, such as Chinese English, has much broader implications than what we call English in a particular region or nation from a geopolitical sense. It opens into issues of agency, autonomy and self-determination in language learning and use in varying local and global contexts. It is hoped that this ‘special feature’ section contributes to our understanding of ‘What's in a name’ not just in relation to the varying names of Chinese English, but also the dynamic naming practices and their underlying ideologies across all world Englishes.