The Handbook of World Englishes, 2nd Edition

8English in Southeast Asia

EE LING LOW

1 Introduction

Southeast Asia is a region where great linguistic and cultural diversity exists. As described by Azirah and Low (2014), English plays a major role for both intranational and international purposes of communication and the region provides rich linguistic data for research. Interestingly, the varieties of English within the region fall into different Kachruvian circles, the Outer Circle, which comprises countries where English was first spread through colonization by the British or Americans (e.g. Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei), and the Expanding Circle, where English is mainly used as a foreign language (e.g. in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia). This chapter provides a state‐of‐the‐art introduction to English in Southeast Asia. It begins with a brief description of English in Southeast Asia from the historical and sociopolitical perspectives. It then provides a description of features of English in the Outer Circle and Expanding Circle countries based on latest research findings. The chapter ends by highlighting some areas that need further research and the possible paradigm shifts that might need rethinking as current research in the region unfolds.

2 The Historical and Sociopolitical Aspects of English in Southeast Asia

The spread of English to Southeast Asia was mainly through colonization, except for Thailand, which did not fall prey to any colonial powers. The colonial history ...