Following his article ‘Global English invades Poland’ (ET50, Apr 97, Vol 13.2), the author explores the comparable impact of English on advertising in a second Eastern European nation.

Global English continues its unchecked spread, not only as the second language of choice for more people than any other, but also as an infiltrator whose words creep into the fabric of other languages through such avenues as film, television, popular music, the World Wide Web, advertising and youth culture.

A report on independent ELT undertakings in the world's most populous country. The teaching of English as a foreign language in China has expanded rapidly in the last two decades. In colleges all over China, from key universities to small provincial institutions, non-English majors have to study English for at least two years and they have to pass the College English Test (CET) Band 4 before they can get their graduation certificates. In the year 2000, over 3.5 million candidates sat for the CET in the summer.

This paper discusses pidgin English, and far from calling it a corrupt and decayed form of the English language (as has been the case in many well-meaning literary circles), shows that pidgin has poetic resources capable of expressing a wide range of mentalities, tastes, customs, and even fashion itself. Because of this flexibility, pidgin reveals a high degree of closeness to the original speech patterns, notably in an attempt to preserve syntactical equivalents. Thus, if pidgin is adopted as a lingua franca throughout the sub-Saharan African region, it will enable Africans to take new pride in their artistic traditions and non-Africans to share in the joy and excitement of Africa's art.

Rakesh Chaudhary opens a window on hybridization in Hyderabad, the capital of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, in the trendy market area called Nampally.

An examination of the culture, identity and function of English in Singapore.

The widespread use of English in Singapore has placed Singapore in the Outer Circle, along with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines and others, in contrast with Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and others who belong to the Inner Circle (Kachru,1991). Placing countries in different circles – inner vs outer or expanding, based on the concept of nativization – has generated questions of democracy in linguistic ideology and related issues of norms and standards. These are discussed.

Comment: Euro-evolution?, Tom McArthur; Usage 1: Klamp Santouits – buttered or battered?, Michael Bulley; Usage 2: Following Langscape..., Grahame T. Bilbow and Li Lan; Usage 3: Its time for a sound change, Mary Blockley; Review: The dictionary and the disk, Paul Pauwels; Post

A report on, and a glossary of, imaginative usage in the world of drug-taking.

Comment: ‘-(g)lish names’ and other matters, Tom McArthur; Usage: English in bereavement advertising in India, Raja Ram Mehrotra; Lexicon: OED update; Usage: Pidgin English in anglophone Cameroon, Paul Mbufong; Education 1: Technology helps dyslexic and dyspraxic children, Sheila Burke; Education 2: World English: A blessing or a curse? (European Year of Languages, 2001), Tom McArthur; Post

CrossworLd by Frank Palmer, Lexicon 1: ‘What's that bird?’ by Paul Rastall, Usage: ‘IN versus ON revisited’, by Tim Connell, Lexicon 3: ‘OED update’, ‘Hardy Perennial’, poem by Roger Berry

This paper aims to examine the features which make Malaysian English a distinctive variety of English. Firstly, its origins and development will be discussed before briefly considering different types of Malaysian English. This will be followed by an analysis of the linguistic characteristics, with a particular emphasis on lexical features. Finally, the current status of Malaysian English will be assessed whilst reflecting on its possible position and role in the future.

A survey of hybridization in proper names and commercial signs. CODE-SWITCHING is commonly seen as more typical of the spoken language. But there are some areas of language use, including business names (e.g. restaurants), where foreign proper names, common nouns and sometimes whole phrases are imported into the written language too. These constitute a more stable variety of code-switching than the spontaneous and more unpredictable code-switching in the spoken language.

A discussion of language choices in a multilingual region of Malaysia.

Sarawak is a Malaysian state located on the island of Borneo. More than 20 languages are spoken there among only 1.99 million people in Sarawak. People who visit Sarawak for the first time are often baffled and intrigued by the diversity of languages and the ease with which Sarawakians switch between them. To add to the complexity of language choice, there is also some competition between English and Standard Malay for dominance in language use.

This paper considers the reasons for the complex language scenario in Sarawak, the social implications of language choices, and the important personal characteristics to consider in making language choices.

Reviews of Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, and Language Death, by David Crystal

Review: Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe, Languages in Britain and Ireland