Anglophone cultures in southeast Asia

The field of English has expanded into a global domain, raising both welcoming and critical voices in many parts of the world. In search of new perspectives on Anglophone Cultures in Southeast Asia, this collection of essays pays tribute to the development of new cultural centres beyond the inner circle of a Western Anglophone consciousness, taking the reader to other parts of the world where English has played a significant role over the last two hundred years in a political as well as in a linguistic sense. Southeast Asia is different not only because it had to live through a long history of colonising conflicts; it is also different from other colonised continents and countries by its lack of clear-cut geographical borders. This openness to so many seafaring and trading nations has made it - not always for its own benefit - one of the world's most lively thoroughfares. In view of the enormous variety of possible subjects and of contradicting forces which make this part of the world unique, Hong Kong suggested itself as an epicentre of this burgeoning multicultural exchange. The volume focus on this place demonstrates the vast variety of new developments while English still retains its position as a prominent means of local and international communication.