For the purposes of this article, Southeast Asia includes the following five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Apart from being members of the same political and educational organisations such as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation), all these countries have been studied as a region for the varieties of English spoken in them (Noss 1983; Llamzon 1983; Noss 1984). It seems reasonable, therefore, to include them as a single area. Hong Kong, consisting of the island of Hong Kong itself, Kowloon and the New Territories, fits less easily into the region although certain similarities and differences between Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, have been pointed out by Platt (1982a: 384).

The aim of this article is to present an overview of the work done on selected sociolinguistic aspects of English in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. This will be done by (a) highlighting common themes found in the published research on varieties of English in Southeast Asia; (b) discussing in greater depth the descriptions and analyses of the variety of English spoken in each of the countries mentioned above.

The focus throughout is on research already carried out rather than on what needs to be done. Accordingly, it is only in the conclusion that gaps in the current research are discussed and directions for future research on English in the region suggested.