AT FIRST glance the status of English in Hongkong appears as a traditional legacy of colonialism. English is the language of laws and government documents, of schools and universities, of place and street names, of courts and councils. A variety of subtle inducements, and some not so subtle, encourage intercourse with Britain for educational, legal and business purposes, and the language of such intercourse is English. But at the end of June that will all be over. Hongkong will be returned to Chinese sovereignty and the advantages of English will disappear. What next?

The American journalist BARRY NEWMAN asks some apocalyptic questions about spelling.

A consideration of the nature of English as an international medium

How English-language broadcasting has evolved throughout the century, especially in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia

PAUL RASTALL looks into the decline of [j] in Received Pronunciation

ANTHEA FRASER GUPTA considers the complex and thorny issue of the languages people may, could, must or should use

ANTHEA FRASER GUPTA considers changing attitudes in Asia, and particularly Singapore, regarding the virtues and vices of the English language.

Reflections on why English words are becoming increasingly widespread in Spain

Observations on a variety of English that recently created a worldwide stir

The impact and implications of British and American pronunciation models in South America's largest country

A discussion of the fashionable concept ‘International English’ and its signs in so many non-Anglophone cities

A report on developments in pronunciation in the English of New Zealand

A report on the history and current condition of English in southern South America

A survey of English-language borrowings among Mexican consumers

An analysis of the use of English in Polish magazine advertisements

In this issue, DALE ROBERTS considers a range of recent, especially American, usages

S. A. OMODIAOGBE discusses the present condition of English language teaching in Nigeria

PAUL RASTALL looks at some recently-developing omissions of n-, t- and d- sounds in southern England

ANTHEA FRASER GUPTA reflects on accents, pronunciation, spelling reform, and linguistic moralizing from England in 1775 to present-day Singapore