ABSTRACT
In this chapter, drawing on data from the Asian Corpus of English (ACE), a corpus of English as a lingua franca use among Asian multilinguals, the majority of whom are from ASEAN countries, I shall illustrate how English is being shaped and adapted by Asian multilinguals, both linguistically and culturally. The linguistic focus will be on the use or non-use of a selection of non-standard morpho-syntactic forms and whether or not their use gives rise to problems in communication. The role of the speaker’s first language – in terms of both code-mixing and linguistic transfer – will also be discussed. The cultural focus will be on how speakers represent their own culture(s) and the cultures of the region in their use of English. The chapter will conclude with suggestions for ELT pedagogy and policy.
