English in Brunei

This article uses a kuih lapis (layer cake) analogy to describe English as one layer contributing to the diversity of indigenous and immigrant languages used in Negara Brunei Darussalam (Brunei). We then review some previous studies of bilingualism among Bruneians before outlining three major challenges facing researchers studying English in Brunei. These challenges comprise: the balance, or imbalance, between English‐medium and Malay‐medium in the national education system since 1985, the question of whether Brunei English is a distinct variety and the issue of whether English has become part of Brunei's identity. These challenges are framed within the dualities of Malay as national and official language, and the nation's need for English for increasing international and global connectedness. The discussion of future directions draws on recent research by Bruneians; these directions include the growing number of first‐language users of English, the position of Brunei English within Schneider's ([Schneider, Edgar W., 2007]) Dynamic Model, the identification of subvarieties of Brunei English, and the notion of Brunei English as a code‐mixed variety.