A central issue in language testing is the choice of norms, and the need to reconcile notions of "standard" English with local language norms and features. Data from studies of international intelligibility indicate that some features of "standard" language descriptions, based on native-speaker language use, are not essential…

In the last 15 years or so, Malaysian English has begun to come into its own as a dialect peculiar to its own region and yet intelligible on the whole to English speakers everywhere. There is evidence that English is undergoing a transitional stage in Malaysia; use of English is progressively reduced as use of Bahasa Malaysia is increased. The…

This issue contains articles ranging from a theoretical discussion of the nature of an international language to an assessment of the implications of teaching a local form of English. The following articles are included: (1) "International English and Language Variation," by M. Lester; (2) "The English Language, Ideology, and…