Resumen de A sociolinguistic perspective on Brunei

Peter W. Martin

• The independent Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam on the northern coast of Borneo is a small Malay Islamic monarchy with apopulation that onlyjust exceeds a quarter ofa mülion. It is only in the last decade that the linguistic Situation in Brunei has been described. Using a historical framework, this article provides a brief overview of the sociolinguistic Situation in Brunei.

  Particular emphasis is given to the r öle ofthe two major varieties of Malay used in the country, Bahasa Melayu and Brunei Malay, to the role of English in the Community and the classroom, and to the declining role of the minority languages.