English in Timor-Leste

Abstract

Abstract Timor-Leste differs from most other countries in Southeast Asia in that English is not the primary foreign language. Reflecting the country’s colonial legacy, that place is held by Portuguese, one of two official languages; the other is the indigenous Tetun. English and Bahasa Indonesia are recognized in the Constitution as working languages. This chapter identifies the primary influence of English in Timor-Leste as being lexical. It shows that English forms a visible and dominant part of the linguistic landscape, is a language with instrumental value for Timorese, and is a resource drawn on for communicative purposes by multilingual Timorese, including in the classroom. It also recognizes that the importance attached to Portuguese for nation-building and identity construction is likely to constrain any expansion of the place of English in this complex linguistic ecology in the near future.