ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the sociolinguistic situation of Southeastern Asia. The case studies in this chapter focused on insular Southeast Asia, the phenomena discussed are equally relevant to the languages and societies in mainland Southeast Asia. The rise of language rights awareness within the multilingual context of insular Southeast Asia enables sociolinguistic research on indigenous language development through mother tongue-based education. The multitude of its languages and the mutual contacts of its speech communities make insular Southeast Asia an excellent research area to study multilingualism. The problem related to multilingualism and diglossia in Southeast Asia is obvious in Timor-Leste, which is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia, after Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. The chapter discusses the problem of applying politeness theory to Malay discourse, due to its focus on specific strategies. The classic approach to politeness is said to be Anglocentric, focused on an individualistic society.
