ABSTRACT
Multilingualism is a global phenomenon. Roughly two-thirds of the world’s population are multilinguals in varying numbers of languages. This chapter reviews the typologies and the different conceptualizations of multilingualism with which they are associated. It discusses the multilingual ecology of the Philippines and the research work done thus far on multilingual practices, particularly on the nexus between Philippine English (PhE) and the local languages in the country. The chapter provides a critical discussion on how the intersection of multilingualism and PhE has been addressed in current research. It sketches out future research directions necessary in further mining and understanding variable multilingual practices and beliefs across the archipelago.
