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Introduction
The spread of English has reached almost every corner of the world, and the Republic of the Maldives1is no exception. Following the nation's opening to the outside world, the introduction of English as a medium of instruction at secondary and tertiary level of education, and its government's recognition of the opportunities offered through tourism, English has now firmly established itself in the country. As such, Maldives is quite similar to the countries in the Gulf region (cf. Randall & Samimi, 2010; Boyle, 2012). The nation is undergoing vast societal change, and English is part of this.
Studies of English in Maldives are non-existent to date (with Bernaisch, Gries & Mukherje, 2014 and Gries & Bernaisch, 2016 mentioning it but providing no further description or data), and the indigenous language Divehi has only recently been described in some detail (Fritz, 2002; Gnanadesikan, 2017). However, given its fascinating population make-up, Maldives lends itself to theoretical discussions of how English takes shape in a rapidly transforming society, in which English is fast establishing itself as a second language in large parts of the population. This article introduces the functions of English in Maldives today and provides a first description of some of its features.
From unheard-of fishing communities to tourists' paradise: Maldives' society today
Maldives is an island state consisting of approximately 1192 coral islands, which are grouped into 26 natural atolls, covering approximately 100,000 km2and extending over 823 km in length and 133 km in width. For administrative reasons, these natural atolls form 21 units, one of which is the capital, Malé, located in Kaafu atoll (see Figure 1). Of these islands, 188 were inhabited islands (i.e. islands settled by the local population) at the time of the most recent census (2014). In addition, there were 109 resort islands2, i.e. islands home to a hotel, and 128 islands set aside for industry or other purposes - e.g. Dhoonidhoo prison island; the airport island, Hulhulé; the fuel storage island, Funadhoo; Aarah, the retreat island of the President of Maldives; and 81 islands leased for agricultural purposes (National Bureau of Statistics, 2015e: 13).
Figure 1.
Map of Maldives, indicating population density
[Figure Omitted; See PDF]In 2014, Maldives had a total population...