The 11th Biennial Symposium on the Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region will be held December 7 to 10 in National University of Singapore.

　　Issues to be addressed include: Asian Englishes and the notion of Standard English; Interactions between English and national and regional languages, etc.

　　This symposium invites scholars to look at the literature of former colonies in the Asia-Pacific region. Half a century of English used in education, administrative and creative fields, has left it thriving in all these countries. In this region, English now has its own local characteristics and names. India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore all have splendid books and poems written in their own variety of English.

　　Yet Asia-Pacific English literature is still treated as inferior by Western literature scholars. Consequently, these scholars overlook the complexity of the new literature, which reflects in specific societies and political systems. People must learn more about the culture and history behind these varieties of English in order to appreciate the new literature they produce.

　　The symposium also shows how literature from the Asia-Pacific region reflects Persian, Bengali, Bahasa Malaysia, and Chinese cultures. These other cultures affect the English in Asia-Pacific countries, fracturing the writing style and adding new images, symbols and metaphors. While British and American literature is still the international standard, the power and reach of this new literature should be taken seriously.

　　For more information, please go to http://www.nus.edu.sg/cfa/symposium.html