This research focuses on the functions and status of English in post-1999 Macau. The study begins with a description of Macau in its macro-sociolinguistic context, showing how the existing four main language varieties - Cantonese, Portuguese, English, and Putonghua - interact in Macau society in terms of their status and functions. The aim of the study is to explore how these language varieties (English in particular) have been used in four domains (education, employment, media, and government). The sociolinguistic situation in Macau from the 1980's to the present is described. Impacts on language use due to the liberalization of the gaming industry and the implementation of the individual visiting scheme are discussed, and so are other language-related issues such as societal-multilingualism; code-switching, medium of instruction, and language attitude. This study is modeled after previous descriptions of Hong Kong (Luke & Richards 1982; Li 1999), which analyze the language choice of Hong Kong Chinese in different domains. The primary data for this study are drawn from statistical figures from the Statistics and Census Service, personal interviews, a review of recruitment advertisements from a local newspaper, and a small scale survey concerning language attitude towards the major varieties. Findings and data derived from statistics and personal interviews are compared with those of previous studies.