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Languages of Australia

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"Australian language" redirects here. For the Polynesian language spoken on the Austral Islands, see Austral language.

Although English is not the official language of Australia in law, it is the de facto official and national language.[1][2] Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon,[3] and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling.[4] General Australian serves as the standard dialect.[5]

Languages of Australia
MainAustralian English
IndigenousAustralian Aboriginal languages, Tasmanian languages, Torres Strait Island languages, Norfuk
RegionalAustralian Irish
ImmigrantMandarin (2.7%), Arabic (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.3%), Cantonese (1.2%), Punjabi (0.9%)
ForeignJapanese, Italian, Indonesian, French, German, Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, Greek, Vietnamese, several others
SignedAustralasian Signed English
Auslan, AISL, various manual Indigenous languages, such as Eltye eltyarrenke, Rdaka-rdaka and Yolŋu Sign Language amongst others

According to the 2021 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for 72% of the population. The ten next most common languages spoken at home are:[6] Mandarin (2.7%), Arabic (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.3%), Cantonese (1.2%), Punjabi (0.9%), Greek (0.9%), Italian (0.9%), Tagalog (0.9%), Hindi (0.8%) and Spanish (0.7%).

In 2018, it was reported that one million people in Australia could not speak English.[7][8]

Over 250 Australian Aboriginal languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact.[9] The National Indigenous Languages Survey (NILS) for 2018-19 found that more than 120 Indigenous language varieties were in use or being revived, although 70 of those in use were endangered.[10] The 2021 census found that 167 Indigenous languages were spoken at home by 76,978 Indigenous Australians.[11] NILS and the Australian Bureau of Statistics use different classifications for Indigenous Australian languages.[12]

The Australian sign language known as Auslan was used at home by 16,242 people at the time of the 2021 census.[13] Other sign languages include the various manual Indigenous languages like Eltye eltyarrenke, Rdaka-rdaka and Yolŋu Sign Language. Lastly, there is a small community of people who speak Australian Irish Sign Language (AISL), a Francosign language related to French Sign Language rather than being a Banzsl language like Auslan.[14][15]

On Norfolk Island, the Norfuk language has official status.[16]

English language

 
Percentage of people who speak the English language at home in 2016

Rates of English language as most common languages spoken at home are in 2021, 2016 and 2011:[17]

Aboriginal languages

Main article: Australian Aboriginal languages

It is believed that there were almost 400 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait languages at the time of first European contact. Most of these are now either extinct or moribund, with only about fifteen languages still being spoken among all age groups of the relevant tribes.[26] The National Indigenous Languages Report is a regular Australia-wide survey of the status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages[27] conducted in 2005,[28] 2014[29] and 2019.[27] An indigenous language remains the main language for about 50,000 (0.25%) people.

 
Number of speakers of Australian indigenous languages as a percentage of population according to the 2011 census.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island languages with the most speakers today are Upper Arrernte, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri, and the Western Desert language.

Sign languages

Main article: Australian Aboriginal sign languages

Tasmanian languages

Main article: Tasmanian languages

Torres Strait languages

Main article: Torres Strait Island languages

Two languages are spoken on the islands of the Torres Strait, within Australian territory, by the Melanesian inhabitants of the area: Kalaw Lagaw Ya and Meriam. Meriam Mir is a Papuan language, while Kalaw Lagaw Ya is an Australian language.

Pidgins and creoles

Two English-based creoles have arisen in Australia after European contact: Kriol and Torres Strait Creole. Kriol is spoken in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and Torres Strait Creole in Queensland and south-west Papua.

Broome Pearling Lugger Pidgin was a pidgin used as a lingua franca between Malays, Japanese, Vietnamese, Torres Strait Islanders and Aborigines on pearling boats.

Angloromani is a mixture of Romani and Australian English. It is spoken by the Romani minority in Australia.

Immigrant languages

There has been a steady decline in the percentage of Australians who speak only English at home since at least 2001. According to the 2001 census, English was the only language spoken in the home for around 80% of the population. By the 2006 census it had fallen to close to 79%, while in the 2011 census, that number had fallen to 76.8%. According to the 2021 census, English is the only language spoken at home for 72% of the population. Languages Other Than English (LOTE) is becoming an increasingly popular subject in Australian schools,[30] and English as a Second Language (ESL) is an alternative, less advanced English subject for newly immigrated students.

The next five most common languages spoken at home, as of the 2016 census, are:[31]

A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are bilingual.

Foreign languages

Main article: Foreign language teaching in Australia

Foreign languages are widely taught in Australia. The most popular languages taught at schools other than English are Japanese, Italian, Indonesian, French, German and Mandarin.[32] However, many other languages are also taught at schools, including other foreign languages, Indigenous Australian languages and Auslan.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Pluralist Nations: Pluralist Language Policies?". 1995 Global Cultural Diversity Conference Proceedings, Sydney. Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2009. "English has no de jure status but it is so entrenched as the common language that it is de facto the official language as well as the national language."
  2. ^ Ward, Rowena (2019). "'National' and 'Official' Languages Across the Independent Asia-Pacific". Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies. 16 (1/2): 83–4. The use of English in Australia is one example of both a de facto national and official language: it is widely used and is the language of government and the courts, but has never been legally designated as the country's official language.
  3. ^ Moore, Bruce. "The Vocabulary Of Australian English" (PDF). National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  4. ^ "The Macquarie Dictionary", Fourth Edition. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, 2005.
  5. ^ Lalande, Line (4 May 2020). "Australian English in a nutshell". Government of Canada.
  6. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile".
  7. ^ "Almost 1m Aussies can't speak English". Daily Telegraph. 13 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Language".
  9. ^ Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (2020). National Indigenous Languages Report. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. p. 13.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ National Indigenous Language Report (2020). pp. 42, 65
  11. ^ "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Census". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  12. ^ National Indigenous Languages Report (2020). p. 46
  13. ^ "Census of Population and Housing: Cultural diversity data summary, 2021, TABLE 5. LANGUAGE USED AT HOME BY STATE AND TERRITORY". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  14. ^ "austririshsign-adam-0376". Endangered Languages Archive. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Australian Irish Sign Language: a minority sign language within a larger sign language community". Culture in Crisis. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Archived copy". www.info.gov.nf. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile".
  18. ^ "Snapshot of Tasmania | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Snapshot of Queensland | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Snapshot of South Australia | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Snapshot of Western Australia | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Snapshot of Australian Capital Territory | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Snapshot of New South Wales | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Snapshot of Victoria | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Snapshot of Northern Territory | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 28 June 2022.
  26. ^ McConvell, P. & N.Thieberger. 2001. State of Indigenous Language Report. http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2001/publications/technical/indigenous-languages.html
  27. ^ a b "National Indigenous Languages Report (NILR)". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  28. ^ "National Indigenous Languages Survey Report 2005". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  29. ^ "Community, identity, wellbeing: The report of the Second National Indigenous Languages Survey". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  30. ^ "Draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages" (PDF). p. 35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2016.
  31. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile".
  32. ^ "Should learning a second language be compulsory in Australian schools?".

Sources

 
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