Australians - Languages

Languages

English, a West Germanic language, is the de facto national language of Australia and is spoken by the majority of the population, regardless of other languages spoken. Most Australians speak Australian English, however Australian Aboriginal English and Torres Strait English, along with various creoles and pidgins, are spoken by some Indigenous Australians. Australia is home to a great number of unique but endangered Indigenous Australian languages, as well as Australian Aboriginal sign languages. Australia's hearing-impaired community primarily uses Auslan, a member of the BANZSL language family.

The diverse backgrounds of Australians lead to a great number of community languages being spoken:

Language Speakers Language Speakers Language Speakers
English only 15,581,333 Korean 54,623 Portuguese 25,779
Italian 316,895 Turkish 53,857 Assyrian 23,526
Greek 252,226 Serbian 52,534 Indonesian 23,164
Arabic 243,662 French 43,216 Persian 22,841
Mandarin 220,600 Danish 42,036 Hungarian 21,565
Vietnamese 194,863 Maltese 36,514 Hindi 20,223
Spanish 98,001 Russian 36,502 Urdu 19,288
Filipino (Tagalog) 92,331 Dutch 36,183 Bengali 15,743
German 75,634 Japanese 35,111 Punjabi 13,164
Cantonese 70,011 Tamil 32,700
Macedonian 67,836 Hebrew 67,835
Croatian 63,612 Romanian 29,055
Polish 53,389 Khmer 24,715

Read more about this topic:  Australians

Famous quotes containing the word languages:

    “Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those languages, or we remain mute.”
    —J.G. (James Graham)

    “Wealth is so much the greatest good that Fortune has to bestow that in the Latin and English languages it has usurped her name.”
    —William Lamb Melbourne, 2nd Viscount (1779–1848)

    “It is time for dead languages to be quiet.”
    —Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)