What is the official language of Australia?
English is the most commonly-spoken language in Australia, but it isn’t the official language. That’s because there is no official language of Australia.
“What is the official language of Australia?” is the sort of question that can catch people out. If you see it come up in a pub quiz, be prepared to fight over the answer.
This is because the obvious answer is incorrect. Most people when asked “What is the official language of Australia?” would answer: “English”.
Is English the official language of Australia?
This is the wrong answer. English is by far the most spoken language in Australia, but it is not the country’s official language. That’s because Australia doesn’t have an official language. English is the working language of Australia, and it’s the one used in practically every situation, but it’s not the country’s official language because an official language has never been codified in Australia.
Of course, English isn’t the only language spoken in Australia. For a start, there are around 150 Aboriginal languages. Before European settlement, there were far more, and most Aboriginal Australian languages are only spoken by a few hundred people.
Most spoken Aboriginal language
Census data says that the Djambarrpuyngu language spoken in the Northern Territory’s Arnhem Land is the most prevalent. But there are only around 4,200 speakers.
The other languages spoken in Australia come as the result of widespread immigration. The story of Australia’s immigrant waves are best told at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne or the Bonegilla Migrant Experience near Albury.
Most spoken languages in Australia
The 2016 census provided information on languages spoken at home. The most common of these, aside from English, was Mandarin. Around 2.5% of Australians speak Mandarin as a first language at home.
The next most common languages spoken in Australian homes are Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Italian.
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