You may be wondering what languages do they speak in Australia? Is Australian a language?
The answer to that would be no, Australian is not a language but they do speak a distinct version of English that has been influenced by Australian culture and history over the years.
As well as English, 50,000 people in Australia actually speak an indigenous language (more on these later).
This post will discuss the different languages spoken in Australia (there’s a lot!) and what makes Australian English so different to American English.
Table of Contents
Is Australian a Language?
No, Australian isn’t a language but Australian English is a distinct dialect of English that is spoken exclusively in Australia.
English is used almost exclusively in government and all official capacities and is widely spoken in day-to-day life by most people in Australia.
Even though Australians speak English, it is a bit different to the English that is spoken in the US and other English-speaking countries. In Australia, they speak English with an Australian twist.
Australian English has a unique accent, some vocabulary differences, different pronunciation and spellings.
For example, do you know what an ‘arvo’ is?
Don’t worry, I’ll tell you later in the post.
Overall the differences are minimal and English speakers from other countries can easily understand Australians.
As well as English, many indigenous languages are spoken by the Australian Aborginal people.
Each of these indigenous languages is specific to a particular place and people.
In some areas, like Arnhem Land, many different languages are spoken. In other areas, like the huge Western Desert, dialects of one language are spoken.
How Many Languages are Spoken in Australia?
Whilst English is the main language spoken in Australia and is understood by almost everyone in the country, 20% of Australians actually speak a different language at home.
This is because people from all over the world have migrated to Australia over the years (and still do) meaning they usually speak their native language at home.
Australia is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse countries in the world. It’s estimated that Australians as a whole speak over 300 different languages.
There are around 130 indigenous languages spoken in Australia with around 800 dialects.
These are the languages spoken by the native Australian people who lived in Australia prior to the arrival of settlers from Europe.
What Languages do People Speak in Australia?
The majority of people in Australia speak English however, interestingly, English isn’t the official language of Australia.
Australia legally has no official language, however 96% of the population can speak English.
There is a large population of immigrants in Australia as well as the children and grandchildren of immigrants. These populations often speak 2 or 3 languages.
In fact, 1 in 4 people in Australia actually don’t speak English at home.
The most common languages spoken in Australia after English are:
- Mandarin – spoken by 2.5% of the population
- Arabic – spoken by 1.4% of the population
- Cantonese – spoken by 1.2% of the population
- Vietnamese – spoken by 1.2% of the population
- Italian – spoken by 1.2% of the population
- Greek – spoken by 1% of the population
- Hindi – spoken by 0.7% of the population
- Bangla – spoken by 0.6% of the population
- Tagalog – spoken by 0.6% of the population
- Spanish – spoken by 0.6% of the population
- Punjabi – spoken by 0.6% of the population
Around 50,000 people in Australia also speak an indigenous language.
These are the native languages that were spoken by the aboriginal people of Australia i.e. the people who lived in Australia before European settlement.
Most Common Native Languages Spoken In Australia
Prior to European contact, it is thought that over 250 indigenous languages existed in Australia.
Many of these languages became extinct following the colonization of Australia. The British arrived on the island in 1788, bringing their language with them.
Today, fewer than 20 of these languages are still used by families in Australia and are still being passed on to children. These surviving languages are mainly located in more isolated areas.
Another 110 indigenous languages do still exist in Australia but they are only spoken by older people so will likely become extinct in the near future.
They haven’t been passed on to the younger generation so will likely die out with the older generation.
The aboriginal languages with the most speakers today are Upper Arrernte, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Tiwi, Warlpiri and the Western Desert language.
Western Desert language
Number of speakers: 7,400
The Western Desert language, also known as Wati, is an Aboriginal language spoken by various people who live in the desert areas of Australia.
There are various dialects of this language that are all closely related. Two of the biggest dialects are Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara.
The speakers traditionally live in desert areas in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Most Western Desert people live in communities close to their traditional lands.
The Western Desert language is one of the strongest indigenous Australian languages and is still being transmitted to children.
There is also a substantial amount of literature in this language.
Dhuwal
Number of speakers: 5,100
Dhuwal is a language spoken by the Dhuwal people who live in the Northern Territory.
It’s mainly spoken by people who live in northeast Arnhem Land.
There are 8 separate varieties of this language and all of them are mutually intelligible.
Upper Arrernte
Number of speakers: 4,500
Upper Arrernte is spoken by the Arrernte people in parts of the Northern Territory.
This language is sometimes also referred to as ‘Aranda’ or ‘Upper Aranda’.
There are several different dialects of this language with Eastern/Central Arrernte being the most widely spoken with around 1,800 speakers.
This dialect is spoken in Alice Springs where it is taught in schools and universities, heard in the media and even used in local government.
Warlpiri
Number of speakers: 2,300
Warlpiri is spoken by the Warlpiri people who live in the Northern Territory.
The Warlpiri people mostly live in a few towns and settlements scattered through their traditional land in the Northern Territory, north and west of Alice Springs.
Most Warlpiri speakers are bilingual or multilingual.
Tiwi
Number of speakers: 2,000
Tiwi is an Aboriginal language spoken by the Tiwi people on the Tiwi Islands. The Tiwi Islands lie just off the coast of northern Australia, close to Darwin.
It is one of the few native Australian languages that is still being learned by children.
Tiwi is a language isolate meaning it is hugely different from other languages in Australia.
Murrinh-patha
Number of speakers: 1,900
The Murrinh-patha language is an Aboriginal language mainly spoken by the Murrinh-patha people who reside mostly in Wadeye in the Northern Territory.
It is the dominant language of the community in Wadeye. As well as the Murrinh-patha people, several other peoples whose languages are extinct use it.
This is one of Australia’s few indigenous languages that is not endangered. In fact, the number of speakers is increasing.
This is mainly due to the fact that this language is used as the lingua franca in the area, children are actively acquiring the language and there is a language dictionary and grammar.
Bininj Gun-Wok
Number of speakers: 1,700
The Bininj Gun-Wok language includes 6 main dialects. Kunwinjku is the dominant dialect.
The Aborginial people who speak this dialect are the Bininj people who live in western Arnhem Land.
Arnhem Land is located in the northeastern corner of the Northern Territory.
Anindilyakwa
Number of speakers: 1,400
Anindilyakwa is spoken by the Anindilyakwa people who mainly live on Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island.
These islands lie off the coast of northern Australia in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Kalaw Lagaw Ya
Number of speakers: 950
Kalaw Lagaw Ya is the indigenous language of the central and western Torres Strait islands.
The Torres Strait islands are a group of islands that sit between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea to the north.
On many of the islands, this language has largely been replaced by Torres Strait Creole (an English-based creole language) so few speakers of Kalaw Lagaw Ya remain.
Is Australian an Accent or a Language?
Australian English is an English dialect and not a separate language.
Australian people have a distinct accent but that’s not the only thing that makes their version of English distinct.
The Australian English language is most related to British English. This is because the first people who settled in Australia in 1788 were British.
The settlers who arrived in Australia were from different parts of Britain and many spoke different British dialects.
When they arrived in Australia and intermingled together, eventually a new version of English evolved.
Australian English has a unique accent, some differences in vocabulary, pronunciation and spellings.
These differences are minimal and English speakers from places like the USA, Canada and the UK can easily understand Australians.
Australians use a lot of slang words and abbreviations to express themselves that other English speakers (from different countries) may not understand.
How Australian English Differs From American English
The most obvious difference between British, American and Australian English is the accent/pronunciation.
For example, Americans use clear ‘r’ sounds, especially at the end of words whereas Australians (and the British) don’t pronounce clear ‘r’ sounds.
Take the word ‘car’. Americans would clearly pronounce the ‘r’ sound at the end whereas Austalians (and Brits) wouldn’t. It would be pronounced more like ‘ca’.
Another example is the word ‘warmer’, Australians would miss out the middle ‘r’ sound saying ’wamer’.
Australians tend to abbreviate a lot of words. Let’s take a look at some examples:
- Australian becomes Aussie
- Barbecue becomes barbie
- Christmas becomes Chrissy
- Football becomes footy
- Mosquito becomes mozzie
- Swimming costume (bathing suit) becomes cossie
- Chocolate becomes choccy
- Afternoon becomes arvo
- A biscuit (or cookie) becomes bikkie
- Breakfast becomes brekkie
- A postman becomes a postie
- A smoking break is a smoko
- A bottle shop (a liquor store) becomes a bottle-o
- Devastated becomes devo
- An avocado becomes avo
As well as this list, there are many more examples of these abbreviated words that are so common in everyday Australian conversations.
Vocabulary Differences
As well as abbreviations like those listed above, Australians also have several different words for certain things that American and British English don’t use.
Here’s the most common vocabulary differences:
- In Australia, a sandwich is a ‘sanga’.
- In Australia, flip flops are known as ‘thongs’ (this one is quite amusing as in the US and UK, a thong is a type of underwear).
- In Australia, a duvet is a ‘doona’.
- In Australia, candy is known as ‘lollies’.
- In Australia, a gas station is a ‘service station’ or a ‘servo’.
- In Australia, clothes are sometimes referred to as ‘duds’.
- In Australia, a bathing suit is a ‘cossie’ or a ‘togs’.
The above words are just used in Australia and not in the US, UK or Canada.
There are also many words that are used in both Australian and British English that Americans don’t use. Here’s a few examples:
- In Australia, a drugstore is a ‘pharmacy’ or ‘chemist’.
- In Australia, a sidewalk is a ‘footpath’.
- In Australia, the fall season is ‘autumn’.
- In Australia, a pacifier is a ‘dummy’.
- In Australia, bangs are a ‘fringe’.
- In Australia, a zipcode is a ‘postcode’.
- In Australia, an eraser is a ‘rubber’.
- In Australia, jumping jacks are ‘star jumps’.
- In Australia, a shopping mall is a ‘shopping centre’.
- In Australia, a faucet is a ‘tap’.
- In Australia, a closet is a ‘wardrobe’.
- In Australia, a diaper is a ‘nappy’.
Spelling Differences
Australia shares the same spelling as the UK, whereas the US has some spelling differences.
Let’s take a look at some examples of spelling differences.
- Center is spelt ‘centre’ in Australia.
- Color is spelt ‘colour’ in Australia.
- Organize is spelt ‘organise’ in Australia.
- Analyze is spelt ‘analyse’ in Australia.
- Analog is spelt ‘analogue’ in Australia.
- Traveled is spelt ‘travelled’ in Australia.
- Favorite is spelt ‘favourite’ in Australia.
There’s tons more examples of spelling differences but as you can see by these examples, they are minimal.
You can easily work out what the word is by the spelling so an American could easily understand written Australian English.
Popular Australian Words and Phrases
Below I’ve listed some of the most common phrases and expressions that you’ll hear in Australia.
- Mate – In Australia, mate is simply just another word for friend. This word is also used in British English.
- G’day – This famous Australian word simply means ‘hi’ or ‘hello’.
- Bonzer – This word means ‘awesome’ or ‘excellent’.
- Crickey! – This word is used as an exclamation of shock or surprise. For example, if you saw a huge spider you might say ‘Crikey! Look at the size of that spider’.
- Streuth! – This word means the same as ‘crickey’ and is a way to express shock, surprise or bewilderment.
- Blokes and sheilas – These are words which refer to ‘men and women’. A bloke is a man and a sheila is a woman.
- Bloody oath – This phrase means either ‘yes’ or ‘it’s true’.
- Hard yakka – This phrase means ‘hard work’.
- No wuckas – This phrase is how Australians would say ‘no worries’.
- True blue – This means that something is genuinely Australian. You may use it to describe a person or an item.
- Good on ya – This is an Australian way to say ‘good work’.
- Fair dinkum – This is used to say that something is really good or excellent.
- Have a Captain Cook – This means to have ‘a look’ or a ‘brief inspection’ at something.
- What’s the John Dory – This phrase is used when you don’t know what’s going on or you’re requesting some gossip. It’s like saying ‘what’s the story’ but the word ‘story’ is replaced with the rhyming word ‘John Dory’.
- Dog’s breakfast – This phrase is used to say something is messy. You could say that someone’s bedroom is the dog’s breakfast, meaning it’s super untidy.
As you can see from the phrases listed above, whilst Australian isn’t its own language, there are plenty of words and expressions that make Australian English distinct.
Thanks for reading this post on the languages spoken in Australia which answers the question ‘is Australian a language?’.
Although Australian isn’t a language itself, it’s clear that the languages spoken in Australia are distinct and have their own twist.
The culture and history of Australia has influenced the languages spoken there today including influencing its own dialect of English.
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