Australia has one of the highest numbers of endangered languages in the world
A large part of what makes Australia so special is our cultural diversity. More than 300 languages once echoed across our lands, each carrying the identity and stories of its traditional speakers. But today, Australia faces one of the highest rates of language loss globally, with almost 200 of these languages at risk of disappearing forever.
According to global language insight platform, Ethnologue, there are currently 7,159 languages spoken worldwide. Unsurprisingly, English is the most common, with the 20 largest languages making up the native tongue of 3.7 billion people. To put that into perspective, half of the global population speaks only 0.3 per cent of the world's languages!
While those statistics might shock you, what's even more alarming is the fact that almost half (3,193) of the world's living languages are under threat of extinction. Australia, unfortunately, has the fourth-highest number of endangered languages (190), ranking only behind Indonesia (522), Papua New Guinea (314) and the United States (193).
On top of this, 454 languages have already gone extinct globally – meaning they no longer have any native speakers. Australia claims 190 of these, which is far more than Indonesia (15), Papua New Guinea (12) or the United States (49).
Before colonisation, more than 250 Indigenous languages were spoken across Australia. However, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies' (AIATSIS) latest National Indigenous Languages Survey reports that only 123 remain, with less than 20 widely used in daily life. The AIATSIS Centre for Australian Languages (ACAL) is currently working alongside Indigenous communities to revitalise these languages and ensure those that remain are preserved for future generations.
The Albanese Labor Government has also committed $11 million in grants to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language education in primary schools across Australia. More than 40 communities across Australia are expected to benefit from 26 projects over the next two years.
One participant from Queensland shared: 'Our language is a highly endangered language, with less than ten elderly speakers remaining and three speakers working on this project. We recall our childhood, when we started going to school, the government took our language away from us, we weren't allowed to speak our language at school. Now, the school is helping us to bring our language back as part of healing and walking together as a community.'
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The Guardian
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