August 3, 2012

Australia's changing linguistic landscape revealed in census data

Sarah Verdon (my PhD student) has been comparing the 2006 and 2011 Australian census figures for the languages spoken by Australian people:

"In the 2006 census, 21.5% of the population indicated that English was not the primary language spoken at home. The main other languages used, in order, were Italian (1.6%), Greek (1.3%), Arabic (1.2%), Cantonese (1.2%), Mandarin (1.1%) (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2008).

In the 2011 census, 23.2% of the population indicated that English was not the primary language spoken at home. This was an increase from 21.5% at the 2006 census. The main other languages used, in order, were Mandarin (1.6%),  Italian (1.4%), Arabic (1.3%) Cantonese (1.2%), and Greek (1.2%) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012)."

Census year
2006
2011
English was not the primary language spoken at home
21.5%
23.2%
Main other language


Italian
1.6%
1.4%
Greek
1.3%
1.2%
Arabic
1.2%
1.3%
Cantonese
1.2%
1.2%
Mandarin
1.1%
1.6%