what language do australian people speak?
Lojban Esperanto Language English Language
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 Although Australia has no official language , English has always been entrenched as the de facto national language . Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon , and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling . General Australian serves as the standard dialect . According to the 2011 census , English is the only language spoken in the home for close to 81 % of the population . The next most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin ( 1 @.@ 7 % ) , Italian ( 1 @.@ 5 % ) , Arabic ( 1 @.@ 4 % ) , Cantonese ( 1 @.@ 3 % ) , Greek ( 1 @.@ 3 % ) , and Vietnamese ( 1 @.@ 2 % ) ; a considerable proportion of first- and second @-@ generation migrants are bilingual . A 2010 – 2011 study by the Australia Early Development Index found the most common language spoken by children after English was Arabic , followed by Vietnamese , Greek , Chinese , and Hindi . 

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 Over 250 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact , of which less than 20 are still in daily use by all age groups . About 110 others are spoken exclusively by older people . At the time of the 2006 census , 52 @,@ 000 Indigenous Australians , representing 12 % of the Indigenous population , reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home . Australia has a sign language known as Auslan , which is the main language of about 5 @,@ 500 deaf people . 

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 Australia has two public broadcasters ( the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the multicultural Special Broadcasting Service ) , three commercial television networks , several pay @-@ TV services , and numerous public , non @-@ profit television and radio stations . Each major city has at least one daily newspaper , and there are two national daily newspapers , The Australian and The Australian Financial Review . In 2010 , Reporters Without Borders placed Australia 18th on a list of 178 countries ranked by press freedom , behind New Zealand ( 8th ) but ahead of the United Kingdom ( 19th ) and United States ( 20th ) . This relatively low ranking is primarily because of the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia ; most print media are under the control of News Corporation and Fairfax Media . 

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 Since 1788 English has been spoken in Oceania , and the major native dialect of Australian English is spoken as a first language by the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Australian continent , with General Australian serving as the standard accent . The English of neighbouring New Zealand has to a lesser degree become an influential standard variety of the language . Australian and New Zealand English are most closely related to British English , and both have similarly non @-@ rhotic accents , aside from some accents in the South Island of New Zealand . They stand out , however , for their innovative vowels : many short vowels are fronted or raised , whereas many long vowels have diphthongised . Australian English also has a contrast between long and short vowels , not found in most other varieties . Australian English grammar differs from British English only in few instances , one difference is the lack of verbal concord with collective plural subjects . New Zealand English differs little from Australian English , but a few characteristics sets its accent apart , such as the use of [ ʍ ] for wh- and its front vowels being even closer than in Australian English . 

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 Decades , and in some cases centuries , of British rule and emigration have left their mark on the independent nations that arose from the British Empire . The empire established the use of English in regions around the world . Today it is the primary language of up to 400 million people and is spoken by about one and a half billion as a first , second or foreign language . 
