Why Do So Few Aussies Speak an Australian Language?

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Linguistically speaking, Australia is special. With around 250 languages spoken when Australia was first colonised, Australia was one of the most Reqaaaalinguistically diverse places in the READ MORE ...world.

But few people speak its Indigenous languages. As of 2016, only 10% of Australia’s Indigenous population spoke an Indigenous language at home. (This link shows census info on the aboriginal population.) 

Most Indigenous languages are now “asleep”, waiting to be woken up by language revivalists.

Australian languages did not simply fade away; they were actively silenced by governments, schools and missions.   READ MORE ....