Languages of Australia - Wikipedia Languages of Australia `` Australian language '' redirects here. For the Polynesian language spoken on the Austral Islands, see Austral language. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2016 ) Languages of Australia Main languages Australian English Indigenous languages Australian Aboriginal languages, Tasmanian languages, Torres Strait Island languages Main immigrant languages Mandarin ( 2.5 % ), Arabic ( 1.4 % ), Cantonese ( 1.2 % ), Vietnamese ( 1.2 % ), Italian ( 1.2 % ) Sign languages Auslan Yolŋu Sign Language and other Aboriginal sign languages Common keyboard layouts QWERTY Part of a series on the Culture of Australia History People Australian people African Australian Albanian Australian American Australian Anglo - Celtic Australian Asian Australian Assyrian Australian Bosnian Australian Chinese Australian Cornish Australian English Australian European Australian Filipino Australian Greek Australian Indian Australian Indigenous Australian Irish Australian Italian Australian Japanese Australian Jewish Australian Korean Australian Latin American Australian Lebanese Australian Macedonian Australian Pakistani Australian Scottish Australian Serbian Australian South African Australian Sudanese Australian Taiwanese Australian Welsh Australian Languages Traditions Humour Mythology and folklore Mythology folklore Cuisine Festivals Religion Aboriginal Christianity ( Roman Catholic Anglican Uniting Church Presbyterian Baptist Lutheran Coptic Orthodox more ) Buddhism Islam Sikhism Judaism Hinduism Bahá'í Faith Irreligion Art Architecture Literature Comic books Music and performing arts Music Performing arts Dance Theatre Media Radio Television Cinema Sport Monuments World Heritage Sites Symbols Flag Coat of arms Australia portal Although Australia has no official languages, English has been entrenched as the de facto national language since European settlement. 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 2016 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for close to 70 % of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are : Mandarin ( 2.5 % ), Arabic ( 1.4 % ), Cantonese ( 1.2 % ), Vietnamese ( 1.2 % ) and Italian ( 1.2 % ). A considerable proportion of first - and second - generation migrants are bilingual. 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. Contents 1 Australian Aboriginal languages 1.1 Tasmanian languages 1.2 Torres Strait languages 1.3 Pidgins and creoles 2 Immigrant languages 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Australian Aboriginal languages Main article : Indigenous Australian languages It is believed that there were almost 400 Australian Aboriginal languages at the time of first European contact. Most of these are now either extinct or moribund, with only about fifteen languages still being spoken among all age groups of the relevant tribes. An indigenous language remains the main language for about 50,000 ( 0.25 % ) people. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language that approximately 10,000 deaf people use. Chinese is by far the most spoken foreign language, with 715,000 speakers as of 2016, and has even been considered to be put on signs across Australia, to encourage tourists to explore and interact with other people. People who speak Australian indigenous languages as a percentage of the population in Australia divided geographically by statistical local area, as of the 2011 census The Aboriginal languages with the most speakers today are Upper Arrernte, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri, and the Western Desert language. Tasmanian languages Main article : Tasmanian languages Torres Strait languages Main article : Torres Strait Island languages Two languages are spoken on the islands of the Torres Strait, within Australian territory, by the Melanesian inhabitants of the area : Kalaw Lagaw Ya and Meriam. Meriam Mir is a Papuan language, while Kalaw Lagaw Ya is an Australian language. Pidgins and creoles Two English - based creoles have arisen in Australia after European contact : Kriol and Torres Strait Creole. Kriol is spoken in the Northern Territory, and Torres Strait Creole in Queensland. Broome Pearling Lugger Pidgin was a pidgin used as a lingua franca between Malays, Japanese, Vietnamese, Torres Strait Islanders and Aborigines on pearling boats. Immigrant languages There has been a steady decline in the percentage of Australians who speak only English at home since at least 2001. According to the 2001 census, English was the only language spoken in the home for around 80 % of the population. By the 2006 census it had fallen to close to 79 %, while in the 2011 census, that number had fallen to 76.8 %. According to the 2016 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for close to 72.7 % of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are : Mandarin ( 2.5 % ) Arabic ( 1.4 % ) Cantonese ( 1.2 % ) Vietnamese ( 1.2 % ) Italian ( 1.2 % ). A considerable proportion of first - and second - generation migrants are bilingual. Sydney areas where significant population of Chinese ( red ), Vietnamese ( yellow ), Arabic ( dark green ), Greek ( light blue ), Turkish ( brown ), Serbian ( light green ) and Korean ( pink ) speakers lived in 2006 Melbourne areas where Chinese ( red ), Vietnamese ( yellow ), Arabic ( dark green ), Macedonian ( orange ), Turkish ( brown ), Italian ( light green ) and Maltese ( pink ) were predominantly spoken in 2006 See also Diminutives in Australian English References Jump up ^ `` Pluralist Nations : Pluralist Language Policies ? ''. 1995 Global Cultural Diversity Conference Proceedings, Sydney. Department of Social Services. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2017. `` English has no de jure status but it is so entrenched as the common language that it is de facto the official language as well as the national language. '' Jump up ^ Moore, Bruce. `` The Vocabulary Of Australian English '' ( PDF ). National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Macquarie Dictionary '', Fourth Edition. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, 2005. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` A mission to save indigenous languages ''. Australian Geographic. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` National Indigenous Languages Survey Report 2005 ''. Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 4 May 2010 ). `` 4713.0 -- Population Characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2006 ''. Canberra : Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 7 December 2010. Jump up ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 27 June 2007 ). `` 20680 - Language Spoken at Home ( full classification list ) by Sex -- Australia ''. 2006 Census Tables : Australia. Canberra : Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 7 December 2010. Jump up ^ McConvell, P. & N. Thieberger. 2001. State of Indigenous Language Report. http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2001/publications/technical/indigenous-languages.html Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017. McConvell, P. & N. Thieberger. 2001. State of Indigenous Language Report. html http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/485 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Languages of Australia. Ethnologue report for Australia Census Data ( Australian government ) Australia articles History Timeline Bibliography Prehistory Archaeology European Exploration Territorial evolution 1788 -- 1850 1851 -- 1900 1901 -- 1945 Since 1945 By topic Constitutional Diplomatic Economic Federation Immigration Indigenous Military Monarchy Railway Geography Climate Continent Deserts Environment issues Earthquakes Flora Fauna Forests Geology Islands Mountains Regions Protected areas Rivers Subdivisions States and territories Capitals Cities Politics Constitution Courts Elections Donations Electoral system Parties Federal budget Foreign relations Government Governor - General Human rights Intersex LGBT Transgender Intelligence and security Law Constitution Judiciary Enforcement Military Monarchy National debt Parliament Public Service Women Government leaders Government ministers Economy Agriculture Dollar ( currency ) Energy Gross state product Home ownership Public housing Household income Manufacturing Media Mining Poverty Reserve Bank Stock Exchange Superannuation Taxation Telecommunications Tourism Transportation Welfare system Society Crime Demographics Education Ethnic groups Health care Homelessness Immigration Languages Religion Women Culture Architecture Art Arts Australian English Cinema Cuisine Dance Literature Music Public holidays Radio Sport Symbols Television Theatre Outline Index Book Portal Languages of Australia English varieties Australian Australian Aboriginal Torres Strait Major indigenous languages Upper Arrernte Burarra Dhuwal Djambarrpuyngu Kalaw Lagaw Ya Luritja Murrinh Patha Pintupi Pitjantjatjara Tiwi Walmajarri Warlpiri Western Desert Warumungu Yolŋu Matha Language families Bunuban Daly ( four families ) Darwin Garrwan Giimbiyu Iwaidjan Jarrakan Macro-Gunwinyguan Marrgu Mirndi Nyulnyulan Pama -- Nyungan Tangkic Tasmanian ( 4 families ? ) Tiwi Wagiman Worrorran Yangmanic ( Wardaman ) Pidgins, creoles and mixed languages Broome Pearling Lugger Pidgin Cocos Malay Gurindji Kriol Kriol Maltralian Port Jackson Pidgin English Queensland Kanaka English Torres Strait Creole Light Warlpiri Sign languages Auslan Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians Indigenous Australians Languages of Oceania Sovereign states Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Associated states of New Zealand Cook Islands Niue Dependencies and other territories American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_Australia&oldid=844736550 '' Categories : Languages of Australia Australian culture Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from March 2016 All articles needing additional references Use Australian English from February 2017 All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English Use dmy dates from July 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages বাংলা Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Қазақша Kiswahili Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 6 June 2018, at 20 : 17. 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Question: besides english what is the most commonly spoken language in australia
Answer: Mandarin