Language is a key marker of membership of a particular ethnic group.
Language allows communication of values and beliefs of a particular culture and allows participation in family and community life. Therefore, families and family life within a community using the community language, become an important expression of cultural diversity. The most common are Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Italian. 2,148 people, ranging in location from Western Queensland across the northern half of the Northern Territory to Western Australia, spoke Kriol at home. It is estimated that there were at least 250 distinct languages spoken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples prior to British colonisation.