Victoria`s languages - Gateway to the world

Victoria’s languages • Gateway to the world
January 2008
A report prepared by Julie Bradshaw, Ana Deumert
and Kate Burridge – with Louisa Willoughby and
Meredith Izon
Foreword for Victoria’s Languages – Gateway to the world
Language diversity in Australia, a nation of immigrants from an enormous diversity of backgrounds, is
all too often regarded as a challenge or problem. And it is true that those whose expertise in English is
limited face difficulties, for which public policy rightly provides the antidote of state supported language
training facilities. However, language diversity is also a resource, much of which remains untapped and
neglected in the workplace.
Building on the work of Professor Michael Clyne and his colleagues for the Bureau of Immigration
Research in 1995 entitled Immigration and Australia’s Language Resources, Julie Bradshaw, Ana
Deumert and Kate Burridge, with Louisa Willoughby and Meredith Izon, document in Victoria’s
Languages – Gateway to the World the extent of the State’s language resources. Their report makes a
useful contribution for planning future language policy in Victoria.
Undertaken with a grant from the VITS LanguageLink Good Corporate Citizenship Program (GCCP), the
Monash authors carefully present the facts on Victoria’s language resources and make a set of thirteen
constructive recommendations. These have a variety of proposals for several authorities, including
the State and Commonwealth Governments, and cover topics that have been of continuing long term
importance, including the recognition of overseas qualifications.
VITS LanguageLink is pleased that, as a Victorian Government Business Enterprise, it has been able
through the GCCP to provide independently researched information and policy relevant analysis
through this and other publications. On behalf of the VITS LanguageLink Board, I am therefore pleased
to welcome Victoria’s Languages – Gateway to the World, and commend it to all interested in the
important subject of Australia’s language resources and challenges.
Professor John Nieuwenhuysen AM
Chair of the Board
VITS LanguageLink
Contents
List of figures––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––2
List of tables–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––4
List of abbreviations––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––5
Executive summary– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––6
Preface–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 10
Introduction– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 11
CHAPTER 1
Australia’s language policy–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 15
CHAPTER 2
Victoria’s changing population––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 29
CHAPTER 3
Demographic profiles of language communities in Victoria––––––––––––––––––––––– 43
CHAPTER 4
(Sub-Saharan) African Communities in Victoria– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 65
CHAPTER 5
Language needs and resources – the view from the business sector–––––––––––––– 81
CHAPTER 6
Community needs and resources––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 101
Bibliography–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 123
Appendix 1
Language communities in victoria – statistical profiles–––––––––––––––––––––––––– 129
Appendix 2
Settlement patterns for the Horn of Africa Communities in Victoria– ––––––––––––– 169
Appendix 3
LOTEs studied at the VSL–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 173
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List of figures
Figure 2.1 Age profile of the Australian-born and overseas-born population in Victoria ––––––––––––– 30
Figure 2.2 Top 20 LOTEs in Victoria in 1996, 2001 and 2006 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 31
Figure 2.3 Percentage change in community size,1996-2006 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 35
Figure 2.4 Cross-border student enrolments at Australian educational institutions 1994-2004–––––––– 36
Figure 2.5 Countries of origin for cross-border students in Australia, 2006 – ––––––––––––––––––––––– 37
Figure 3.1 Percentage of speakers born in Australia ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 45
Figure 3.2 Age distributions, 0-25 and 65+ ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 48
Figure 3.3 Educational achievement ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 50
Figure 3.4 Labour force participation – ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 53
Figure 3.5 Blue-collar and white-collar professions–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 54
Figure 3.6 Speakers with post-school qualifications by occupation (professional; in percentages)–––– 55
Figure 3.7 English language proficiency –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 58
Figure 3.8 LOTE speaking population of Melbourne, 2006 – –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 59
Figure 4.1 Community growth: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, 1996 to 2006 –––––––––––––––– 66
Figure 4.2 Metropolitan settlement of Horn of Africa communities ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 66
Figure 4.3 Age profile: Eritrea 1996, 2001 and 2006 (in percentages; Victoria) ––––––––––––––––––––– 68
Figure 4.4 Age profile: Ethiopia 1996, 2001 and 2006 (in percentages; Victoria) –––––––––––––––––––– 68
Figure 4.5 Age profile: Somalia 1996, 2001 and 2006(in percentages; Victoria ––––––––––––––––––––– 68
Figure 4.6 Age profile: Sudan1996, 2001 and 2006 (in percentages) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 69
Figure 4.7 Top eight languages spoken by migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan
(Victoria) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 70
Figure 4.8 Arabic (home language, percentage) across the Horn of Africa communities (Victoria)–––– 71
Figure 4.9 Educational attainment: 2006 (for residents aged 15 and older; in percentages; Victoria)–– 71
Figure 4.10 Occupations 2006, migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan (including those
not in the labour force) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 73
Figure 4.11 Occupations 2006, migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan (excluding those
not in the labour force) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 73
Figure 4.12 Age profile (2006): Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
(in percentages; Victoria) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 75
Figure 4.13 Percentage of English as a home language for selected African communities (Victoria) –– 76
Figure 4.14 Percentage of home languages coded as ‘African languages’ and ‘other’/ ‘unknown’ for
selected African communities (Victoria) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 76
Figure A1.1 LOTE use by birthplace: Albanian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 131
Figure A1.2 Age distribution: Albanian, 2006 population – –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 132
Figure A1.3 LOTE use by birthplace: Arabic (including Lebanese), 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––– 133
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Figure A1.4 Age distribution: Arabic, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 133
Figure A1.5 LOTE use by birthplace: Bosnian, 1996 and 2001 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 134
Figure A1.6 LOTE use by birthplace: 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 135
Figure A1.7 LOTE use by birthplace: Mandarin, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 136
Figure A1.8 Age distribution: Cantonese, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 136
Figure A1.9 Age distribution: Mandarin, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 137
Figure A1.10 LOTE use by birthplace: Croatian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 137
Figure A1.11 Age distribution: Croatian, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 138
Figure A1.12 LOTE use by birthplace: Dutch, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 139
Figure A1.13 Age distribution: Dutch, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 139
Figure A1.14 LOTE use by birthplace: French, 2006, 2001 and 1996 – –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 140
Figure A1.15 Age distribution: French, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 141
Figure A1.16 LOTE use by birthplace: German, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 141
Figure A1.17 Age distribution: German, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 142
Figure A1.18 LOTE use by birthplace: Greek, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 143
Figure A1.19 Age distribution:Greek, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 143
Figure A1.20 LOTE use by birthplace: Hindi, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 144
Figure A1.21 Age distribution: Hindi, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 144
Figure A1.22 LOTE use by birthplace: Hungarian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 145
Figure A1.23 Age distribution: Hungarian, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 146
Figure A1.24 LOTE use by birthplace: Indonesian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 147
Figure A1.25 Age distribution: Indonesian, 2006 population – ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 147
Figure A1.26 LOTE use by birthplace: Italian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 148
Figure A1.27 Age distribution: Italian, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 149
Figure A1.28 LOTE use by birthplace: Japanese, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 149
Figure A1.29 Age distribution: Japanese, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 150
Figure A1.30 LOTE use by birthplace: Khmer, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 151
Figure A1.31 Age distribution: Khmer, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 151
Figure A1.32 LOTE use by birthplace: Macedonian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 – ––––––––––––––––––––––– 152
Figure A1.33 Age distribution: Macedonian, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 153
Figure A1.34 LOTE use by birthplace: Maltese, 2006, 2001 and 1996 – ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 153
Figure A1.35 Age distribution: Maltese, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 154
Figure A1.36 LOTE use by birthplace: Persian (Farsi), 1996 and 2001 – ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 155
Figure A1.37 LOTE use by birthplace: Polish, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 156
Figure A1.38 Age distribution: Polish, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 156
Figure A1.39 LOTE use by birthplace: Russian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 – ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 157
Figure A1.40 Age distribution: Russian, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 158
Figure A1.41 LOTE use by birthplace: Serbian, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 159
Figure A1.42 Age distribution: Serbian, 2006 population – –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 159
Figure A1.43 LOTE use by birthplace: Sinhalese, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 160
Figure A1.44 Age distribution: Sinhalese, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 161
Figure A1.45 LOTE use by birthplace: Spanish, 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 161
Figure A1.46 Age distribution: Spanish, 2006 population ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 162
Figure A1.47 LOTE use by birthplace: Tagalog (Filipino), 2006, 2001 and 1996 –––––––––––––––––––– 163
Figure A1.48 Age distribution:Tagalog, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 163
Figure A1.49 LOTE use by birthplace: Tamil, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 164
Figure A1.50 Age distribution: Tamil, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 165
Figure A1.51 LOTE use by birthplace: Turkish, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 165
Figure A1.52 Age distribution: Turkish, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 166
Figure A1.53 LOTE use by birthplace: Vietnamese, 2006, 2001 and 1996 ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 167
Figure A1.54 Age distribution: Vietnamese, 2006 population –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 167
Figure A3.1: Secondary enrolments at the VSL, all sectors for 2003 (From LOTE report p. 78) –––––– 175
Figure A3.1: Secondary enrolments at the VSL, all sectors for 2003 (From LOTE report p. 78) –––––– 168
Figure A3.2 Primary VSL enrolments by language, 2003 (From LOTE report p. 90) –––––––––––––––– 175
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List of tables
Table 2.1 Percentage distribution of the population by birthplace (Australian and overseas-born)
arriving in the last five years, 1996, 2001 and 2006 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 31
Table 2.2 Number and percentage increases in speaker numbers, 1996-2006 –––––––––––––––––––––– 32
Table 2.3 Growth in speaker numbers for Victoria’s language communities, 1996-2006 ––––––––––––– 33
Table 2.4 Number and percentage decrease in speaker numbers, 1996-2006 –––––––––––––––––––––– 34
Table 2.5 Reduction in speaker numbers for Victoria’s language communities, 1996-2006 – ––––––––– 34
Table 2.6 Growth and reduction according to size of language community –––––––––––––––––––––––– 36
Table 2.7 Country of origin of International students in Victoria by education sector, 2006 –––––––––– 38
Table 3.1 Language spoken by year of arrival in Australia –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 44
Table 3.2 Age distribution by language in Victoria, 2006 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 46
Table 3.3 Languages with more female speakers in Victoria, 2006 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 49
Table 3.4 Languages with more male speakers in Victoria, 2006 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 49
Table 3.5 Education outcomes (% of language population) in Victoria, 2006 ––––––––––––––––––––––– 51
Table 3.6 Labour force participation rates, 2006 and 2001 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 56
Table 3.7 English proficiency by language, 2006 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 57
Table 3.8 Municipalities where LOTE speaker numbers increased faster than projected ––––––––––––– 60
Table 3.9 Municipalities with lower LOTE speaker growth rates than projected ––––––––––––––––––––– 61
Table 4.1 Community numbers: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan – ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 65
Table 4.2 Sex ratio according to visa category: arrivals 1996-2005 (Victoria) ––––––––––––––––––––––– 67
Table 4.3 Sex ratio for Horn of Africa communities in Victoria –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 67
Table 4.4 Linguistic profiles: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 69
Table 4.5 Languages spoken: 1996, 2001 and 2006 (total numbers; Victoria) – ––––––––––––––––––––– 69
Table 4.6 English proficiency of Horn of Africa immigrants ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 72
Table 4.7 English proficiency of Horn of Africa immigrants with no English at home – –––––––––––––– 72
Table 4.8 Community numbers for selected African communities in Victoria – ––––––––––––––––––––– 74
Table 4.9 Educational attainment for selected African communities (in percentages; Victoria) ––––––– 74
Table 4.10 Labour force status for selected African communities (in percentages; Victoria) ––––––––– 74
Table 4.11 Sex ratio for selected African communities (Victoria) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 75
Table 5.1 Newspaper job advertisements mentioning language skills ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 84
Table 6.1 Details of focus group composition –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 102
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List of abbreviations
ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
ABS
Australian Bureau of Statistics
AMEP
Adult Migrant Education Program (now AMES)
AMES
Adult Multicultural Education Service
CALDCulturally and linguistically diverse
DIAC
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (formerly DIMA)
DIMA
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (formerly DIMIA, now DIAC)
DIMIA
Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs
ESLEnglish as a second language
LGA
Local Government Area
LOTE
Language other than English
L1
First language
L2Second language
NAATINational Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters
SBSSpecial Broadcasting Service
TAFETechnical and Further Education
VCE
Victorian Certificate of Education
VOMA
Victorian Office of Multicultural Affairs
VSL
Victorian School of Languages
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Executive summary
This report was prepared by Julie Bradshaw, Ana Deumert and Kate Burridge (in conjunction with
Louisa Willoughby and Meredith Izon) in response to a commission from VITS LanguageLink. The
report set out to document Victoria’s linguistic resources, based on data from the 1996 and 2001
censuses, and interviews with selected businesses and members of Victorian linguistic communities. A
further commission allowed the work to be revised when data from the 2006 census were released. The
following is a brief summary of the report’s findings and recommendations from the findings.
Migration to Victoria
The 1996, 2001 and 2006 census data show that Victoria is an important destination for immigrants,
including those first arriving as students. Most immigrants settle in metropolitan areas rather than in
regional Victoria, and settlement patterns in Melbourne show a concentration of language speakers
in particular areas. The areas chosen for settlement have changed over 10 years, with resulting
implications for service provision. Inner urban municipalities which have extensive experience with
resettlement and the provision of youth services may find less call for these services, while the newer
areas of immigrant concentration may have needs beyond current provision.
Recommendation 1: State government needs to support municipalities to provide services, taking
account of rapid demographic changes documented here.
Changes in language resources 1996 to 2006
Over the ten-year period we see a consistent decline in the number of home language speakers of the
major post-war immigrant languages such as Italian, Greek, German, Dutch and Maltese as the older
generation die. Other communities have grown in the same period. The most vigorous growth is in
the Asian languages, particularly Hindi, Sinhalese and Indonesian, and African languages (though the
populations remain small). Among the larger communities which grew are Cantonese, Vietnamese,
Arabic and Mandarin.
Recommendation 2: Growing communities of recent vintage may need targeted support in areas such
as translation services, language help lines etc. Asian language speakers, many of whom arrive with
high levels of English proficiency, will need less support than speakers of African languages. Though
the African language communities are relatively small they are very fast growing, and have less stable
educational histories, and more need for language support.
Ageing communities and implications for welfare needs
The ageing of the post-war immigrant communities may lead to attrition of the community language.
This will depend on the rates of language maintenance into the second and third generations, and
here the figures for Australian-born speakers are important. Clyne (personal communication) has noted
the importance of elderly speakers of community languages as a resource for developing language
maintenance programs, and it is important that such programs be developed before the speakers
disappear.
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Elderly people make increasing use of medical and other services at a time when cognitive changes
may be reducing their ability to function in a second language (English). While the large post-war
communities are shrinking, the size of communities such as Greek and Italian means that large numbers
of people are in the older group. Provision needs to be made for linguistically targeted support (medical
interpreters, home help, nursing homes, etc.)
Recommendation 3: Councils and state government need to plan for additional bilingual aged care
support and interpreting services for ageing populations.
Younger communities and more recent arrivals
Language communities with a high proportion of younger people include: Arabic, Cantonese, Hindi,
Khmer, Tagalog, Tamil and Vietnamese. Some of these are likely to have high concentrations of
international students (e.g. Hindi, Tamil). The other communities which have large groups of children
and teenagers will have particular needs.
Recommendation 4: Government and municipalities with high concentrations of these speakers will
need to consider expanding child care provision, ESL support in schools, and youth worker programs
for larger young populations.
English proficiency of international students
Victoria is an important destination for international students, who are increasingly adding to Victoria’s
linguistic richness, but we have noted problems associated with limited English proficiency, particularly
of those who enter university after doing VCE or other study in Australia. Speakers of English as a
second language who apply to Australian universities from abroad normally need IELTS band 6 to
qualify for admission. This requirement does not apply to those who have studied in Australia.
Recent tightening of the English proficiency requirements for skilled migrants is welcomed, but more
attention needs to be paid to the language skills of university entrants from international backgrounds.
Tighter university entry criteria and more English language support are necessary, and this will need
some Federal government involvement.
Recommendation 5: Universities, education departments and immigration authorities need to work
together to develop stronger university admission criteria.
English classes for new arrivals
The 510 hours of English instruction offered to new immigrants is highly valued by immigrant
communities. However a number of concerns are noted: classes are not offered at times accessible to
those already in employment; pressure from Centrelink to move from benefits to the workforce as fast
as possible may limit access to classes; the time limit on availability of classes means that those taking
time to settle, particularly refugees, may miss out (I believe that these time limits were removed in 2006
– LW); 510 hours will not equip students with workplace skills; classes include a wide range of levels;
elderly people, traumatised refugees, and those with limited or no prior schooling may need separate
tuition.
Recommendation 6: More flexible class times and structures are needed to support effective English
language learning. Also needed are higher level modules targeting specialist workplace registers.
Recognition of qualifications
Education levels are rising for all groups; however workforce participation is uneven. Particularly
evident in some communities is a mismatch between level of qualifications and type of employment.
Some of this is attributable to large populations of students in continuing education (Tamil, Sinhalese,
Hindi speakers), but there are also lower employment levels among Arabic, Khmer, Turkish and
Vietnamese speakers. Several factors may contribute to this: lower levels of English are associated with
unemployment (Khmer, Vietnamese); problems with recognition of qualifications may bar people from
working in their professions (Tagalog, Indonesian, Eastern European language speakers); discrimination
may reduce the employment chances of some immigrants (Arabic speakers report this); and lack of
local experience may reduce employability. The higher unemployment levels of immigrants tend to
level out over time, but refugees take longer to find appropriate employment.
Recommendation 7: Workplace training (including training in specialist English) can overcome some
of these obstacles, and this will involve collaboration between government and professional or trade
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associations. Some retraining may be needed if qualifications cannot be recognized. Retraining
scholarships and accelerated courses would bring skilled people into the workforce more rapidly at an
appropriate level of employment.
Economic aspects of linguistic diversity
Many companies with global markets are aware of the need for language skills. While larger
organizations may be able to include language skills among their recruitment critieria, smaller
businesses need to recruit staff primarily for workplace skills. It is clear that while unwilling to pay a
premium for additional language skills, companies value and make extensive use of the skills which
their employees bring to the workplace. Victorian businesses thus benefit from the state’s linguistic
diversity. In some cases these skills have allowed businesses to develop lucrative new markets.
Victorian businesses are sometimes reluctant to trade “outside their comfort zone”. Bilingual and
bicultural staff provide opportunities to engage in new areas. While many companies outsource
language work, there may be problems with quality control. Having in-house staff equipped to do this
also enhances cross-cultural communication with clients. Second language speakers may need support
from employers to develop the technical language expertise for specific workplaces.
Recommendation 8: Employers need to formally recognize the contribution of LOTE skills to effective
company operations in a globalized economy. One way to do this would be to offer staff development
funding and time release for employees to engage in language enhancement programs, and
governments should be encouraged to provide tax incentives to assist this initiative.
Community support networks
Established language communities have the time and resources to manage community language
media, run language maintenance classes and provide social welfare programs. Much of this relies on
volunteers. Members of newer refugee communities who are struggling to find housing, settle children
in school and find work (in addition to dealing with trauma), need more support but are less equipped
to supply it, and volunteers report “helper fatigue”.
Recommendation 9: Some funding needs to be allocated to subsidize community volunteers in newly
arrived communities.
Language skills of interpreters
Some anomalies are reported with the language skills claimed by interpreters of newer (especially
African) languages in the community. While some agencies are scrupulous in verifying language skills
and qualifications of interpreters, some irregularities are reported with others.
Recommendation 10: .Formal mechanisms need to be established for verifying the language skills of
applicants for interpreter training and employment.
LOTE instruction
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Second and third generation community members who acquire the LOTE at home may not acquire the
language skills needed for the workplace, and university language teaching is not producing graduates
with a wide enough range of skills.
Recommendation 11: Greater funding is needed for language education at all levels to expand a)
immersion language teaching; b) study abroad, and c) the development of specialist curricula.
Changing language policy
After leading the world in enlightened language policy in the 1980s, Australia under John Howard
moved towards a monocultural approach characterized, among other things, by claims of declining
standards of English, concerns that knowledge of another language would compromise English
proficiency (in the face of research evidence to the contrary), and the introduction of Australian cultural
knowledge for prospective citizens.
This report indicates a need for the new Labor government to review the language policy changes of
the last eleven years, and argues for a new policy based on the twin goals of equity and economic
advancement, for Australia as a whole and for its language communities. Such a policy needs to
acknowledge the importance to Australia culturally, economically and socially, of valuing and supporting
the language knowledge of its citizens and prospective citizens. Prospective citizens need to be
supported in developing English proficiency, by the provision of flexible and suitable language classes.
The citizenship test favours educated and literate applicants and places an unfair burden on refugees
with disrupted education. There is a good case for abandoning the test.
The rights of all Australians to develop proficiency in more than one language informed language policy
development of the 1980s. The monocultural trend of the last eleven years has been accompanied
by a decline in funding for language education at all levels, and the decreasing number of languages
offered at tertiary level. It is hoped that the new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, a fluent Mandarin speaker,
will recognize the value for the individual and the nation of giving all Australians the right to develop
language skills, through compulsory and well-funded and flexible language programs at primary and
secondary school levels.
Recommendation 12: The Federal government needs to establish a comprehensive review of
language policy, with a view to creating a new language policy for the 21st century. Such a policy
would recognize the contribution of linguistic diversity to Australia’s cultural heritage and economic
prosperity, and would seek to build on existing linguistic assets. Support would need to be offered for
indigenous and immigrant language maintenance, and the expansion of second language teaching at
all educational levels. Increased funding is needed for university language education and training for
language teaching, interpreting and translation.
Limitations of the census
The only language questions in the census address the English proficiency levels of household
members and the language(s) they speak at home. The language use question clearly leads to an
under-estimate of the knowledge and use of languages other than English in Victoria. Many second
and third generation members may speak English at home but make extensive use of the community
language with extended family members, and in a range of other domains. Members of the first
generation who live alone or with people who do not share the same first language cannot report use
of that language in the census.
Recommendation 13: Future censuses should include a question about languages used in domains
other than the home, and a question about LOTE proficiency levels.
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PREFACE
[He was eloquent both in French and Latin, having regard rather to the sense of what he had to say
than to ornaments of speech. He read English perfectly, and used to preach in English to the people,
[and] in the speech of Norfolk, where he was born and bred, and to this end he ordered a pulpit to be
set up in the church for the benefit of his hearers and as an ornament to the church; from the Chronicle
of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds1, cited in Townend 2006:63]
In the quotation above, 13th century monk Jocelin of Brakelond celebrates the trilingualism of the hero
of his work Abbot Samson. The linguistic complexity of Brakelond’s world in 13th century England is,
and has been, the global norm. In a worldwide perspective monolingual communities are rare. Most
children in the world grow up learning at least two languages and multilingualism is a regular part of
their social life. Indeed, as Richard Bailey (2006:335) reminds us, “until quite recently, the prevailing
opinion has been the more languages, the better”. This report provides a snapshot of the many
languages currently found in the State of Victoria, showing that, for many Victorians, multiculturalism is
still the norm, and providing evidence that it is indeed the case that “the more languages the better”.
This report could not have been produced without the generous support of many people. In
particular we would like to thank Michael Clyne for his encouragement, support and extremely helpful
advice, particularly in the planning phase of the project. Many thanks also to Colleen Pickett for her
transcriptions of a number of focus group tapes, and to Louisa Willoughby, who applied the final editing
polish to the first version of this report, and updated the statistical tables in the second version. Special
thanks to Harvey Mitchell, who read various drafts of the work and made extensive and valuable
comments.
We are extremely grateful to all those people who gave up their precious time in order to participate
in our focus group meetings and company interviews. We benefited much from the stories they told
and from the knowledge and insight they provided. We gratefully acknowledge the help of a number
of community organizations who put us in contact with prospective participants, or provided other
forms of support, information or participation, including the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Welfare
Association, the Japan Club, Tryber Hibiki Magazine, Il Globo, CoAsIt, JobWatch Inc., Employment
Rights Legal Centre, Migrant Resource Centre, Survivors of Torture and Trauma, the New Hope
Foundation, the African Community Development Centre, Indo-China Ethnic Chinese Association
of Victoria, North Eastern Melbourne Chinese Association, CAV Chinese School, VASS, Darebin
Community Health, Richmond North Community Health Centre, 3CR, Australian Arabic Council, AMES,
Bosna Magazine, South Asia Times, Indian Senior Citizens Forum and the VSL. Finally, we owe a huge
debt of gratitude to VITS for supporting this research and for their patience in waiting for the final
product to appear.
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A note on the authors of this report: Kate Burridge researched and wrote chapter 1 and Ana Deumert
was responsible for the research and writing of chapters 2-4, and Appendix 1, based on the 1996
and 2001 censuses,. These were extensively revised and rewritten by Louisa Willoughby and Julie
Bradshaw following the release of the 2006 census data in late 2007. Chapters 5 and 6 were researched
and written by Julie Bradshaw who also coordinated the findings and wrote the introductory and
concluding chapters. Meredith Izon contacted community members and company managers, set up
and conducted the business interviews, and assisted members of the team with the focus groups
sessions.
Homo erat eloquens, Gallice et Latine, magis rationi dicendorum quam ornatui eurborum innitens. Scripturam Anglice scriptam legere nouit elegantisseme, et Anglice
sermocinare solebat populo, et secundum linguam Norfolchie, ubi natus et nutritus erat, unde et pulpitum iussit fieri in ecclesia et ad utilitatem audiencium et ad decorem
ecclesie.
1
INTRODUCTION
In their 1995 book Immigration and Australia’s Language Resources, Kipp, Clyne and Pauwels argued
that while Australia was rich in linguistic diversity, this remained a largely untapped resource in the
economy for a number of reasons. Among these the most notable were problems for immigrants in
gaining recognition for overseas qualifications, difficulties in gaining workplace skills in English, and
the costs of maintaining community languages to a high enough level among the second and third
generations. They also noted a lack of awareness among employers of the potential benefits offered
by the linguistic and cultural skills of community language speakers, resulting in serious resource
wastage. Their book used census data to document the immigrant languages spoken in Australia in
1991, giving a valuable overview of the country’s language resources. In addition they presented case
studies of a small number of workplaces where language skills were valued, and used focus group data
to document the language needs and resources of three linguistic communities, noting that the costs of
language maintenance had largely been borne by communities themselves.
There have been three Australian censuses conducted since 1991. In this report, data from the 1996,
2001 and 2006 censuses are analyzed, to build on the findings of Kipp et al. There have been some
major shifts in the profile of Australia’s immigrants, with different patterns of change in each state
(Hugo 2004). The focus of this study is on Victoria, giving a detailed linguistic profile of the State, and
documenting Victoria’s current language resources, to serve as the basis for future language policy and
planning at State level.
The report comprises six chapters. Chapter 1 outlines the history and current state of Australia’s
language policy, showing how changes to Australia’s migrant intake have resulted from government
responses to economic forces such as the need for labour, and humanitarian needs such as refugee
crises. The resulting changes to the profile of the population were supported by internal policy changes,
which made Australia a world leader in areas such as multicultural broadcasting, and translating and
interpreting services (Clyne 2005).
Some of this momentum was lost in the eleven years of the Howard conservative government
(1996-2007), signaled by the name change of Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to the
Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the introduction of a test (in English) for prospective
citizens, of knowledge of Australian cultural values (DIMA 2006). While English skills have been part
of the immigration hurdle, no such bar has previously faced immigrants wishing to take up Australian
citizenship. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs stated
in the foreword to the discussion paper on changes to Australian citizenship that:
The government believes it is important that immigrants develop English skills which allow them to
communicate effectively with their fellow Australians to fully contribute to Australian society and to
realise the great opportunities available in Australia through jobs and education.
The discussion paper outlined citizenship testing in the UK, the USA, Canada and the Netherlands, and
asked what level of English should be required for prospective Australian citizens. There were a number
of underlying assumptions in the discussion document, for example, that immigrants may be reluctant
to improve their English skills and knowledge of the host community without the threat of being barred
from citizenship. It is also assumed that testing encourages learning. The test asked questions such as
Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia?, and What is the floral emblem?. There is no evidence
that Australian citizens would succeed in passing such a test, and potential citizens found it difficult.
It was reported in January 2008 (The Age 2/1/08) that of the 10,636 candidates since the test was
introduced in October 2006 more than 20% had failed.
Language policy changes of this magnitude need to be based on evidence, and the following work
provides evidence from Victoria, documenting the level of English reported by members of immigrant
page
11
groups, and the views of community focus group members on the need for improved language skills.
The evidence shows that immigrants bring to Victoria a range of language skills, including, in many
cases, English proficiency. Those with limited English make use of the opportunities to learn, but would
benefit from greater provision of more flexible language classes.
The Federal election on 24 November 2007 brought the Australian Labor Party to power, and in January
2008 the new Immigration Minister announced a review of the test. Michael Clyne has called on the
government to go further and re-instate the term “multicultural” as a step towards acknowledging the
value of the linguistic, cultural and economic resources with which Australia is richly endowed. “Federal
and state governments need to consider ways to harness Australia’s intercultural communication
experience and multilingual resources for Australia’s economic benefit as well as for the good of
individuals, families and communities” (Clyne, The Age, 2/1/08).
The major linguistic resources with which Victoria is endowed are documented in this report. Detailed
descriptions of the communities speaking Victoria’s main languages are given in Appendix 1, based on
data from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 censuses. This is an important resource for readers interested in
particular communities. A statistical profile is provided for each of the 27 community languages which
had more than 5000 speakers in 2001. Data are presented on the size of the group, settlement patterns,
birthplace, age and gender profiles, education and employment, and English proficiency.
Chapters 2 to 4 examine the changes in Victoria’s linguistic resources over the ten year period from
1996 to 2006. Chapter 2 focuses on linguistic diversity in Victoria, documenting overall changes in
the numbers of speakers of immigrant languages. Included in this discussion are data relating to
international students, who make an important contribution to Victoria’s linguistic and cultural richness.
In Chapter 3 the 27 communities are compared in terms of year of arrival, age profile, gender balance,
educational achievement, English proficiency and and work force participation. Chapter 4 presents a
detailed statistical profile of immigrants from the Horn of Africa, Victoria’s fastest growing linguistic
communities.
Victoria’s linguistic richness is evolving with changing patterns of migration. Chapter 5 examines the
implications of these linguistic resources for economic engagement in a globalizing economy. Case
studies of six businesses show ways in which the linguistic resources of employees and the needs of
the market mesh effectively, to the mutual benefit of company and staff.
Chapter 6 shifts the focus to the immigrant communities themselves. The views of members of
nine linguistic communities were canvassed in focus groups. Speakers of Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese
(Cantonese and Mandarin), Dinka (and Sudanese Arabic), Hindi, Italian, Japanese and Vietnamese
discussed issues including English language needs, language issues in the workplace, maintenance of
community languages, and language support services available for community members.
The report presents a snapshot of the language communities in Victoria, providing current demographic
and qualitative analysis on the basis of which informed language policy decisions may be made.
page
12
chapter
one
Australia’s language policy
Chapter one: Australia’s language
policy
1.1 Introduction
Australia has always had a multilingual and multicultural population. Yet it is also a country where
English monolingualism has considerable clout. The country is dominated by English — its national
language and its lingua franca is English. English language and English-medium education have been
among its major industries. In 1992 Australia was already earning around $500 million from English
language teaching within the country, and an estimated one billion dollars when we factor in what these
students brought into the country at the time (Bennett 1994). Australian English is a valuable national
resource, comparable to wheat, iron ore and coal. Against this backdrop, the country’s enthusiasm for
language policy making and language education planning is unusual. It contrasts strikingly with the lack
of interest that has been shown elsewhere in the English-speaking world (see Lo Bianco 2004:10).2
1.2 Backdrop — linguistic and cultural diversity
We are, after all, a microcosm of the world in its cultural diversity. (Clyne 2005:181)
Well before English-speakers settled in Australia, the country was already linguistically very diverse. The
following shows the approximate numbers of language families, languages and dialects at the time of
earliest European contact (figures based on Eagleson et al. 1982:31).
Language families
Languages
Dialects
26-29
200-250
500-700
European migration to Australia followed the arrival of Captain Cook in 1770. With the landing of the
First Fleet in 1788, Britain established its first penal colony in Sydney. The first arrivals were largely
prisoners, prison officers and their families. Non-convicts, or free settlers as they were known, came
mainly from Britain and Ireland via government- assisted passage schemes. They did not reach
significant numbers, however, until the middle of the 19th century. By the second half of that century
the population had started to become much more diverse. The gold rushes of the 1850s and the influx
of large numbers of Chinese miners introduced a significant Asian presence for the first time. Statistics
published by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) give the following
breakdown for notable population groups born overseas at the time of the Federation of the colonies
(1901): United Kingdom (57.7%); Ireland (21.5%); Germany (4.5%); China (3.5%); New Zealand (3.0%);
Sweden (1.5%).3 At this time the main languages (in addition to indigenous languages) were English,
Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, German, French, Italian, Chinese and Scandinavian languages.
The introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 (which excluded non-European migrants) had
a negative impact on the levels of migration to Australia, and not surprisingly linguistic and cultural
diversity diminished. DIMA statistics show that in 1947 only 9.8% of the Australian population were
born overseas. With immigration programs post World War II, however, the trend reversed in response
to the renewed diversity of immigration intake. By 1954 the proportion of the Australian population born
overseas had increased to 14.3%. Most significant was the rise in immigrants from countries where
English was not the first language, notably Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Malta,
Italy and Yugoslavia (as it was then). In 1901 the proportion of the overseas-born population from nonEnglish speaking countries was 17% (of 857,576); in 1947 the proportion had risen to 20% (of 744,187)
and by 1954 to 44% (of 1,286,466).4
In more recent times these figures have increased dramatically, clearly spurred on by the effects of
globalization and economic development. Massive flows of people, including tourists, migrants and
2
We recommend publications such as Kipp et al. (1995), Ozolins (1993), Lo Bianco (2004), and Clyne (2005)for a much fuller account of the history and current state of
language policy and planning in Australia.
3
DIMA, Statistics Section, Immigration: Federation to Century’s End, 1901-2000, DIMA: Canberra 2001.
4
DIMA, Statistics Section, Immigration: Federation to Century’s End, 1901-2000, DIMA: Canberra 2001.
page
15
refugees have produced an intermixing of people and cultures that is unprecedented. In Australia
and elsewhere these developments have fostered new socially-defined ethnic variation. Culture and
language at the local level have been changed irrevocably by this “inter-national” movement of people.
According to the 1991 census, 58% of the 3,689,128 born overseas hailed from non-English speaking
countries; in 2001 the figure increased again to 61% of 4,105,468.
There is another respect in which globalization is making societies more multicultural. In the face of
the homogenizing forces at work at the global level5, recent times have seen a growth spurt of local
identifiers — the “global village” might require its own lingua franca, but individual groups want their
own voice. Globalization has seen community languages strengthen their position, emerging (or
perhaps re-emerging) in more identifiable communities. (Of course globalization strengthens their
position in another respect — as an economic resource in trade and tourism —a point to be taken up
below.) According to the 1991 census 82.6% of the Australian population spoke only English at home;
14.8% spoke a LOTE at home (an increase of 1.2% from the 1986 census) and 2.5% did not specify
their home language (Kipp et al. 1995:25). The 1996 census data showed a slight increase to 15% of the
Australian population speaking a LOTE at home, with 81% speaking only English. In 2006 the proportion
of Australians speaking only English at home fell to 78.5%, and in Victoria it was 74.4%.
The 2001 census revealed more than the 200 LOTEs spoken in Australian homes. Those with the
highest number of speakers include Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, German, Macedonian
and Chinese languages. As researchers (eg. Kipp et al. 1995) have pointed out, however, these
statistics do not reflect actual numbers of community languages used in Australia. The wording of
the census questions has always referred only to languages used in the home. In other words, those
people who use English in the home, but who also continue speaking a LOTE outside the home, are
not included in the figures; for example, those who speak it to relatives and friends, or on particular
occasions such as community functions. Clyne also points out (2005:173) that the statistics are not
particularly helpful either when it comes to determining the needs of these people. Speakers who use
predominantly English at home may well depend on LOTE broadcasting and library holdings to provide
the opportunities for them to continue using their community language. Such speakers appear to be on
the increase.
The growth of the multilingual and multicultural population is a result of replenishment of the
population by immigration. At the individual level, the pattern in Australia has been one of on-going
language attrition and shift to English (Clyne and Kipp 1997) . For the indigenous communities this has
involved wholesale extinction of many languages. Only a small number of the original 250 languages
remain today, and few can boast a healthy numbers of speakers. Of the 90 surviving languages, only
about 20 are still robust; for example, Warlpiri, Arrente and Western Desert, each with about 3,000
speakers (see Schmidt 1990). While vigorous efforts are now being made to maintain, or even revive,
these languages, only time will tell how successful they are in reversing the overall trend toward
language death.
1.2.1 Attitudes to diversity
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16
As Clyne has documented (1991:7-8), during the early period of European settlement the prevailing
attitude was one of support for cultural and linguistic diversity. Bilingual education (especially in Victoria
and South Australia), foreign language learning, and community language newspapers helped to foster
the emerging linguistic communities. This was a time when diversity was permitted to flourish within
the concept of “Australian” (Ingram 2003:6).
This support disappeared, however, during the early years of the 20th century. The previous enthusiasm
for multiculturalism and multilingualism was replaced by a push for national homogeneity. In both
formal policies and in social attitudes and behaviour this push often translated into open antagonism
toward non-English speaking “others”. The discriminatory immigration policy has already been
mentioned. Ties to Britain were strengthened by war (Boer Wars, World War I) and resentment grew at
These homogenizing forces are evident in very different areas. The rise in urban tourism, for example, has brought with it a conscious “re-imaging” of cities by the “imageconsultants” of the modern urban planning world. While their intention has been exciting diversity — something new and distinct — paradoxically, the outcome is a levelling
of difference. Tourism academic Michael Hall (1997) describes how the removal of local identifiers has introduced a monotonous conformity, as cities are pushed into a kind
of ideal mould for “the international city”.
5
the flux of immigration that followed Federation (for example, the Pacific Island labourers who had been
brought in to work the sugar fields of Queensland). Support for bilingual education diminished and
English monolingualism flourished. Anti-multilingualism policy measures were introduced in education
and broadcasting, and there was little provided in the way of services in community languages (Lo
Bianco 2004:16). Even placenames showed the effects of assimilation (e.g. the translation of German
placenames into English).
This trend continued during the hard times brought on by World War II and the ensuing economic
depression. Ethnic difference is often the scapegoat when polity and economics go wrong. (Certainly,
the success of politician Pauline Hanson in the late 1990s shows the consequences of society’s freefloating anxieties when they come to rest, in this case on migrants and Aborigines — “they” displace
“us” from jobs; “they” pervert “our” culture; “they” bring in vice and immorality and so on.) Even
though the period post World War II saw the return of an extensive immigration program, the “White
Australia” policy at the time excluded non-European migrants. New arrivals were overwhelmingly
Anglo-Celtic in ethnicity and culture — and those that were not were encouraged to assimilate.
They were expected to learn English as rapidly as possible, and take on existing cultural norms. The
introduction of a comprehensive migrant education program (with focus very much on adult ESL) was
designed to integrate the new arrivals as quickly as possible.
In the decades that followed, the emphasis continued to be placed on policies and social practices that
favoured the assimilation of migrants and the development of English literacy. In the words of Billy
Snedden, the then Federal Immigration Minister, in 1969:
I am determined we should have a mono-culture, with everyone living in the same way, understanding
each other, and sharing the same aspirations. We don’t want cultural pluralism. (Cited in Foster &
Stockley 1984:46; also Clyne 2005:145)
It was during this period that the descriptive phrase New Australians (also New Aussies) took off. The
epithet first appeared around the late 1800s, originally to describe the colonists, but in the 1900s came
to be used for immigrants to Australia, especially those from continental Europe. The following entries
from the Australian National Dictionary illustrate its heyday of the 1950s and 60s:
1952. New Settler in W.A. (Perth) June 35 New Australians must learn to speak English and read English
and to talk to one another in English.
1956. ‘A.B.C’ What is A? The New Australian is sometimes a pain in the neck for the old Aussies, but
keep smiling, they will improve, and old and new will go hand in hand to make Australia great, greater,
greatest ever.
1965. K. Smith OGF 51 Some of the older New Aussies there to be naturalized had gone off to sleep.
There was little in the way of overt support for community languages. For the most part it was left
up to ethnic organizations and individuals themselves to provide “foreign language” instruction,
library facilities and broadcasting; and there was scant provision of services in community languages.
Bilingualism was strongly discouraged and parents were advised to use only English at home. As Clyne
puts it (2005:144):
For the first seven decades of the 20th century, assimilation was the official Australian policy on
immigrants, and this meant that language shift was strongly encouraged.
Curiously, given this sentiment, little was done at this time to cater for the English as a Second
Language requirements of children, although English instruction for adult migrants had been around
for some time. The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) was created as early as 1948 and has grown
considerably over the years — according to its website, around six million hours of adult English
language tuition are provided each year. Its budget for 2006/07 was $153.70 million.
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17
1.3 The “golden years”
In terms of the evolution of a multicultural society, the 1970s was the most exciting period in Australian
history. It was followed in the 1980s by, and undoubtedly gave impetus to, an equally exciting period in
the area of language policy. (Ingram 2003:7)
It was not until the second half of the 20th century that we saw the return of the kind of support for
cultural and linguistic diversity that was around in the late 19th century. As Lo Bianco argues, the
impetus for language planning has come largely from ideology rather than from a need to address
practical problems — although economic imperatives and the need to provide access to information
have played some role (cf. Chapter 5; see also Clyne, Grey and Kipp 2004).
It was the Whitlam government (1972-75) that initiated the development of a coherent language policy.
The social justice focus of this government and its concern for equity and access dictated support for
community languages and provision of ESL.
In language education policy, it increasingly was realised, first, that many young Australian residents
came to school with little or no English and needed specialist ESL teaching and, desirably, the
opportunity to enter into bilingual education programmes. Second, it was recognised that Australia had
imported a vast resource of language skills, which would be wasted if steps were not taken to enable
the languages to survive and be used. (Ingram 2003:7)
As individuals from non-English-speaking backgrounds rose to prominent positions, the language
interests of immigrant groups assumed greater significance to politicians and others in a position
to respond to these interest groups. Support for what we now know as “multiculturalism” grew —
although always more so in urban centres such as Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and far less so
in the rural areas. As Lo Bianco points out, this support was fuelled by a combination of the high takeup of citizenship and compulsory voting, which together helped to create “a large urban constituency
that the political classes appealed to with cultural policies in which language featured prominently”
(2004:20).
The 1970s also saw the spotlight shift away from European immigration towards Asia. At this time,
there was a Government inquiry into the teaching of Asian languages in Australia. Although it served to
signal the growing interest in Asia, no substantial contribution to language education policy eventuated.
There was no attempt to back up the rhetoric with any kind of systematic language or language
education policy.
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18
Clyne (2005:145-151) clearly outlines the outcomes of the “grassroots” support of multilingualism
during the 1970s. This period was marked by intensive (and growing) public agitation for a greater
recognition of the importance of community languages in a culturally diverse Australia, particularly in
legal, medical and policing contexts, and in educational institutions. The result of this agitation was
the issuing of the Statement of Immigrant Education, Cultures and Languages in 1973. The demands
outlined by the signatories (40 teachers, academics, members of ethnic communities and trade
unionists) included the introduction of instruction in migrant languages and cultures in schools and
universities. In the following year the first Migrant Education Action Conference was held in Melbourne.
This conference expanded on and made more explicit these demands, emphasizing the teaching of
migrant languages in schools and the provision of teaching and library materials. Out of this conference
grew the (Melbourne-based) Migrant Education Action Committee. However progress was slow. The
second Migrant Education Action conference (also in Melbourne) culminated in a multilingual petition
signed by 21,800 Victorians calling for improved funding for ESL teaching; the repeal of 1916 legislation
banning instruction in any medium other than English in registered schools; better recognition of the
needs of bilingual children by schools; and the opportunity for all children to learn other languages
from early years.
The burgeoning interest in multiculturalism stimulated conferences, reports and inquiries throughout
the 1970s. Changes introduced into language teaching and learning paved the way for the creation of
indigenous education programs, for the accreditation of more language subjects at upper secondary
school levels and, from 1973, for the establishment of community languages in primary schools. In
1973 the world’s first multilingual Telephone Interpreter Service (a free service) was also established.
This was an initiative that even by today’s standards is innovative (as Clyne 2005:170 points out,
Britain is now exploiting time differences to make use of this service during the night). Other significant
language services that emerged during this period included the establishment of funding for ethnic
radio and television, the provision of interpreting (in health/medical, legal and policing services) and the
creation of NAATI – the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. As Lo Bianco
notes “[v]irtually the entire national infrastructure for responding to linguistic diversity which Australia
still uses was created in the 1970s” (2004:21).
The Fraser government (1975-1983) maintained momentum. Most significant at this time was the
adoption in 1978 of the Galbally report. Written in ten languages, this was the first multilingual
bill to pass though an Australian parliament. Among its recommendations were the promotion of
language maintenance programs and of community language learning, the employment of bilinguals
in supporting services, a multicultural television network, and a major review of the Adult Migrant
Education Program. The recommendations in the Galbally report were based on four guiding principles:
All members of our society must have equal opportunity to realise their full potential and must have
equal access to programs and services;
Every person should be able to maintain his or her culture without prejudice or disadvantage and
should be encouraged to understand and embrace other cultures;
Needs of migrants should, in general, be met by programs and services available to the whole
community but special services and programs are necessary at present to ensure equality of access
and provision;
Services and programs should be designed and operated in full consultation with clients, and self-help
should be encouraged as much as possible with a view to helping migrants to become self-reliant
quickly. (Galbally report 1978:4)
However progress was slow and “language policy remained ad hoc and piecemeal” (Clyne 2005:151).
Support for some of the earlier initiatives was still lacking. There was no provision of training for
interpreters, no primary school teacher training that included language teaching methodology, and
many secondary school language subjects were not available to students at tertiary level. There was
a clamour for some kind of national body to oversee language and language education planning and
policy. The Australian Senate referred these issues to its Standing Committee on Education and the
Arts, which recommended in its report that:
Language policies should be developed and co-ordinated at the national level on the basis of four
guiding principles, namely:
❱
❱
❱
❱
c
ompetence in English;
m
aintenance and development of languages other than English;
p
rovision of services in languages other than English;
o
pportunities for learning second languages. (SSCEA 1984:224)
As Clyne points out (2005:153) all but the third of these principles already underpinned a policy
formulated by the Victorian Education Department as early as 1979. Indeed, during the course of the
long wait between this Senate Committee’s report and the eventual appearance of a national policy
page
19
some three years later, most states and territories had started to put in place their own language or
language education policies and had reformed their own language education programs. In Victoria,
1984 marked the appearance of the first LOTE policy, The Role of Community Languages in Victorian
Schools. An amended version was released in 1985 — The Role of Languages Other Than English in
Victorian Schools. This policy
…proposed ‘a concerted effort’ over the next 15 years to make the continued study of a LOTE part
of the normal education of all children from Prep to Year 12 by 2000. It also set three hours as the
minimum weekly allocation for a LOTE. A number of different types of language programs was
described, including bilingual education. This was complemented by a staged implementation plan in
the Victorian Languages Action Plan (1987). (Clyne 2005:154)
Finally in 1987 the much anticipated National Policy on Languages (Lo Bianco 1987) was released.
Picking up on the concerns outlined in the earlier Senate report, the policy outlined three main goals:
❱ English proficiency for all Australians,
❱ An increase in bi- / multilingual Australians,
❱ The maintenance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
It dealt with issues such as the teaching of English and other languages (including Aboriginal
languages), language testing, the provision of translating / interpreting, library facilities and media
services for languages. Michael Clyne in an earlier publication outlined what he saw as the strengths of
this policy:
(i) Its comprehensiveness: the ‘mainstreaming’ of all languages and an explicit complementarity
between English and other languages used in Australia, which had been implied in the scope of the
Senate inquiry.
(ii) Its federalism: it allows each state or territory to start from its position at the time, and to establish
its priorities taking into consideration broader state goals, ethnolinguistic composition and geographical
position. […]
(iii) Its provision for a broad representation in the implementation process, involving ethnic,
Aboriginal and professional groups in the decision making through an advisory council.
Perhaps the most important aspect, from a practical point of view, is that each substantive
recommendation is accompanied by a budgetary one. (Clyne 1991:228)
More recently, Ingram (2003) has outlined what he considers to be a desirable framework for the design
and implementation of a language policy, and in this context he summarizes what he sees as the
policy’s deficiencies:
… significant gaps occurred in such areas as teacher education, teacher supply, adult and child English
language literacy, and the on-going evaluation of the policy and its programmes. In addition, though
the report makes some reference to the role of language skills in the development of industry and
trade, the notion was not developed. (Ingram 2003:9)
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20
With the rise of economic rationalism came a change in language policy discourse (Lo Bianco 2004:25).
Matters to do with international economic competitiveness were now given priority over other interests
of nation and community. In 1991 the Australian Language and Literacy Policy (a top-down language
policy this time rather than bottom-up as previously; Clyne 2005:156) was launched. The following
excerpt from the foreword to this policy encapsulates its basic position.
Proficiency in our national language, Australian English, is obviously necessary for an individual to
participate as fully as possible in Australian society. But as important as proficiency in Australian
English is for us as Australians, we also need to enhance our ability to communicate with the rest of
the world … Our multilingual population invests us with valuable linguistic resources. But we must
not rely simply on the skills of those who are already bilingual. Many more Australians need to learn a
second language.
This was a policy that emphasized issues to do with (child and adult) English literacy, second language
learning generally (the policy supported the extension of language teaching into the primary schools),
and language services (such as translation / interpreting, library facilities and the media). It also
emphasized the contribution of linguistic skills to the economy (“language and cultural retention as a
‘resource’ rather than a ‘right’” Lo Bianco 2004:23), which shifted the focus from community languages
generally to languages of importance for trade and tourism. Language maintenance was no longer
seen as an equity issue. The focus on economic relevance of language learning was made explicit.
Languages were ranked and a list of national priority languages was produced (from which states were
asked to select eight key languages): Arabic, Australian Aboriginal languages, Chinese, French, German,
Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. Particular
priority was given to Asian languages.
From elite European foreign tongues, for elites and for elite purposes, to community languages for
community purposes, including indigenous languages for indigenous purposes, the exigencies of trade
and geo-politics shifted language education towards Asian languages, again elite ones, and often for
foreign purposes too. (Lo Bianco 2004:23)
A major supplement to this policy was released in 1994 (developed by the Keating government).
Its title made the new thinking very apparent: Asian Languages and Australia’s Economic Future.
Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian and Korean were named as the four key Asian languages of
considerable economic value. Supported by considerable amounts of funding, this policy set the goal
that 60% of children would take up one of these languages at school. Accordingly, some attention was
given to the quality of language teaching — the policy recommended a nationally agreed minimum
skills level for Asian language teachers. It was abandoned in 2003. (See Clyne 2005:158).
1.4 Diversity in Australian English
In the Australian case public policy on languages other than English has been an instrument for nation
making, seeking at different times to sustain multiculturalism, to integrate immigrants or placate
mainstream populations about the persistence of linguistic and ethnic differences or to advance the
nation’s accommodation to its Asian geography. Similarly, English has been pressed into national
service, but with different ideological aspirations attached to it. (Lo Bianco 2004:31-2)
In any discussion of language planning and literacy issues in multicultural Australia, some mention
must be made of the place of Australian English and its burgeoning diversity.
As Bradley’s (2001) long-term study confirms, attitudes to Australian English are now very different
from what they once were. Quite simply, “speaking Australian” is no longer seen as such a bad thing.
Whereas once the voices heard on radio and television were BBC accented, from the 1980s onwards
this began to change. These days, it is more usual to encounter hostile (perhaps even amused)
reactions towards Received Pronunciation (RP) and the local so-called “cultivated” accents that fall
closest to RP. There have been additional changes to the language that go beyond breaking free of
Britain and British norms.6 As attitude studies show, ethnic varieties of the dominant language can
become “powerful markers of ethnic group belongingness” (cf. Giles 1977). It comes as no surprise
then that contact with languages other than English has seen the rise, particularly in recent years, of
new multicultural identities for Australian English (see, for example, Cox and Palethorpe 2006).
Where community languages are strong (where there are “hard linguistic and non-linguistic
boundaries” existing between ethnic groups, to use Giles’ terminology), English has a less important
role to play in ethnic differentiation. But in the face of language attrition these boundaries soften, and
it is far more likely that “speech markers will be adopted in order to accentuate ethnic categorization”
(Giles 1977:274). As each of these language groups seeks to assert its own identity, different ethnic
6
Collins and Peters (2004) compare Australian English morphology and syntax with New Zealand English and the two northern hemisphere standards and examine the case
for endonormativity; in other words, the extent to which Australian English is “consolidating its own norms as an independent national standard” (p. 608). They identify
“small but significant developments” in Australian English grammar that support the notion of an Australian Standard — justified also, as they point out, by a distinctive
lexicon and lexical morphology (of the type mosquito > mozzie and musician > muso). In addition, the appearance of Australian style manuals (such as Pam Peters’
Cambridge Australian English Style Guide) and distinctly Australian dictionaries (such as the Macquarie Dictionary and those published by Oxford University Press) have also
helped to establish a distinctive standard for Australia. No longer does the country look to British norms and standards for linguistic guidance.
page
21
varieties of English have become an important means of signalling the group boundaries. Italian, Greek
or Aboriginal English features in a group’s English are now potent markers of that group’s ethnicity.7
While it is true that migrant children have moved away from the broad end of the spectrum, these
second generation Australians of non-English-speaking background appear to be developing an
Australian English of their own, different from the “Ethnic Broad” of their parents, but different also
from mainstream General Australian English. Ethnicity is a crucial part of social identity — something
that people want to demonstrate through their use of language — and migrant populations in Australia
are now a considerable force for change in its English. Curiously, though, this is not the outcome
predicted by Barbara Horvath’s 1985 study of Sydney speech. Her results indicated that Italian
and Greek teenagers were moving away from what has been dubbed “Ethnic Broad” (the variety
characteristic of the first generation of migrants). These ethnic groups seemed to be choosing to
distance themselves from the linguistic patterns of their parents, in order to assimilate linguistically to
the mainstream. Perhaps this was because “Ethnic Broad” had become so highly stigmatized and these
speakers did not want to be typecast as working class and migrant — for some time the variety had
been providing lampooning fodder for comedians (witness the success of media stereotypes like Con
the Fruiterer, Effie and Wogboys).
Recent work by Warren (1999) suggests that in addition to unmarked Australian English, the second
generation may adopt elements of Ethnic Broad to use as an in-group code, a marker of non-Anglo
ethnicity.
…[S]ome young people of the second generation adopt a distinctive accent and speech patterns which
distinguish them both from their parents’ values and from those of the Anglo host culture, in their
search for ‘a place to speak’ (Warren 1999:89)
This variety appears to be a pan-ethnic variety. Thus while first generation immigrants are likely to
have their community language and an distinctively accented variety of Australian English, the second
generation will have mainstream Australian English and some competence in the community language,
and may also have access to the pan-ethnic variety which Warren calls “Wogspeak”.
1.5 Language policy today
In the intensified complexity produced by globalising economies, language education and national
identity, in their separate ways, are under considerable challenge. (Lo Bianco 2004:32)
The sort of long-term vision that language policies require does not thrive under a system of
adversarial politics. The Australian Language and Literacy Policy proved to be the last comprehensive
language policy document to appear. With the arrival of the Howard Government in 1996, national
language policy making foundered — or as Ingram writes (2003:4) was “at best, reduced to a series of
questionable assertions about so-called “literacy”’. There was a general lack of activity at the Federal
level and reduced activity at the state and territory level (leaving it largely up to the individual states to
determine their own language education policies).
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22
From the late 1990s until the end of 2007, multilingual policy was undermined by a number of factors.
The most obvious is the reduced government funding that now threatens a number of multicultural
programs (such as ethnic schools, libraries, multilingual radio and television and interpreting/translation
services). The enabling changes of the 1970s have been replaced by disabling changes (Clyne et al.
2004:267), as funding stringencies have forced the closure of many university language programs.
Varieties of Aboriginal English provide another dimension to the “Extra-territorial Englishes” in Australia, and the interaction of Aboriginal English, Australian English and
creoles is complex. The many different varieties of English and creole that Aboriginal people speak range from something which is virtually identical to Standard Australian
English in everything but accent (the “acrolect”) through to pure creole which is so remote from Standard Australian English as to be mutually unintelligible (the “basilect”).
Falling in between these two polar extremes is a range of varieties (or “mesolects”). Generally speakers have command of a number of these varieties and they move along
the continuum according to the situation and the audience. All of these different indigenous English varieties and creoles must be accommodated in any language planning
and policy-making. This has been slow to happen. In his description of the linguistic variation within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speech communities, Malcolm
(2004) examines some of the serious educational implications, especially the need for a better integration of these Englishes into school learning.
7
Although school systems are beginning to recognize the fact that creoles and Aboriginal English may be coherent linguistic systems, there is still a reluctance to allow them
any significant place in the development of school literacy. It is assumed that literacy skills in St(andard) E(nglish) will be best acquired by concentrating only on that variety,
despite research evidence of the relevance of home language to effective learning of standard varieties. (Malcolm 2004: 668)
When people feel obliged to defend the essential institutions such as universities, state education,
hospitals, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as basic human rights, national
languages policy becomes more of a luxury rather than the essential link between many other policies.
(Clyne 2005:160)
And there are other factors too: (1) intensifying globalization brings with it the belief that “English is
all you need”; (2) concern about literacy levels and the so-called “national crisis in English literacy”
(also in Britain and the US) has shifted priorities away from community languages; (3) lack of funding
in universities threatens language subjects and translating/interpreting courses; (4) inflexible school
curricula mean that schools cannot respond to changing demographics — more “relevant” languages
(such as Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese, African languages) are left out of the picture.
The rhetoric of “a national crisis in English literacy” interacts with a notion of the crowded curriculum,
to generate the myth that LOTE instruction takes precious time which could be spent on English. This
ignores a wealth of research literature on the positive effects of bilingual education, including the
transfer of skills across language boundaries. Literacy skills taught in one language can be readily
transferred to another, cognitive flexibility is developed and metalinguistic knowledge is enhanced
by effective language instruction (Li 2000). These benefits need to be shared by both immigrant
communities and the mainstream community. Romaine (1999:68) notes:
It is extraordinarily wasteful to spend resources on teaching the languages of ethnic minorities on a
limited basis only to those of a particularly minority background when it is widely recognized from
research findings that bilingualism can be an intellectually enriching experience under the right
learning circumstances.
The major policy initiatives of the golden age took account of the research evidence in proposing the
mainstreaming of language instruction. Economic forces and the crisis rhetoric have obscured this
important insight, which needs to be forcefully reiterated. Lo Bianco (2001:60) observes that the policy
turn of 1991 (The Australian Language and Literacy Policy), with its focus on economic outcomes,
English literacy and engagement with Asia for trade imposes a monocultural focus and an “othering”
of languages. The priority languages (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indonesian) are construed as foreign,
as tools to be used outside the country for narrowly economic goals. Acquisition of these languages
would not involve cultural or emotional ties which might challenge a monocultural English-centred
construct of the Australian heartland. This retrograde step in Australian official thinking seems destined
to heighten social divisiveness rather than cohesion, and is based on an anachronistic model of
language learning.
In November 2007 the Howard government lost the Federal election, to be replaced by the Labor
government of Kevin Rudd. The new Prime Minister, a fluent Mandarin speaker, is likely to take a more
progressive stand on language maintenance, language learning and the importance of multilingual skills
for Australians and for the country’s international relations and trade.
Fortunately many positive outcomes of earlier policy initiatives remain. Across Australia, more than 43
languages can be studied in Year 12, 34 community languages are offered in mainstream schools, and
other institutions such as the Schools of Languages offer language classes (Clyne et al. 2004:247). The
expansion of language education has meant that 90% of all primary schools across Australia offer at
least one language. There is still a government television channel which offers programs and films in
16 community languages8, though it is increasingly subject to commercial pressures. Government and
government-subsidized radio stations continue to broadcast in over 80 languages. And although over
the years (including quite recently) there have been moves to merge the ABC and SBS, nothing has
come of them. Australia’s Telephone Interpreter Service continues its success. The AMEP (now AMES)
remains a vibrant national program (although “squeezed” in recent years).
As research continues in the area of language learning and literacy, so more empirical support emerges
8
See Clyne et al. (2004) for detailed documentation of media and other resources.
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23
for literacy interdependence between two (or more) languages — students can transfer cognitive and
academic skills acquired in the first language to their second language. Not surprisingly, therefore,
researchers find more successful L2 proficiency in bilingual programs compared to monolingual
programs. As Liddicoat describes it:
Learning a new language teaches the learner something about the nature of language and languages,
and this is knowledge which needs to be developed by a literate person. […] Most importantly, it
helps one to come to see language as an object that can be talked about, which is a fundamental step
in becoming literate. Second language learning is therefore a resource for enhancing literacy, not a
problem for acquiring literacy. It forms part of a whole package for learning about language as a part
of schooling and provides additional insights into the nature of language that are not available to the
monolingual learner. (Liddicoat 2000-01: 12)
The problem still of course is how to get the message across that second language learning is not a
barrier to literacy, but rather a boon.
Recent developments outside the education arena also suggest that that there are positive
developments for community languages ahead. The phenomenon of globalization, particularly issues to
do with trade, tourism and business, makes language a very marketable commodity. Security needs are
highlighting the shortfall in competence in community languages. Clyne et al. (2004) argue that effective
language policy needs the flexibility to respond to changing demographic needs. These include
changes in population flows of the sort which are documented in Chapter 2 of this report. Changing
patterns of migration produce asymmetries between communities in their age distribution, level of
English proficiency and employment patterns, and these differences will need to be responded to with
policy changes. The high proportion of young children in the Horn of Africa communities, for example,
will need a flexible response from education planners, while the ageing Italian and Greek communities
may need language assistance in aged care and more access to mass media in the community
language (see Chapter 6 for a discussion of some of these issues.)
Clyne et al (2004 :249-50) offer a wish-list of flexible language policy provisions in the area of education,
administration and mass media, policies which would respond to rapid demographic changes. A
flexible education policy would provide the means for newer immigrant groups to establish language
programs in response to their needs. The media provide information and entertainment, and must
respond particularly to the needs of recent arrivals, people with limited English, and the elderly, and
the same applies to the provision of public information. Some of these concerns are explored in more
detail in interviews with members of language communities in Chapter 6.
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24
As discussed earlier, much of our existing language policy was established back in the 1970s and
1980s, and Clyne et al. (2004:254) warn that “there is a danger that not only the planning framework
but also the decisions on languages will reflect the language demography of that period”. Clearly, what
we need are detailed and up-to-date descriptions of demographic trends in communities. However,
demographic information is only part of the story. Languages and their speakers exist in a sociohistorical context which informs language maintenance decisions. Some Greek parents, for example,
would prefer their children to learn a language of global economic importance such as Japanese, rather
than maintain Greek (Bradshaw & Truckenbrodt 2003), and work by Smolicz (1981) argues that some
language communities more readily relinquish their language, while others, for whom the language
is a core value, are more tenacious. Dutch speakers are often cited as examples of the former, with
more rapid language shift than, say, Turkish speakers. Thus, language planning needs of immigrant
communities cannot be predicted simply from demographic factors. The professional and educational
backgrounds of speakers and their knowledge of English are important, but it is also crucial that we
understand the perceptions of community members, and how they envisage their needs.
In addition to documenting the demographic trends based on the most recent census data available,
the following chapters focus on community language speakers themselves and present their views on
various issues to do with language maintenance, language skills in the workplace and language support
services.
Until the change of Federal government (November 2007) most positive language planning initiatives
were implemented by the states and territories. It is hoped that the new Labour federal government
will take a more pro-active role in promoting language maintenance, second language learning and the
appropriate support to linguistic minorities, as well as valuing their economic and cultural contributions.
It is precisely on-going studies of this kind that they require in order to properly manage the language
needs of changing migrant communities.
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25
chapter
two
Victoria’s changing population
Chapter two: Victoria’s changing
population
This chapter provides an overview of the changing language resources in Victoria, based on an analysis
of the 1996, 2001 and 2006 censuses. Population trends are outlined for the top community languages,
and for international students who also contribute to the linguistic diversity of the state.
2.1 Census data and broad migration trends in Australia
As noted by Hugo (2004: 17): “Australia has some of the most comprehensive and accurate data on
both the stocks [number of migrants in a nation at any one time] and flows [number of migrants flowing
between two places over a given period] of international migration.”
Flows, which are not considered in this study, are measured by DIMIA’s Movement Database (MDB)
which collects data for every person entering or leaving Australia. Data on stocks of migrants are
collected most comprehensively in the Australian censuses which have been conducted every five
years since 1961. The Australian censuses include a number of questions on migration and ethnicity,
in particular questions on birthplace of person and parents, year of arrival, ancestry, and language
use in the home. Comparability of data can be problematic as the questions have not been consistent
across the censuses. Data on birthplace of person and year of arrival have been collected continuously
from 1911 to 2006. Data on birthplace of parents have been collected from 1971 to 2006, while data on
ancestry were collected only in 1986, 2001 and 2006.
Questions on language use are particularly problematic:
❱ in 1921 respondents were asked only whether they could read and write;
❱ in 1933 respondents were asked whether they could read and write a foreign language if unable to
read and write English;
❱ there were no language-related questions between 1947 and 1971;
❱ in 1976 the census asked for ‘all languages regularly used’;
❱ in 1981 a question on the ability to speak English was introduced;
❱ and since 1986 we have two separate questions: (a) language used in the home, and (b) ability to
speak English (Hugo 2004: 19).
In the present study the focus is on documenting changes in immigrant populations between 1996
and 2006. Of particular interest are newly emerging immigrant communities, especially those from
Africa. While European migrants dominated in the post-war decade, recent migration has been shaped
significantly by movements from Asia, in particular China, Indonesia and the Philippines (Hugo 2004:
32). Hugo notes an increase in migration from Oceania, in particular from New Zealand, and he goes on
to comment that:
The other very fast growing region of birth of recent immigrants between the 1996 and 2001 censuses
was Sub-Saharan Africa whose numbers doubled ... South Africa was the dominant origin among the
African recent migrants. Nevertheless, a recent feature of Australian immigration has been substantial
movement from other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa especially Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Somalia ... The
increase in the Sub-Saharan non-South Africa, African-born population has added another dimension
to Australian multiculturalism in the last decade. (Hugo 2004: 28)
The age profile of Australia’s foreign-born population reflects past and current migration trends.
Generally, migration tends to be selective by age and the overall flow of migrants into Australia shows
a clear over-representation of those in their 20s and 30s, which causes a slight reduction in the median
page
29
age of the population (Brown et al. 2003). However overseas-born Australians are on average older than
their Australian-born counterparts. The reason for this is the ageing of the postwar immigrant bulge
from Italy and Greece, as well as those who arrived as young adults in the late 1940s and early 1950s
under the ‘Displaced Persons’ category (Poland, former USSR, former Baltic States). As Hugo (2004: 45)
observes:
Also among the largest group are the elderly populations of German and Dutch origin ... Other
Southern European origin groups are expanding faster ... The Greek elderly ... grew by 52.9% between
1996 and 2001 ... the Lebanese elderly ... increased their numbers by 31.4% between 1996 and 2001.
The age distributions given in Figure 2.1 show a higher proportion of overseas-born Victorians than
Australian-born Victorians in all age groups above the 25-44 category.
Figure 2.1 Age profile of the Australian-born and overseas-born population in Victoria
Source: compiled from ABS 2006 data
ABS projections based on the 2001 census expect the 65 and over group will grow faster than the
population average, reaching 27-30% by 2051, leading to a substantial increase in the need for aged
care services. Immigrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds are likely to need greater linguistic
support, targeted to their projected numbers (Bradshaw 2007). The detailed analysis of the major
language communities given in Chapter 3 and Appendix 1 will contribute to the planning needed for
areas such as specialist geriatric support.
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30
Recent migrant groups are not only younger than earlier vintages, but in some cases show higher
numbers of female migrants (see Chapter 3 for a detailed discussion of current figures). The majority
of female migrants originate from South-East (especially Vietnam and the Philippines) and North-East
Asia, while migration from South Asia (especially India) remains male dominant, possibly reflecting
“significant cultural differences but also a different profile of migration whereby the South Asian
movement is dominated by skilled, economic-based migration.” (Hugo 2004: 49)
Among migrants to Australia Victoria is one of the preferred destinations, behind NSW but ahead of
Queensland (see Table 2.1).
Table 2.1 Percentage distribution of the population by birthplace (Australian and
overseas-born) arriving in the last five years, 1996, 2001 and 2006
Australian born
Overseas-born
Persons arriving in the
last five years
1996
1996
2001
2006
1996
2001
2006
2001
2006
New South Wales 33.22% 32.65% 32.11% 35.54% 35.93% 35.68% 41.09% 40.67% 34.46%
Victoria 23.96% 24.04% 24.13% 26.61% 26.31% 27.87% 24.24% 23.56% 26.04%
Queensland 9.96%
South Australia 8.15%
Western Australia 8.91%
Tasmania 2.98%
Northern Territory 1.13%
Australian Capital
Territory 1.67%
Other Territories 0.02%
20.44%
0.07%
9.11%
2.83%
1.16%
21.38%
9.12% 7.78%
1.66%
2.76%
14.25%
7.74%
12.18%
1.19%
0.75%
15.01%
7.22%
12.06%
1.11%
0.72%
13.25%
12.29%
7.50%
1.65%
1.17%
15.31%
4.51%
11.62%
0.80%
0.76%
17.50%
4.09%
11.26%
0.69%
0.73%
18.48%
12.37%
5.62%
0.90%
0.64%
1.69%
0.01%
1.05%
0.01%
1.71%
0.03%
1.62%
0.02%
0.57%
0.02%
1.65%
0.02%
1.49%
0.01%
1.48%
0.01%
Sources: Adapted from Hugo (2004: 60) and ABS 2007 data
With regard to settlement patterns within states, differences between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas are important. Generally, the term ‘non-metropolitan’ is used “to refer to parts of
the country outside of centres with more than 100,000 inhabitants (‘metropolitan’ areas)” (Hugo 2004:
63). A distinctive feature of Australia’s post-WW II migration has been a settlement preference for large
metropolitan areas, and international migration “has been of critical importance in the post-war growth
of Sydney and Melbourne” (Hugo 2004: 68). Furthermore, the spatial distribution of migrants is variable
within cities. In Melbourne, for example, “recent migrants are strongly concentrated in two areas – inner
suburbs and the Springvale area in the southeast” (Hugo 2004: 88). Recent regional settlement patterns
will be outlined in Chapter 3.
2.2 Victoria’s language diversity, 1996, 2001and 2006
The numbers of speakers of the top 20 LOTEs in Victoria in 1996, 2001 and 2006 are shown in Figure
2.2. As the figure shows, Italian and Greek are the most widely spoken community languages followed
by Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Arabic.
Figure 2.2 Top 20 LOTEs in Victoria in 1996, 2001 and 2006
Tamil
French
Russian
Serbian
Sinhalese
Polish
Hindi
Maltese
German
Tagalog
(Filipiono)
Croatian
Spanish
Turkish
Macedonian
Arabic
Mandarin
Cantonese
Vietnamese
Greek
Italian
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31
Source:ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006
Detailed statistics for individual language communities in Victoria can be found in Appendix 1.
2.3 Community growth: 1996 to 2006
Most of Victoria’s language communities experienced growth in the period between 1996 and 2006.
The exceptions are the southern and middle European languages which all shrank: most dramatic was
the decrease in speaker numbers for German, followed by Maltese, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Dutch,
Macedonian, and Greek. Asian languages, especially Hindi, Mandarin, Sinhalese, and Indonesian, have
also grown at high rates. Cantonese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Arabic, Turkish and Khmer show more
moderate growth rates. Albanian, Russian, Bosnian and Serbian showed a mild increase in speaker
numbers, while growth rates for Spanish and Croatian were negligible and community size remained
more or less stable.
If we include smaller languages in our inventory, we note that 32 LOTEs gained at least 1000 speakers
between 1996 and 2006. The largest increases in absolute speaker numbers were for the 15 languages
given in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 Number and percentage increases in speaker numbers, 1996 2006
Population increase
1996- 2006 % increase 1996 - 2006
Mandarin
Vietnamese
Arabic Cantonese
Hindi
Sinhalese
Punjabi
Indonesian
Assyrian
Tamil
Serbian
Turkish
Korean
Urdu
Samoan
38,797
18,071
16,433
13,028
10,866
8,252
5,558
4,908
4,863
4,800
4,662
3,916
3,762
3,623
3,079
151.6
33.5
41.7
24.2
149.0
95.5
210.5
88.3
222.3
76.8
38.3
15.2
169.5
234.5
121.0
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2006.
For Assyrian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi, Korean, Urdu and Samoan these gains have seen the
communities more than double in size as a result of a continuing influx of migrants. These communities
are likely to continue growing in the future. With the exception of Samoan and Assyrian, these
languages all saw at least two thirds of their total growth take place between 2001 and 2006: in the case
of Punjabi this ratio exceeded 4:1.9
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32
In addition to the changes mentioned above, three languages which were not coded separately in 2001
returned sufficient numbers to be coded separately in 2006. These are Dinka (2220 speakers), Nuer
(897) and Karen (408).
Communities which grew between 1996 and 2006 are given in Table 2.3. Vietnamese and Cantonese,
which are the third and fourth most widely-spoken languages in Victoria, grew between 1996 and 2006,
as did many other Asian languages (including Mandarin, Khmer, Japanese, Korean, Hmong, Thai, Hakka
and Teochew). African languages also showed growth (Ormoro, Shona, Somali Afrikaans, Swahili,
Yoruba; see Chapter 4 for details), reflecting both economic (South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria) and
humanitarian (Horn of Africa, Zimbabwe) migration streams. Other languages which showed noticeable
9
It should be noted that if taken together Tagalog/ Filipino have increased by about 5000 speakers since 1996, but as the two languages were counted separately in 2006 this
may be a partial artefact of data coding.
growth are the various Indian languages (Hindi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telegu,
Malayalam, Kannada). There was also growth for some eastern (Albanian, Bosnian, Russian, Croatian,
Bulgarian) and northern European languages (Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic). Many languages grew by
more than 100% - Shona showed highest growth at over 1000%. Every community that grew at more
than 200% between 1996 and 2996 was either from Africa or the Indian sub-continent.
Table 2.3 summarizes growth in community size from 1996 to 2006 for all languages with more than
100 speakers listed in the census data.10
Table 2.3 Growth in speaker numbers for Victoria’s language communities, 1996-2006
< 10%
< 20%
< 40%
< 60%
< 100%
<200%
200%
expansion
More than 150,000 to
100,000
99,000 to
50,000
Cantonese
+24.2%)
Vietnamese
(+33.5%)
49,000 to
(+8.2%)
Turkish
+33.78%)
Tagalog
Spanish
(+15.2%)
19,000 to
French
Russian
Serbian
10,000
(+4.7%)
(+16.5%)
(+38.3%)
Tamil
(+76.8%)
Indonesian
(+88.3%)
Arabic
(+41.7%)
Mandarin
(+151.6%)
20,000
Sinhalese
(+95.5%)
Hindi
(+149.0%)
9999 to
Albanian
Japanese
Bosnian
5000
(23.9%)
(+48.0%)
(+60.2%)
Khmer (+36.1%) Samoan
(+121.0%)
Korean (+169.5%)
Urdu (+234.5%)
Assyrian
(+222.3%)
Punjabi
(+210.5%)
4999 to
Hakka Romanian
Hebrew
2000
(+16.5%) (+15.3%) (+37.2%) Somali
(165.9%)
Bengali
(199.8%)
Telegu (+429.9%)
Malayalam (+331.2%)
Gujarati (+294.0%)
Afrikaans (+207.4%)
1999 to
Teochew Maori (New 1000
(+34.8%)
Zealand+56.8%)
Swedish
(+42.8%)
Kannada (+187.7%)
Maori (Cook
Island +119.0%)
Pashto (+142.3%)
Marathi (193.0%)
Amharic (+252.8%)
Auslan (+312.6%)
999 to 500 Danish (8.7%)
Bulgarian
Kurdish
Fijian (7.2%)
(+27.9%)
(+99.2%)
Tigrinya (109.7%)
Burmese (121.4%)
Swahili (360.0%)
Shona (1097.9%)
Oromo (229.2%)
Nepali (332.1%)
499 to 250 Timorese
Hmong (23.0%)
(+6.27%)
Bisaya (25.4%) Tetum (47.3%)
Mauritian
Creole (-34.5%) Konkani (137.4%)
249 to 100
Cebuano
(+43.0%) Sindi (+41.9%)
Irish (+31.5%)
Nauran (+25.8%)
Malay
Thai
(+42.5%)
(+81.2%)
Tongan
(+51.5%)
Norwegian
(85.6%)
Wu (+70%)
Belorussian (+184.5%)
Yoruba (+162.1%)
Akan (+538.7%)
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2006.
Overall language growth was characteristic of Victoria’s smaller and medium-language groups (i.e.
groups with fewer than 2000 speakers). There was some growth recorded for speakers of Aboriginal
languages, although minimal in terms of actual speaker numbers, and these cells are too small to
document individually with any reliability.
Census statistics for smaller languages need to be handled with some caution. The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not always use the same classification system
(for example African languages may be listed separately or classified as. “African languages – other”), and some data in smaller cells are suppressed to avoid identifying
individuals.
10
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33
2.4 Communities in decline: 1996 to 2006
Several key communities saw marked declines in their absolute numbers between 1996 and 2006. Of
the top 30 languages, the communities which lost at least 1,500 speakers in this time are given in
Table 2.4.
Table 2.4 Number and percentage decrease in speaker numbers, 1996-2006
Population decrease 1996-2006
% decrease 1996-2006
Hungarian
Dutch
Macedonian
Croatian
Polish
Maltese
Greek
German
Italian
-1622
-1659
-2199
-2506
-2884
-4684
-6824
-7531
-26420
-17.1
-15.3
-6.7
-9.9
-14.0
-19.8
-5.5
-28.1
-16.6
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2006.
German lost 6,500 speakers between 1996 and 2001, whereas all Croatian and nearly all Macedonian
losses took place between2001 and 2006. Polish, Greek, Hungarian and Italian also had much sharper
rates of decline between 2001 and 2006 than in the previous 5 years. Table 2.5 summarize changes in
community size (i.e. growth and reduction) from 1996 to 2006 for all languages with more than 100
speakers listed in the census data.
Table 2.5 Reduction in speaker numbers for Victoria’s language communities,
1996-2006
Community size
< 10%
150,000 to 100,000Greek (-5.5%)
< 20%
< 30%
< 40%
Italian (-16.6%)
99,000 to 50,000
49,000 to 20,000
Macedonian (-6.7%)
Croatian (-9.9%)
19,000 to 10,000
Maltese (-19.8%)German (-28.1%)
Polish (-14.0%)
9999 to 5000
Dutch (-15.3%)
Hungarian (-17.1%)
4999 to 2000
Portuguese (-1.8%) Ukrainian (-18.2%)
Hokkien (-18.1%)
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34
1999 to 1000
Armenian (-7.2%) Czech (16.4%)Slovene (-29.1%)
Lao (-3.1%)Yiddish (28.8%)
Slovak (1.4%)
999 to 500
Finish (-3.2%)
Latvian (-30.4%)
Lithuanian (-30.5%)
499 to 250
249 to 100Estonian (-20.8%)Tok Pisin (-39.4%)
Welsh (-23.0%)
Gaelic (Scotland -29.9%)
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2006.
Figure 2.3 gives an overview of changes in community size from 1996 to 2006.
Figure 2.3 Percentage change in community size, 1996-2006
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2006
The two largest language groups, Italian and Greek, are shrinking as the post-war immigrants age. In
communities where migration has ceased, death of the first generation will lead to gradual attrition
of the language in the community, unless the second and third generation have actively maintained
the language. Reduction has affected the southern and middle European languages, as well as some
eastern European and Asian languages. There was also a decline in speakers of pidgin/creole languages
such as Tok Pisin, which may indicate that speakers increasingly select the superstrate language
(English) in the census. A decline in Mauritian Creole noted between 1996 and 2001 (suggesting
speakers were identifying as speakers of the superstrate, French) was followed by a resurgence in the
2006 census. Such choices are likely to be influenced by changes in language ideology and increasing
identification with the creole-speaking community.
page
35
Table 2.6 Growth and reduction according to size of language community
# languages in 1996
# languages in 2001
# languages in 2006
% increase/loss
150,000 to 100,000
99,000 to 50,000
49,000 to 20,000
19,000 to 10,000
9999 to 5000
4999 to 2000
1999 to 1000
999 to 500
499 to 250
249 to 100
Total
2
2
9
5
6
19
10
11
14
12
90
2
2
8
8
8
16
12
14
9
9
88
2
4
5
10
11
15
16
12
8
11
94
0
+100
-44.44
+100
+83.33
-21.05
+60
+9.09
-42.86
-8.33
+4.4
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
The total number of people speaking a LOTE at home increased from 872,845 in 1996 to 923,872 in
2001, and again to 1,007,438 in 2006, an increase of 13.4% in 10 years. In the same time period the
number of Victorians speaking only English rose from 3,411,103 (1996) to 3,668,283 (2006; +7.5%).11
The 1996 census listed 133 languages in Victoria, while the 2001 census listed 124. However given the
differences in classification of languages and the unreliability of data on languages with small numbers
we will confine ourselves to languages with more than 100 speakers. The four main LOTEs (Italian,
Greek, Vietnamese and Cantonese) remained the same, and there was an increase in the number of
languages spoken by between 19,000 and 5,000 speakers, as well as in those spoken by between 1,999
and 500 speakers. Loss was most noticeable in languages spoken by fewer than 500 speakers.
2.5 International students in Victoria
In recent years, Victoria’s schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions have
become increasingly diverse places of teaching and learning. As a consequence of growing crossborder student enrolments, linguistic and cultural diversity is now a notable feature of campus life
in many countries, and the trans-national movement of students has been seen as a potentially
important strategy for curriculum internationalization and language learning/teaching (see Figure 2.4 for
international student enrolments in Australia).
Figure 2.4 Cross-border student enrolments at Australian educational institutions
1994-2004
page
36
Source: Australian Government, International Education Network, Market Indicator Data, extracted: January 2005
11
(Source: ABS website. Last accessesd 29/12/07).
Only a minority of cross-border students (5%) in Australia originate from (predominantly) Englishspeaking countries such as the US, Canada and the UK. The majority of students come from the
linguistically diverse societies of South and East Asia, with Chinese students being the largest group
(30% of the total student body; (Australian Education International, 2004; see Figure 2.5).
Figure 2.5 Countries of origin for cross-border students in Australia, 2006
Source: Australian Government, International Education Network, Market Indicator Data, extracted: November 2007
While contributing to the community’s linguistic diversity, international students may also need
additional support. The importance for international students of proficiency in the language of
instruction (and of the wider community) has long been recognized, and a vast industry has emerged
to address this issue, ranging from testing to bridging courses and foundation courses to support
services and language centres. Language is a serious issue not only within the academic institution
which the student attends, but also in everyday encounters with the wider Australian society. Lack of
fluency in English makes it difficult for students to establish friendship networks with domestic students,
and contributes to the formation of ethnically exclusive networks among the cross-border student
population. Limited language proficiency can also limit access to those social protection services that
are, in principle, available to cross-border students, but that are provided primarily through the medium
of English (Pearson & Beasley 1996; Ramburth 1999).
Birrell (2006) reports that in 2005 and 2006, of the 15,383 international students who gained permanent
residence in Australia after graduation, 34% had English proficiency below the level normally required
for professional employment (ie. Band 6 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
test12. This pathway to Australian residence (the 880 visa subclass) brings in similar numbers to the
skilled visa category of the general migration program. Many former overseas students are having
problems finding professional employment in Australia because of their problems with English.
Among visa recipients from China, 43% were below IELTS band 6, and this is of particular concern as
Chinese students are the fastest-growing group of international students, and of applicants for an 880
visa (Birrell 2006:59). IELTS testing classifies students into 9 Bands, with Band 9 equating to nativespeaker competence. Band 6, the level required for admission to university study, is still quite low for
professional employment (Birrell 2006:61). Authorities in medicine and nursing require a minimum of
Band 7 for admission to professional practice, and Birrell argues that professional associations in fields
such as accounting and computing also need to specify Band 7 for professional accreditation.
A loophole exists in the university admission standards. International students can be admitted to
secondary or other forms of education with lower IELTS scores, and after completion of VCE or
foundation studies in Australia may apply to university without additional English testing. Many
students with lower levels of English proficiency then struggle with university level study. Universities
12
The 34% had IELTS scores of 5 or 5.5. People with scores below this are not eligible for a visa (Birrell 2006:58).
page
37
are heavily reliant on international fee income, and are therefore reluctant to introduce language testing
for applicants.
Changes were introduced to the General Skilled Migration Programme from 1 September 2007, raising
the IELTS threshold level from 5 to 6 (except for applicants for trade occupations)13. Bonus points are
awarded for applicants with higher English scores. The same threshold applies to international students
applying for permanent residence on graduation, however those who do not meet the language
requirement can apply for an 18-month Skilled-Graduate (subclass 485) visa which allows them time to
build up their skills and allows unrestricted work rights. These changes provide a welcome incentive for
international students to develop greater English proficiency and gain appropriate employment. There
may be some washback effect on English proficiency at university, but the universities need to work
with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the state and federal education authorities to
develop more coherent language requirements for university entry.
Victoria is an important destination for international students. In 2006, 28% of international students in
Australia were registered at Victorian educational institutions. Only NSW had a larger share: 39.5% of
international students were studying at an institution in NSW.
Unfortunately, there is no statistical information on the first languages of international students at the
state level. However, birthplace data, which can be used as a proxy for language knowledge, suggest
that the Chinese languages are most strongly represented, followed by Indian languages. Table 2.7
shows the country of origin of the 107,144 international students in Victoria in 2006.
Table 2.7 Country of origin of International students in Victoria by education sector,
2006
Nationality
China
India
Malaysia
Hong Kong
Indonesia
South Korea
Thailand Sri Lanka
Japan
Singapore
Other
Total
Higher
education
Vocational
training
English
courses
Schools
Other
Total
13,429
1,1209
5,768
3,007
3,672
866
1,469
1,575
706
2,419
9,681
53,801
3,920
6,773
811
1,384
1,126
1,033
836
1,366
735
212
5,448
23,644
4,714
1,621
110
650
427
1,992
1,412
398
1,270
0
3,933
16,527
3,343
25
310
478
204
947
297
14
367
95
1,136
7,216
534
113
480
491
398
134
71
186
116
233
3,198
5,954
25,936
19,741
7,479
6,010
5,827
4,972
4,085
3,539
3,194
2,959
23,396
107,144
Source: Adapted from Australian Government, International Education Network, Market Indicator Data, extracted: November 2007
page
38
As Table 2.5 shows, nearly a quarter of international students in Victoria come from China. There are
high numbers of Chinese students in the school sector, English courses and vocational training, many
of whom may be planning to enter university. Urgent attention is needed to the English language
support provided to these students at all levels, to ensure they are equipped for effective tertiary study
and subsequent employment.
13
Department of Immigration ande Citizenship website, http://www.immi.gov.au, last consulted 30/12/07.
2.6 Conclusion
The 1996, 2001 and 2006 census data show that Victoria is an important destination for immigrants,
including those first arriving as students. Over the ten year period we see a consistent decline in the
number of home language speakers of the major post-war immigrant languages such as Italian and
Greek, as the older generation die. It needs to be reiterated here that the census question asks about
home language use, and Clyne et al. (2004) note that the census data underestimate the number
of community language speakers: “perhaps because their partner does not speak their community
language at home, their children have not acquired the language or they live on their own …”(p. 260).
In addition, the death of a spouse, or the departure of children to establish their own homes, or the
need to move into a retirement village or nursing home may remove the community language from the
domestic sphere for many elderly people.
While some language groups show a considerable reduction of speaker numbers, others (especially
Asian and African languages) grew significantly over this period. These changes will be addressed in
more detail in subsequent chapters.
International students are increasingly adding to Victoria’s linguistic richness, but we have noted some
problems associated with limited English. Recent tightening of the English proficiency requirements
for skilled migrants is welcome, but more attention needs to be paid to the language skills of university
entrants from international backgrounds. Tighter entry criteria and more English language support are
necessary, and this will need some federal government involvement.
page
39
chapter
three
Demographic profiles of
language communities in
Victoria
Chapter three: Demographic profiles
of language communities in Victoria
This chapter summarizes key demographic differences between language communities in Victoria,
focusing mainly on the 27 largest communities which are described individually in Appendix 1. The
aspects addressed in this chapter include birthplace, age distribution, gender balance, educational
achievement, English proficiency, labour force participation and residence patterns. In addition, we will
look at the interactions between (a) language skills and labour market integration, and (b) educational
achievement and labour market integration.
3.1 Year of Arrival and Place of Birth
The migration vintages of different linguistic communities can be shown by their predominant years
of arrival, which are given in Table 3.1. While these figures are for Australia, it is fair to assume that
the patterns of arrival are similar at State level. Just under half of the Indonesian speakers in Australia
(45.6%) arrived between 2001 and 2006, and 23.1% arrived between 1996 and 2000. Other recent
migration vintages include Hindi speakers (44.2% arrived between 2001 and 2006) and Tamil speakers
(31.2% arrived between 2001 and 2006). Apart from Indonesian speakers, the 1996 to 2001 period
saw an influx of Serbian speakers, 20.5% of whom arrived in that period. Between 1986 and 1990 the
largest group of Tagalog speakers (24.8%) arrived and the Cantonese, Tamil, Spanish and Vietnamese
communities grew (17.3% of Cantonese speakers, 17.6% of Tamils, 16.4% of Spanish speakers and
16.1% of Tamils arrived in that period).
Older migration vintages, who arrived before 1986, include Dutch (68.1%), Maltese (66.9%), Hungarian
(61.5%), German (57.3%), Italian (52.6%), Polish (50.4%) and Greek (43.7%). These figures need to be
read in conjunction with the proportion of the population born in Australia. For example, while 43.7%
of Greek speakers in Australia arrived before 1986, only 2.6% arrived after that date. The majority of
Greek speakers (54.1%) were born in Australia. By contrast, while 68.1% of Dutch speakers arrived
before 1986, 17.3% have arrived since, with only 16.6% born in Australia. In long-standing migrant
communities, the number of speakers of the community language who are Australian-born is an
indicator of successful language maintenance into the second and third generations. Despite low or
negative growth rates Greek and Italian and Macedonian show a high percentage of Australian-born
speakers. This bears witness to successful inter-generational transmission and language maintenance in
the community. As we have noted, the census asks only for language use at home, the data it provides
on language use clearly under-estimate the knowledge and use of languages in Victoria. Many second
and third generation members may speak English at home, but make extensive use of the community
language with extended family members and in a range of other domains. It is to be regretted that the
census does not ask about the use of languages in other domains.
page
43
Table 3.1 Language spoken by year of arrival in Australia
2001-2006
1996 - 2000 1991 - 1995
1986 - 1990
Arrived Born in before 1986 Australia
English
Albanian
Arabic
Cantonese
Croatian
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Macedonian
Maltese
Mandarin
Polish
Russian
Serbian
Sinhalese
Spanish
Tagalog
Tamil
Turkish
Vietnamese
Total
8.3
23.1
19.5
23.9
49.4
68.1
35.6
57.3
43.7
6.2
61.5
6.9
52.6
8.2
22.3
43.3
66.9
5.9
50.4
20.1
28.7
5.6
38.4
14.9
6.8
31.3
22.5
12.4
1.6
13.0
14.6
15.7
1.3
7.3
17.2
8.6
0.5
44.2
2.1
45.6
0.7
36.3
12.3
2.3
0.8
38.5
3.6
11.4
8.5
32.3
8.9
22.7
31.2
4.8
6.8
0.6
0.9
10.3
7.8
9.6
4.5
3.6
6.3
4.6
0.4
15.3
2.0
23.1
0.5
13.8
11.8
2.8
0.5
16.4
2.8
13.2
20.5
14.5
3.6
11.8
16.5
4.4
6.5
0.9
0.6
4.6
6.9
10.2
5.6
2.0
3.2
2.3
0.3
9.2
3.2
6.3
0.3
6.6
15.5
2.8
0.4
10.6
6.8
27.8
10.7
17.6
5.7
13.8
13.7
4.6
14.1
1.9
1.1
4.5
7.0
17.3
3.1
2.4
12.4
3.2
0.9
11.5
7.3
4.8
0.5
6.3
12.7
5.6
1.3
13.6
12.0
10.5
4.8
13.4
16.4
24.8
17.6
7.5
16.1
2.5
87.5
44.5
44.1
23.2
36.1
16.6
25.3
23.9
54.1
13.5
23.8
13.3
45.4
28.7
25.5
43.2
30.1
15.0
24.4
17.1
26.9
16.7
27.0
12.0
14.1
47.4
34.0
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
In the case of more recent migrant communities (i.e. those with high growth rates between 1996 and
2006, cf. Chapter 2, Table 2.2. and Figure 2.3), a low percentage of Australian-born speakers is usually a
reflection of high numbers of in-migration. Figure 3.1 gives the percentage of speakers born in Australia
for each language community documented.
page
44
Figure 3.1 Percentage of speakers born in Australia
Source: ABS 2006.
The Hindi, Indonesian, Sinhalese, Tagalog and Tamil communities are all recently arrived with relatively
low percentages of speakers born in Australia. Among older migration vintages, a comparison of the
Dutch and Greek communities shows the extent to which the latter have maintained their community
language across the generations, while the former have shifted to English.
page
45
3.2 Age distributions of language communities
As Table 2.4 in Chapter 2 showed, German, Dutch, Italian, Hungarian and Maltese speaker numbers in
Victoria declined between 1996 and 2006. These communities also had a high percentage of speakers
aged 65 or older. This suggests (given on-going natural attrition) that these languages will continue to
decline. As was shown in Figure 2.1, the age profile of overseas-born and Australian-born Victorians
differs, with the former having more people in the older age-groups. However the profiles of different
linguistic communities differ markedly, and these differences are explored in this section. Table 3.2
gives the age distribution of speakers of different languages in Victoria.
Table 3.2 Age distribution by language in Victoria, 2006
page
46
0-14 years
15-24 years
25-44
45-64
65+
English
Albanian
Arabic
Assyrian
Cantonese
Croatian
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Korean
Macedonian
Maltese
Mandarin
Polish
Punjabi
Russian
Serbian
Sinhalese
Spanish
Tagalog
Tamil
Turkish
Vietnamese
All Other/ Not stated
Total
20.5
20.4
26.1
32.1
15.0
9.1
6.0
10.8
8.4
12.3
15.2
4.5
12.1
5.8
20.4
20.5
20.2
11.9
2.8
14.3
7.6
15.7
11.4
14.3
21.0
13.6
13.4
17.2
22.4
24.3
20.6
19.4
13.7
18.0
18.2
18.4
19.9
9.6
2.9
12.1
5.3
7.8
20.3
6.2
37.9
5.8
17.9
20.4
24.1
12.0
5.8
28.1
11.3
28.7
12.4
14.4
13.2
13.7
12.0
14.3
17.0
15.6
15.0
13.8
28.3
32.4
32.2
30.6
29.8
28.2
16.5
30.3
20.4
32.2
46.9
18.1
37.3
26.1
44.3
35.9
41.7
31.0
19.5
33.6
19.4
39.4
27.2
29.3
40.7
34.0
38.7
38.1
34.9
35.1
30.5
29.0
24.9
22.2
18.1
14.6
26.6
30.9
29.6
30.4
24.8
25.2
14.6
32.6
10.8
28.6
14.3
19.4
11.8
31.7
43.1
19.0
35.6
12.7
27.2
29.5
21.6
28.7
31.0
24.4
20.5
20.4
19.9
24.5
12.6
7.0
5.4
4.4
8.6
22.2
45.0
16.5
41.0
22.6
3.0
38.6
1.9
33.8
3.1
3.8
2.3
13.5
28.9
5.0
26.0
3.5
21.9
12.6
3.5
10.0
4.9
6.1
5.0
4.7
14.1
13.3
Source: ABS 2006.
The majority (28.3%) of English speakers were in the 25-44 age group in 2006, while 12.6% of English
speakers were 65 or over. By contrast, four language groups, Dutch (45.0%), German (41.0%),
Hungarian (38.6%) and Italian (33.8%) have more than one third of their population in the 65 and over
age group. Ageing language communities may have increasing need for targeted age care services
(specialist interpreter services, home care and nursing homes). This will partly depend on the English
proficiency of the elderly people (Dutch speakers have very high levels of English proficiency), but
cognitive decline in old age may lead to second language loss (Rao et al. 2006). Thus the ageing of
an immigrant community may lead to the attrition of the language. This will depend on the rates of
language maintenance into the second and third generations, and here the figures for Australian-born
speakers are important. Clyne (personal communication) has noted the potential contribution of elderly
speakers of community languages as a resource for developing language maintenance programs and it
is important that such programs be established before the speakers disappear.
At the other extreme, fewer than 5% of Albanian, Assyrian, Hindi, Indonesian, Khmer, Mandarin, Punjabi
and Vietnamese speakers are 65 or over. Assyrian, Arabic and Vietnamese have a large proportion of
their populations in the 0 – 14 age group (Assyrian 32.1%; Arabic 26.1%; Vietnamese 24.3%), and the
Indonesian, Mandarin and Punjabi have a high proportion aged 15 – 24 (Indonesia 37.9%; Mandarin
28.1%; Punjabi 28.7%).
Nearly all communities have more adults in the 20-44 than 45-64 age bracket, the exceptions being
Dutch, Hungarian, Maltese and Polish, which all have 10-20 percentage points more people in the older
group.
The population of Indonesian, Hindi, Punjabi, Korean and Japanese speakers is particularly
concentrated in the 20-44 age group (ABS data 2006): in each case this group represents over 50% of
the total population and is at least 40 percentage points higher than the number of 45-65 year olds. It is
likely that this is due to the international student market, and also the skilled migration program, which
has a cut-off age of 40.
The following communities have fewer than 10% of speakers aged 65 and older, and more than 30%
of speakers aged between 0 and 24 years of age: Albanian, Arabic, Cantonese, Hindi, Indonesian,
Japanese, Khmer, Mandarin, Sinhalese, Tagalog, Tamil, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Figure 3.2 shows the
number of speakers 65 and over, and 0-25 in the language communities described.
page
47
Figure 3.2 Age distributions, 0-25 and 65+
Source: ABS 2006.
page
48
Between 2001 and 2006 there has been a notable increase of 7 - 8.6 percentage points in the number
of speakers over 65 of Croatian, Greek, Hungarian, Italian and Maltese. Almost all languages recorded
a decline in their percentage of speakers in the 5-19 year old age group. This decline was most marked
(4-7.3 percentage points) for Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer and Spanish. Generally, an increase
in one age group is matched by a similar decline in the age group below (e.g. 6.2 percentage point
growth in the Hindi 20-44 age group is accompanied by a 5.1 percentage point decline in the 5-19 age
group), unless there has been significant migration between 2001 and 2006. There is a large increase
of Indonesians in the school-aged group, and increases in the 20-44 age group for Hindi, Tamil and
Sinhalese.
3.3 Gender balance
Of all languages in Victoria with more than 1000 speakers, those given in Table 3.3 showed a marked
gender imbalance in favour of women (55% or more of speakers).
Table 3.3 Languages with more female speakers in Victoria, 2006
Language
Thai
Latvian
Tagalog
Lithuanian
Japanese
Finnish
Ukrainian
Hokkien
Polish
Malay
Dutch
Auslan
Russian
No. of males
No. of females
Total
% female
1874
588
8903
301
2696
345
1513
1137
7843
1178
4261
851
6454
3128
888
13039
437
3838
457
1996
1468
9942
1490
5298
1055
7884
5002
1476
21942
738
6534
802
3509
2605
17785
2668
9559
1906
14338
62.5
60.2
59.4
59.2
58.7
57.0
56.9
56.4
55.9
55.8
55.4
55.4
55.0
Source: ABS 2006.
Two factors may contribute to a gender imbalance in favour of women. Among communities with
ageing populations such as Polish, Dutch and Russian, the greater longevity of women will increase
their proportion of the overall population. The association between age and female-dominated
populations is confirmed by the fact that German and Hungarian have the oldest populations after
Dutch (41% and 38.6%), and both have over 54% females. Among younger populations such as
Thai, Tagalog and Japanese speakers it is likely that the preponderance of females is attributable to
exogamous marriage patterns, for example Filipina women coming to Australia to marry non-Filipino
men. Languages with more male speakers are given in Table 3.4. It is striking that all of the languages
with more than 55% male speakers are from the Indian sub-continent.
Table 3.4 Languages with more male speakers in Victoria, 2006
Language
Punjabi
Telugu
Gujarati
Urdu
Bengali
Nepali
Hindi
No. of males No. of females
Total
% male
5139
1920
1624
3041
2264
486
10013
3064
1192
1074
2124
1674
374
8167
8203
3112
2698
5165
3938
860
18180
62.6
61.7
60.2
58.9
57.5
56.5
55.1
Source: ABS 2006.
It is likely that many of these men arrive as international students and skilled migrants. This claim is
supported by the age distribution: for example, Hindi and Punjabi speakers are strongly represented in
the 20-44 age bracket. If we look at proportion of speakers in the 20-44 age bracket, we see Hindi and
Punjabi lead the way (2nd and 3rd place after Indonesian).
page
49
3.4 Educational achievement
More than 50% of speakers hold post-secondary qualifications in the following communities: Tamil,
Tagalog, Sinhalese, Russian, Maltese, Japanese, Hindi, German and Cantonese (see Figure 3.3 and
Table 3.5 below). These communities can be described as highly skilled.
Medium-skilled communities in which at least 30% of speakers hold post-secondary qualifications include
Serbian, Spanish, Polish, Indonesian, Hungarian, Greek, French, Dutch, Croatian, Mandarin and Bosnian.
Of these the following also have a high percentage of speakers (20% or more) who have left school at
age 15 or younger (early school-leavers), thus indicating a socially complex community with various skill
levels and class positions: Serbian, Italian, Hungarian, Greek, Dutch, Croatian, Arabic and Albanian.
The following communities have fewer than 30% of speakers holding post-school qualifications:
Vietnamese, Turkish, Macedonian, Khmer, Arabic and Albanian. The percentage of early school-leavers
is also high in these communities.
Figure 3.3 shows the proportion of each language community with post-secondary qualifications, and
with education to Year 8 or less in 2006.
Figure 3.3 Educational achievement
page
50
Source, ABS 2006.
The census questions about education were significantly re-designed between 1996 and 2001,
making it impossible to accurately compare data across the three censuses. Victoria as a whole saw a
sustained rise in educational attainment between 2001 and 2006. The number of Victorians who had
not completed Year 12 (or its equivalent) fell by 5.1 percentage points to 37.2%, while the number with
tertiary qualifications rose 3.8 percentage points to 43.8%. These changes can be attributed to a longterm trend towards increased high school retention rates which started in the 1970s.
In this context it is unsurprising that all the language groups studied showed an increase in the level
of educational attainment among their speakers. The proportion of speakers who did not finish high
school decreased (the decrease ranged from 1.7 to 11.5 percentage points). Table 3.5 gives the
proportion of the population at each level of educational attainment, based on the 2006 census.
Table 3.5 Education outcomes (% of language population) in Victoria, 2006
Post secondary
Year 12
Years 9-11
Year 8 or less
No schooling
English
Albanian
Arabic
Cantonese
Croatian
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Macedonian
Maltese
Mandarin
Polish
Russian
Serbian
Sinhalese
Spanish
Tagalog
Tamil
Turkish
Vietnamese
Total
44.7
17.4
31.4
43.3
37.2
50.3
52.6
62.2
31.4
70.9
47.1
59.9
29.1
62.0
18.1
27.2
20.5
56.7
49.8
65.9
39.9
65.6
47.2
61.5
66.5
22.9
26.6
43.8
18.0
26.4
29.0
26.0
19.5
15.1
22.5
13.0
19.3
17.8
19.3
31.5
14.1
28.3
26.1
25.7
12.8
29.8
23.1
18.1
27.5
24.3
27.5
22.3
22.2
27.3
32.4
19.1
30.7
25.9
23.4
16.6
17.9
20.7
19.6
16.3
16.9
8.1
17.1
7.5
21.1
8.6
24.4
20.6
26.9
9.7
14.3
10.4
16.1
9.3
16.5
12.3
9.7
24.7
22.6
27.7
6.3
23.9
10.1
9.2
22.2
13.4
4.9
8.1
26.5
2.6
15.4
0.9
30.6
0.7
12.9
21.6
33.2
2.3
11.4
3.7
13.7
0.6
7.6
3.4
1.3
20.7
11.1
8.3
0.3
6.3
6.1
4.9
3.2
0.4
0.4
0.4
5.9
0.7
1.1
0.2
5.0
0.3
18.6
4.8
6.5
1.5
1.4
1.9
2.8
0.1
1.3
0.5
0.2
4.4
7.3
1.2
Source: ABS 2006
Despite the universal increase in educational attainment, language groups continue to have very
disparate education outcomes. Looking at post-school qualifications, for example, we see that these
have been achieved by at least 50% of speakers for 10 language groups, whereas 5 groups have fewer
than 25% of speakers holding these qualifications (the average for all Victorians is 43.8%). The groups
page
51
which saw the largest increases in the percentage of speakers with post-school qualifications were
those associated with Victoria’s larger groups of international students: Indonesian (14.4 percentage
points), Hindi (10.9 percentage points), Japanese (9.0 percentage points) and Tamil (8.7 percentage
points). Increases in the number with post-school qualifications of around 5 percentage points were
also seen among the Russian, Vietnamese and Khmer populations. This is likely to be the result of the
second generation of community members now coming through tertiary education.
While only 9.5% of the general population has education below Year 9 standard, for the Maltese, Italian,
Greek, Khmer and Albanian communities this number rises to 30-40%. It is likely that each of these
communities had very low education on arrival.
3.5 Occupations and labour force participation
The way that occupations are coded varies from census to census, thus the only comparison we can
make across the years is labour force participation. Labour force participation is the percentage of those
aged 15-65 who gave an occupation on the census. The state average labourn force participation in
2006 was 68.9%. Figure 3.4 gives labour force participation rates of language communities in 2006.
The lowest rates (below 50%) are found in the Arabic and Turkish-speaking communities, followed
by Albanian, Khmer and Vietnamese (just over 50%). The highest labour force participation rates
(over 70%) are found in the Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Sinhalese and Tagalog-speaking
communities.
There are several possible reasons for low labour force participation rates. Firstly, communities with
a large population in the 15-24 age group, such as Arabic and Indonesian, are likely to have a high
number of full-time students, and those with very young populations (0-4 year-olds) might involve a
high number of parents in full-time child care. Labour force participation rates serve as a proxy measure
for unemployment rates, and nothwithstanding the caveats above, the Arabic, Vietnamese, Turkish
and Khmer had very high unemployment rates in 2001 (over 15%). Again in 2006 their labour force
participations rates are well below average. It is likely that this is an effect of lower levels of English
proficiency.
Although we might expect early retirement to have a negative impact on labour force participation
in ageing populations, in fact ageing communities such as Dutch and German have some of the
highest participation rates. This is likely to be a result of low numbers of full-time students in these
communities, and the high levels of English proficiency of these groups, leading to higher employment
rates.
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52
Figure 3.4 Labour force participation
Source: ABS 2006.
In Figure 3.5 we compare the percentage of speakers employed as labourers and machinists on the one
hand and managers and professionals on the other as a proxy for class structure and income levels.
The following communities have more speakers employed as labourers or machinists than as managers
or professionals: Albanian, Croatian, Khmer, Macedonian, Maltese, Serbian, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish
and Vietnamese. A strong bias towards managers and professionals (at least 40% employed in these
areas) was found for Dutch, German, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian and Tamil speakers.
page
53
Figure 3.5 Blue-collar and white-collar professions=
Source: ABS 2006.
page
54
There is, however, a problem with using occupation as a proxy for class position in the case of
migrant communities, as migrants (especially recent migrants) are often not able to find employment
in accordance with their skill levels. This may be a result of problems in recognition of overseas
qualifications, problems with English or lack of experience in the Australian workplace. Thus, firstgeneration migrants are frequently found within the sector of manual labour or low-level clerical
occupations notwithstanding their high educational achievement and training in their country of origin.
Plotting the percentage of migrants with post-school qualifications against their percentage in
professional and managerial positions (see Figure 3.6) reveals a complex pattern which suggests that
some communities are better at transforming their educational capital into appropriate employment
than others.
Figure 3.6 Speakers with post-school qualifications by occupation (professional; in
percentages)
page
55
Source: ABS 2006.
In a number of communities the percentages for the two variables are more or less equal, which
suggests that speakers with post-secondary qualifications are generally successful in obtaining
employment within their area of expertise. Interestingly, this includes a number of communities which,
at the same time, show low levels of labour force participation, such as Vietnamese, Turkish, Khmer,
Arabic and Albanian.
Other communities show a strong discrepancy between post-school qualifications and level of
employment. This includes Tamil, Sinhalese and Hindi speakers, as well as speakers of Tagalog and
Indonesian, though some of these may be in continuing education. In the case of Indonesian, we also
found high levels of unemployment in 2001. It is possible that Indonesians have particular difficulties
with gaining recognition of qualifications.
Table 3.6 Labour force participation rates, 2006 and 2001
Language
page
56
English
Albanian
Arabic
Cantonese
Croatian
Dutch
English
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Macedonian
Maltese
Mandarin
Polish
Russian
Serbian
Sinhalese
Spanish
Tagalog
Tamil
Turkish
Vietnamese
Total % LFPR 2006
% LFPR 2001
75.4
51.3
42.7
59.8
64.4
73.5
75.4
71.6
74.3
65.8
72.1
69.1
54.4
70.7
57.3
51.9
64.1
56.8
53.0
68.7
69.8
60.6
70.3
66.9
74.2
68.2
45.0
52.2
68.9
73.0
48.8
41.9
54.3
60.1
67.6
73.0
68.5
67.9
61.5
66.7
62.8
37.0
65.9
53.7
45.7
62.3
55.0
49.5
64.2
60.3
53.0
65.9
61.7
69.8
63.5
41.6
47.1
66.9
Source: ABS 2001, ABS 2006
A discrepancy between qualifications and employment is also found among language communities
from Eastern Europe (Serbian, Russian, Macedonian and Croatian). It could be argued that the human
capital approach to skilled migration and discussions about the ‘settlement potential’ of humanitarian
migrants (which is at least partially based on an assessment of their skill levels) has not necessarily met
with success (cf. Iredale et al. 1996, Colic-Peisker 2005). However consideration needs to be given to the
high recent refugee intake in all of these groups (apart from Macedonian). Refugees are likely to need
more time than skilled migrants to establish new and settled lives, and may need some extra support.
Some of these communities also have large numbers of younger speakers who have yet to complete
their education and move into appropriate employment.
3.6 English language proficiency
The average reported levels of English proficiency are relatively high (See Table 3.7). Excluding
speakers who did not list a proficiency, 81.4% claimed to speak English ‘very well’ or ‘well’, 14.9% ‘not
well’ and 3.7% ‘not at all’. While these figures vary by language group, it should be noted that none of
the top 30 languages recorded fewer than 60% of speakers in the ‘very well’ or ‘well’ category nor more
than 10% in the ‘not at all’ category. The size of the ‘not well’ category ranges from 2.5% for German
speakers to 29.2% for speakers of Khmer.
Table 3.7 English proficiency by language, 2006
Language
Speak English
‘very well’or ‘well’
Speak English
‘not well’
Speak English ‘not at all’
Albanian
Arabic
Cantonese
Croatian
Dutch
Filipino
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Macedonian
Maltese
Mandarin
Polish
Russian
Serbian
Sinhalese
Spanish
Tagalog
Tamil
Turkish
Vietnamese
Total
81.0
82.9
75.0
83.0
96.8
96.1
95.9
96.9
80.6
95.8
87.5
92.6
82.7
81.4
63.3
80.9
90.3
78.0
86.6
77.3
79.0
93.8
85.7
96.5
93.3
77.7
64.2
81.42979
14.9
13.3
18.7
15.4
2.7
3.5
3.6
2.5
17.8
3.2
11.2
6.5
15.7
16.1
29.2
16.8
9.3
17.3
11.8
17.6
16.7
5.3
12.1
3.3
5.5
19.0
27.8
14.88227
4.1
3.8
6.3
1.6
0.5
0.4
0.6
0.6
1.6
1.0
1.3
1.0
1.6
2.5
7.5
2.3
0.5
4.7
1.6
5.1
4.3
0.9
2.2
0.3
1.2
3.4
8.0
3.68794
Source: ABS 2006
page
57
Figure 3.7 plots the percentages of those who reported speaking English ‘very well’ or ‘well’, and those
who claimed to speak it ‘not at all’. Lower levels of confidence in English proficiency (fewer than 70%
of the population claiming to speak it ‘very well’ or ‘well’) are found in the Vietnamese and Khmerspeaking communities. Both communities also have a comparatively high percentage of speakers
(around 8%) who report not to have any knowledge at all.
For the majority of language communities the proportion of speakers in the high proficiency categories
of ‘very well’ or ‘well’ is around 80%. However, a number of communities have a noticeably higher
proportion (more than 90%): Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Sinhalese, Tagalog and Tamil.
High levels of ‘no knowledge’ are found among the speakers of Chinese languages, as well as some
eastern European language communities (Serbian, Russian, Croatian, Bosnian and Albanian).
Figure 3.7 English language proficiency
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58
Source: ABS 2006.
While Figure 3.7 does not directly link length of residency in Australia with English proficiency, it is
interesting to note a few trends in this area. The languages with the highest level of English proficiency
(greater than 90% ‘very well’ or ‘well’) fall into two clear groups: the post World War II migrant
languages (e.g. German, French, Dutch, Maltese) and the more recently arrived Asian languages. Many
of the latter are likely to have entered Australia as skilled migrants who have to meet English language
requirements. Thus the Tamil, Punjabi, Hindi, Indonesian, Sinhalese, Filipino and Tagalog communities
report over 90% English proficiency even though these communities have all arrived relatively recently.
Furthermore, all but Indonesian are languages of communities in which English is an official language,
widely used in education and administration.
It should also be noted that many of the language communities with lower levels of people claiming to
speak English ‘very well’ or ‘well’ have seen significant refugee intakes in recent years. Assyrian is the
leader in this regard; however it also holds for Arabic, Serbian, and Albanian, with the refugee effect
also perhaps still playing a role in low scores for Vietnamese, Khmer and Russian.
Looking at change between 2001 and 2006, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, and Italian increased their
percentage of speakers in the ‘well’ or ‘very well’ categories by more than 10 percentage points and
Croatian, Macedonian, Albanian, Vietnamese and Japanese by between 5 and 10 percentage points.
Only one language saw the percentage of speakers in this category fall by more than 2 percentage
points: at 8.6 percentage points, the decline for Punjabi is quite marked14. With the exception of Punjabi,
these gains have accompanied decreases in the ‘not well’ category.
3.7 Patterns of residence
The LOTE-speaking population is heavily urban: all municipalities with 92% or higher of the population
claiming to speak English only were outside the metro area, and the most diverse regional LGA (Greater
Shepparton) still has 85.3% English speakers.15 Almost all metropolitan LGAs have less than 84% of the
population speaking English only. The exceptions are Maroondah (87.2%) and Frankston (86%), and
the semi-rural shires of Nillumbik (89.7%), Yarra Ranges (90.9%) and Cardinia (91.1%). LOTE speakers
outnumber English only households in three municipalities: Greater Dandenong (38.5%), Brimbank
(40.7%) and Maribyrnong (49.7%). Whittlesea, Melbourne, Darebin, Moreland, Monash and Hume all
also recorded less than 60% of the population speaking English only16. Figure 3.8 shows the distribution
of LOTE speakers in Melbourne in 2006.
Figure 3.8 LOTE speaking population of Melbourne, 2006
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59
Source: ABS 2006
14
15
16
It is possible that elderly parents migrating under family reunion visas may contribute to this fall. This needs further investigation.
The percentages of the population in each municipality include people who did not nominate a home language on the census (typically around 5% of the population).
As mentioned earlier, some of these ‘English only’ speakers will be LOTE speakers who use their other language(s) outside the home.
Municipalities with large LOTE populations remain highly diverse. There are only five municipalities
where any one LOTE is spoken by more than 10% of the population. Brimbank, with 12.6% of
residents speaking Vietnamese, records the highest single LOTE percentage. Greater Dandenong and
Maribyrnong also report between 10 and 12% of the population using Vietnamese, while Italian is used
by 10 to 12% of the population in Moreland and Darebin.
While the LOTE population in country areas remains small, it is worth commenting on the pre-eminence
of Italian among LOTEs spoken in regional areas. Italian speakers comprise 20 to 38% of the LOTE
speaking population in the country LGAs of Swan Hill, Greater Shepparton, Moira and Wangaratta, as
well as in the metropolitan areas of Moreland, Moonee Valley, Nillumbik, and Darebin. The only other
LGAs where speakers of one LOTE comprise more than 20% of the LOTE-speaking population are
Brimbank and Maribyrong, in both of which 20 to 24% LOTE speakers use Vietnamese.
Victoria’s English and LOTE speaking populations saw almost identical growth rates between 2001
and 2006 (5.1% for English only, 5.3% LOTE at home). However, this growth was far from uniform.
Not only did some municipalities increase their total population at a much faster rate than others, but
some saw a greater influence of LOTE speakers than others. In order to say anything meaningful about
changes in the composition of individual municipalities, we need to compare the total growth rate of
the municipalities with the growth rate of their LOTE population. Using the 2001 figures for the ratio of
English speakers to LOTE speakers and the figures for total growth rate of the LGA, we can arrive at a
projection of the LOTE population in 2006. This can then be compared with the actual LOTE population,
to measure whether settlement plans have changed markedly since 2001.
From these calculations, we see that in the municipalities identified in Table 3.8, at least 1000 more
LOTE speakers have taken up residence than would be anticipated on the basis of projections from
2001 data.
Table 3.8 Municipalities where LOTE speaker numbers increased faster than projected
Municipality
Monash (C)
Melton (S)
Casey (C)
Greater Dandenong (C)
Whitehorse (C)
Wyndham (C)
Boroondara (C)
Hume (C)
Knox (C)
Increase beyond projected level
6359
5470
4920
3467
3140
3066
2323
2254
1639
Source: based on ABS 2001, ABS 2006
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60
A striking feature of the data is that most of the municipalities with large increases are outer suburban
LGAs. These are big growth areas - their population has increased significantly between 2001 and
2006, but the data suggest that they are being settled by people from NESB in greater rates than by
households using English only. Conversely, many of the traditional inner-city immigrant areas saw the
LOTE population growing much less than expected, possibly as a result of movement of established
migrants to outer suburbs. Table 3.9 lists all LGAs where actual numbers of LOTE speakers were at least
1000 less than projected:
Table 3.9 Municipalities with lower LOTE speaker growth rates than projected
Municipality
Hobsons Bay (C)
Maribyrnong (C)
Greater Geelong (C)
Moonee Valley (C)
Yarra (C)
Port Phillip (C)
Whittlesea (C)
Darebin (C)
Moreland (C)
Melbourne (C)
Increase beyond projected level
-1036
-1085
-1733
-2093
-2434
-3273
-3459
-3661
-3688
-4330
Source: based on ABS 2001, ABS 2006
The changing residence patterns pose difficulties for migrant service providers, most of whom are
based in the inner city. There is also a problem for schools, as those with the most experience dealing
with refugee students may not be enrolling them in such large numbers, while outer-suburban schools
may lack resources, knowledge and support networks to deal with their new student body.
3.8 Conclusion
This chapter presents a comparison of Victoria’s main language communities (i.e. communities with
over 5000 speakers in 2001) on a number of dimensions: growth, birthplace, age, gender, educational
achievement, unemployment, class structure, and English language proficiency and residence patterns.
Clear differences emerge between the language communities, many of which are interrelated. Thus
there are connections between migration vintage, English proficiency and workforce participation.
Language policy interventions and translating services will need to take due recognition of these intergroup differences.
page
61
chapter
four
(Sub Saharan) African
communities in Victoria
Chapter four: (Sub-Saharan) African
communities in Victoria
4.1 Introduction
Sub-Saharan African communities are currently among the fastest growing migrant communities in
Australia (Hugo 2004:28), and because of their internal diversity they poses an important challenge
to Australia’s multilingual/multicultural policy. The diversity, and concomitant multilingualism of many
African migrants, is unlike that of many other migrant communities, which tend to be linguistically and
culturally more homogeneous.
South Africa remains the dominant country of origin among African migrants (see section 4.3), yet
the numbers of (often humanitarian) migrants from other parts of Africa are on the increase. These
changing demographics have “added another dimension to Australian multiculturalism in the last
decade” (Hugo 2004:28), and have implications for language maintenance programs as well as
translating/interpreting services. However, it should be noted that the proportion of African migrants to
Australia remains low (6.8% of all migrants in the 2001 census came from sub-Saharan Africa), i.e. the
high increases which are visible in the census and settlement data start from a low numerical basis.
The settlement of African migrants is generally concentrated in urban areas. In 2006: 8.6% of
Africans lived in non-metropolitan areas (2001, 7.6%; 1996: 7.6%). A notable exception is the
Zimbabwean community: in 2006, 19.5% of Zimbabwean migrants were settled in Victoria’s regional
Local Government Areas (a higher than average proportion of regional settlement also exists for
migrants from Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa (more than 10%). In addition, there has been some
resettlement of Horn of Africa refugee/humanitarian entrants in regional Victoria. However, community
interest in such re-settlement schemes has been limited (see Taylor & Stanovic 2005).
The focus of this chapter will be on the Horn of Africa communities. These communities experienced
dramatic growth between 2001 and 2006. In addition to census data, DIAC’s settlement data base
allows us to update the census information, and to arrive at reliable estimates of current communities
sizes (including shifts in settlement and language patterns).17
4.2 The Horn of Africa communities in Victoria
The Horn of Africa refers to the eastern projection of the African continent. This, as a geo-political
region, has been characterised by political crisis and conflict, civil war and ecological vulnerability (in
particular, drought and floods). It includes the following countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan.
Since 1996, Australia has accepted a growing number of refugee/humanitarian entrants from the region.
The four communities have seen considerable growth rates since 1996, with Sudan showing a particularly
dramatic increase since 2002. Growth rates for the Eritrean and Somali communities, on the other hand,
seem to be stabilizing, and increases since 2001 have been moderate (Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1).
Table 4.1 Community numbers: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan
Data source
Census 1996
Census 2001
Census 2006
Growth 1996-2006
Growth 2001-2006
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Sudan
730
996
1223
67.5%
22.8%
1341
1968
3099
131.1%
57.5%
1366
2277
2624
92.1%
15.2%
346
975
6213
1795.7%
537.2%
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006,.
17
The DIAC (formerly DIMIA or DIMA) settlement data is available electronically at: www.settlement.immi.gov.au.
page
65
Figure 4.1 Community growth: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, 1996-2006
Source: ABS 1996, 2001, 2006
All four communities are concentrated in urban areas, mostly in the Melbourne Metropolitan Area.
Australian government policy encourages regional settlement of migrants (DIMIA 2003), and there has
been some targeted re-settlement of African refugees in Victoria, e.g. of Sudanese refugees in Colac
and Warrnambool. However, as the study by Taylor & Stanovic (2005) has shown, such resettlement
schemes can contribute to social, linguistic/cultural, and economic exclusion of refugees, whose special
needs are difficult to address in regional towns where their overall concentration remains low. Although
regional settlement received considerable media coverage and public interest, overall numbers are
low: in mid-2004 there were only about 60 to 70 Sudanese refugees in each of Colac and Warrnambool
(Taylor & Stanovic 2005:5). In 2006, 19 Sudanese were reported in Colac and 40 in Warrnambool.
Figure 4.2 Metropolitan settlement of Horn of Africa communities
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66
Source: ABS 2006.
Within Melbourne there is a clear concentration in the north-western (Brimbank, Maribyrnong, Moonee
Valley, and Melbourne) and south-eastern suburbs (Greater Dandenong; see map 4.1; full details are
given in Appendix 1).
International migration to Australia has seen an increasing involvement of women in the last decades,
albeit with significant variations between countries of origin (Hugo 2004: 49-50). Generally, a dominance
of male migrants is found within the skilled migration and humanitarian categories, whereas female
migration dominates within the family stream (see Table 4.2).
Table 4.2 Sex ratio according to visa category: arrivals 1996-2005 (Victoria)
Visa category
Sex ratio
Skilled migration
Family migration
Humanitarian migration
All categories
107.7%
79.8%
105.0%
102.1%
Source: DIMIA.
Humanitarian migration from the Horn of Africa to Victoria initially showed a strong and above-average
male bias (Table 4.3). However, in the case of the stabilizing Eritrean and Somali communities, there
was an increase in female migration after 1996, and in the 2001 census both communities were femaledominant. However, only in the case of Somalia did this form a clear long-term trend. Migration from
Ethiopia, and especially the Sudan, remains strongly male-dominant.
Table 4.3 Sex ratio for Horn of Africa communities in Victoria
Data source
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Sudan
Census 1996
Census 2001
Census 2006
117.9%
95.7%
95.5%
119.1%
121.2%
99.6%
126.0%
97%
94.5%
119.0%
127.8%
120.6%
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
The Australian Government’s Intergenerational Report 2002-2003 (Costello, 2002) drew attention to
the public costs of Australia’s ageing population. This includes predictions that the percentage of GDP
spent on health, aged care and pensions will double in the next thirty to forty years and will put a
considerable tax burden on the working population.
Figures 4.3 to 4.6 show that the age profile of migrants from the Horn of Africa is different from that of
the total Victorian population, which has a flat age distribution with a small peak in the 60+ category.
The age distribution for the Eritrean and Ethiopian communities is similar to that described by Hugo
(2004: 37) for migrants in general, i.e. an over-representation of working-age young adults in the 20s
and 30s (see Figures 4.3 and 4.4). Such migrant age profiles are relevant to language maintenance: a
low number of older speakers (with typically limited English proficiency) provides fewer opportunities
(and need) for using the heritage language, and might thus accelerate language shift and the acquisition
of English among younger migrants.
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67
Figure 4.3 Age profile: Eritrea 1996, 2001 and 2006 (in percentages; Victoria)
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
Figure 4.4 Age profile: Ethiopia 1996, 2001 and 2006 (in percentages; Victoria)
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
The age distribution for the Somali and Sudanese communities is significantly different. Among the
Somali the peak is shifted to the left and the majority of migrants are within the 10-19 and 20-29 age
brackets. The Sudanese age distribution is variable across time, and given that the community grew
quite dramatically since 2001, the 2006 data are of particular relevance. In the recent data set we see
the largest group of speakers in the 10-19 age group, followed by the 20-29 group. The Somali and
Sudanese are thus young communities – an age profile which has implications for social as well as
linguistic services, and the support of language maintenance programs (see above).
Figure 4.5 Age profile: Somalia 1996, 2001 and 2006(in percentages; Victoria
page
68
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
Figure 4.6 Age profile: Sudan1996, 2001 and 2006 (in percentages)
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
Africa is characterized by extensive linguistic diversity as well as the existence of widespread regional
lingua francas (e.g. Kiswahili in East Africa and Hausa in West Africa, as well as the former colonial
languages, English, French and Portuguese). Table 4.4 provides basic sociolinguistic information for
the four countries, based on the Ethnologue data base of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). The
linguistic profiles (total numbers of speakers) of the Horn of Africa migrant communities in Australia are
summarized in Table 4.5, and Figure 4.7 shows the percentages for the top six languages spoken by
migrants from the four countries.
Table 4.4 Linguistic profiles: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Sudan
Number of languages
13 (1 extinct)
89 (5 extinct)
13
142 (8 extinct)
Official/nationalEnglish,
Amharic, English,Somali, (Standard)
languages (Standard) Arabic, Tigrinya (Standard) Arabic, Arabic
TigrinyaEnglish
Literacy rate
37%
23%
24-40%
20-27%
Source: Ethnologue 2001 (www.ethnologue.com).
Table 4.5 Languages spoken: 1996, 2001 and 2006 (total numbers; Victoria)
African languages
1996
2001
2006
Amharic
1996
2001
2006
Arabic
1996
2001
2006
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Sudan
Total
0
0
0
3
3
113
3
0
9
3
65
338
9
68
460
9
19
14
380
642
1198
0
0
0
3
10
60
392
661
1272
408
628
642
135
177
163
68
113
89
229
632
2888
840
1550
3782
page
69
English
Greek
Italian
Ormoro
Somali
Swahili
Tigrinya
Other
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Sudan
Total
1996
2001
2006
30
15
46
21
21
21
35
56
96
24
53
210
145
272
590
1996
2001
2006
0
3
3
21
21
21
0
0
0
36
25
36
57
49
60
1996
2001
2006
6
15
26
20
20
21
27
19
40
9
0
6
62
54
93
1996
2001
2006
0
0
0
174
326
546
0
6
12
0
0
0
174
332
558
1996
2001
2006
3
0
0
84
72
101
1204
2009
2282
0
0
0
1291
2081
2383
1996
2001
2006
0
3
0
3
0
12
0
4
12
0
7
32
3
14
56
1996
2001
2006
229
261
353
120
149
238
0
0
0
16
49
82
356
459
673
1996
2001
2006
0
33
117
3
137
442
0
8
86
0
45
2561
3
223
3206
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001, ABS 2006.
Figure 4.7 Top eight languages spoken by migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and
Sudan (Victoria)
Source: ABS 2006 .
Oromo
English
Nuer
Tigrinya
Amharic
Dinka
Somali
Arabic
page
70
Arabic entered the Horn of Africa regions with the Muslim Arab traders who came to northern Sudan in
the seventh century. It is spoken in all four communities, with the vast majority of its speakers coming
from the Sudan, followed by Eritrea (Figure 5.7).
Figure 4.8 Arabic (home language, percentage) across the Horn of Africa communities
(Victoria)
Source: ABS 2006.
However, the Arabic language spoken in the area is by no means homogeneous, and the Ethnologue
data base (see above) lists, apart from Standard Arabic, three main regional varieties for the Horn of
Africa: Hijazi Arabic (spoken at the Red Sea coast; Eritrea); Sudanese Creole Arabic (Southern Sudan;
also called Juba Arabic); Sudanese Spoken Arabic (Northern Sudan; also called Khartoum Arabic). This
language-internal variation has implications for the provision of translation and interpreting services, as
speakers from these communities might not be proficient in Modern Standard Arabic, or in the varieties
of Arabic used by Australian translators (similar problems re the provision of Arabic interpreting
services have been reported for the US; see Al-Jadda 2004, Wagner 2004).
With respect to educational attainment of Horn of Africa refugees in general, the 2006 census data
(Figure 4.9), which lists educational attainment for those aged 15 and older, shows the generally high
skill level of humanitarian entrants from the area (the overall percentage of Victorians holding postsecondary qualification was 43.8% in 2006).
Figure 4.9 Educational attainment: 2006 (for residents aged 15 and older; in
percentages; Victoria)
page
71
Source: ABS 2006.
However the outcomes for the Sudanese community are of concern. Miller and Brown (2007) reported
that in 2005 the average level of schooling prior to migration for African refugee students now enrolled
in Victorian schools was only 2.4 years. Miller, Mitchell and Brown (2005) outline the many challenges
for refugees with interrupted schooling in the education system. They lack basic concepts and skills
(such as fractions or telling the time) and need assistance developing the study skills, concentration
or understanding of routines necessary to work effectively in Australian educational institutions.
Additionally Miller and Brown (2005) comment on the need for time-consuming pre-literacy classes
with preliterate ESL learners, who must be introduced to the concept of writing down sounds (or signs)
and the mechanics of reading and writing (such as holding a pen) before one can even begin to teach
literacy skills in English. Acquiring these skills is a laborious process, and Collier (1995) observes that
it takes ESL students with no schooling in their first language at least 7 to 10 years to catch up to the
age and grade-level norms of their native English-speaking peers. The relatively high numbers of preliterate migrants currently entering Australia has led to considerable government funding and research
attention being focussed on assisting this group to acquire English literacy.
Table 4.6 gives the English proficiency levels of Horn of Africa immigrants in 2006, and Table 4.7 gives
the proficiency levels for those who do not speak English as one of their home languages.
Table 4.6 English proficiency of Horn of Africa immigrants
Sudan
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Speak English
‘very well’ or ‘well’
Speak English
‘not well’
Speak English
Not stated
‘not at all’
Speak English
only
59.3
74.7
76.8
76.6
27.4
15.3
11.1
13.8
6.4
3.3
2.3
2.3
3.4
3.8
7.6
3.7
3.5
2.9
2.3
3.7
Source:ABS 2006
Table 4.7 English proficiency of Horn of Africa immigrants with no English at home
Speak English ‘very
well’ or ‘well’
Speak English
‘not well’
Speak English
‘not at all’
Sudan
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Average for Victorian
non-English speakers
63.7
80.0
85.2
82.6
29.5
16.4
12.3
14.9
6.8
3.6
2.5
2.5
81.4
14.9
3.7
Source: ABS 2006.
page
72
Despite the high skill level and generally average knowledge of English as a second language, (the DIAC
settlement data which Horn of Africa migrants in the EP3 category)18, African immigrants experience the
familiar migrant pattern of high levels of unemployment and low representation in the professional and
white collar sector (Masquefa 2003; the overall unemployment rate for Victoria in the 2001 census was
at 6.8%; see also Colic-Peisker 2005 for comments on labour market discrimination towards African
refugees to Australia).
In 2006, the percentage of speakers not in the labour force decreased for all but one community
(Sudan). The increase in the unemployment rate of Sudanese refugees is best interpreted as a
consequence of their rapidly increasing numbers, i.e. early arrivals (pre-1996) of this group seem to
have been more successful in obtaining employment than those arriving between 1996 and 2001.
18
The DIMIA settlement data base classifies migrants according to the percentage of arrivals who indicated that they spoke good English or English only. EP1= countries
rating 98% or higher, EP2= countries rating 80% or higher, EP3= countries rating 50% or higher, EP4=countries rating less than 50%.
Figure 4.10 gives the occupations reported in the 2006 census for immigrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Somalia and Sudan, and includes the proportion not in the workforce. In Figure 4.11 the same
information is given, excluding those not in the workforce.
Not in labor force
Occupation not
stated
Inadequately
described
Labourers
Machinery
operators and
drivers
Sales workers
Clerical and
administrative
workers
Community and
personal service
workers
Technicians and
trades workers
Professionals
Managers
Figure 4.10 Occupations 2006, migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan
(including those not in the labour force)
Source: ABS 2006
Occupation not
stated
Inadequately
described
Labourers
Machinery
operators and
drivers
Sales workers
Clerical and
administrative
workers
Community and
personal service
workers
Technicians and
trades workers
Professionals
Managers
Figure 4.11 Occupations 2006, migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan
(excluding those not in the labour force)
Source: ABS 2006
Most are employed as machinery operators, drivers or labourers, thought the community welfare sector
is an important source of employment.
page
73
4.3 Other (Sub-Saharan) African communities in Victoria
As already noted in the introduction to this chapter, South African migrants form the dominant migrant
community of (sub-Saharan) African origin in Victoria (see Table 4.8), followed by migrants from Kenya
and Zimbabwe. In addition, there are a number of smaller African communities from Ghana, Nigeria,
Tanzania and Zambia19. The discussion in this section draws mainly on the 2006 census.
Table 4.8 Community numbers for selected African communities in Victoria
Data source
Census 1996
Census 2001
Census 2006
Growth 1996-2006
Growth 2001-2006
Ghana
Kenya
Nigeria
South Africa Tanzania
Zimbabwe
303
388
528
74.3%
36.1% 854
1111
1943
127.5% 74.9%
320
368
574
79.4%
56.0%
11710
15647
19306
64.9%
23.4% 973
1164
2364
143.0%
103.1%
266
326
408
53.4%
25.2% Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001,ABS 2006.
The majority of migrants from these countries enter Australia via the skilled migration program, and
educational qualifications and labour force participation are high (see Tables 4.8 and 4.9), especially
when compared to Horn of Africa communities discussed in section 4.2. Lower than average (6.8%)
unemployment figures were recorded for migrants from Kenya and South Africa in 2001, and their
representation in the professions and the white collar sector is strong for all seven communities. This
reflects a process which is commonly discussed under the heading “brain drain”, and which refers
to the fact that African (as well as other low- and middle income) nations have been losing skilled
professionals at a high rate due to migration to high-income countries such as Australia, Canada and
the United States (see Kapur & McHale 2005).
Table 4.9 Educational attainment for selected African communities (in percentages;
Victoria)
Ghana
Kenya
Nigeria
South Africa
Tanzania
Zimbabwe
Diploma/ certificate
Year 9-12
Year 8 or below
No schooling 52%
40%
6%
1%
71%
28%
1%
0%
80%
18%
2%
0%
64%
34%
2%
0%
73%
24%
3%
0%
67%
33%
0%
0%
Source: ABS 2006.
Table 4.10 Labour force status for selected African communities (in percentages;
Victoria)
page
74
Ghana
Managers
9%
Professionals
32%
Technicians and
Trades Workers
9%
Community and Personal
Service Workers
13%
Clerical and Administrative
Workers
6%
Sales Workers
6%
Labourers
11%
Inadequately described 1%
Occupation not stated 3%
Source: ABS 2006.
No 2006 census data was available on Zambian immigrants.
19
Kenya
Nigeria
South Africa
Tanzania
Zimbabwe
5%
49%
12%
33%
16%
36%
15%
41%
15%
34%
4%
7%
10%
4%
9%
14%
15%
6%
11%
10%
16%
7%
5%
0%
1%
16%
8%
4%
1%
0%
16%
14%
9%
6%
7%
1%
1%
4%
4%
1%
2%
7%
7%
1%
1%
African migration from Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania is clearly male-dominated, and involves mostly
working-age adults (Table 4.11 and Figure 4.12), This reflects the long-standing observation that
migration is generally selective for age as well as gender (although there has been increasing
involvement of women in recent years; cf. Hugo 2004: 49).
Table 4.11 Sex ratio for selected African communities (Victoria)
Ghana
Kenya
Nigeria
South
Africa
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Sex ratio
97.3%
109.8%
98.1%
114.0%
114.0%
118.8%
95.3%
Source: ABS 2006.
Figure 4.12 Age profile (2006): Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia
and Zimbabwe (in percentages; Victoria)
Source: ABS 2006.
Sub-Saharan migrants indicating English as their home language range from just around 20% for
Ghana to close to 100% for migrants from South Africa and Zimbabwe (Figure 5.15).
In some cases a changing percentage of English as a home language might be taken as an indicator of
changes in migrant ethnicity. Thus, the 2001 increase in the percentage of English-speaking migrants
from Zimbabwe reflects the politically-motivated migration of ‘white’ and English-speaking Zimbabwean
farmers to Australia. On the other hand, the decrease in the percentage of Kenyan migrants with
English as a home language might well be seen as a shift in migrant ethnicity: from a predominantly
European (colonial) migrant base (Zambian/Kenyan farmers) to an ethnically African migrant base. It is
also likely that many of the Kenyans are the children of displaced Sudanese refugees born in Kenyan
refugee camps.
The drop in the percentage of English speakers for Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania, on the other hand,
might indicate a change in migrant reporting: a shift from foregrounding English proficiency within
one’s multilingual repertoire to reporting ancestral (African) languages.
page
75
Figure 4.13 Percentage of English as a home language for selected African
communities (Victoria)
Source: ABS 1996, 2001, 2006,
There is considerable cross-country variation regarding the reporting of African language data in the
statistical sources. Thus, for Kenya, we find that a number of individual languages are listed separately
(Somali, Swahili, Ormoro, Achioli); whereas for other countries African languages tend to be grouped
under the generalized headings: ‘African languages’ or ‘other’. For Nigeria, for example, a country
with over 500 languages (Ethnologue 2005), the 2001 census does not list a single African language
by name. However, half of the Nigerian migrant population is reported to speak ‘African languages’
(n=51) or ‘other’ languages (n=151). This tendency to reduce African linguistic diversity to broad and
linguistically inadequate categories (since the geographical denominator ‘African languages’ includes a
number of different language families), is sociolinguistically inappropriate, and makes it difficult to plan
adequately for interpreting and translation needs of migrants from these communities.
Figure 4.14 Percentage of home languages coded as ‘African languages’ and ‘other’/
‘unknown’ for selected African communities (Victoria)
page
76
Source: ABS 2001, DIMIA 2002-2005.
Afrikaans has not been included in the discussion in this chapter (its genesis on the African continent
notwithstanding, it remains structurally an Indoeuropean/West Germanic language). It is very much
a minority language among Victoria’s South African community, with less than 10% of South African
migrants using Afrikaans as a home language.
4.4 Conclusion
The chapter provides a detailed summary of Victoria’s African communities, including the 1996, 2001
and 2006 census data, as well as settlement information from the DIAC (DIMIA) data base covering the
period up until August 2005. Particular attention is paid to the Horn of Africa communities which have
grown rapidly between 1996 and 2006 (humanitarian entries). In addition the chapter provides brief
profiles for migrants from seven other African countries (mostly skilled entries): Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria,
South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
page
77
chapter
five
Language needs and resources
– the view from the business
sector
Chapter five: Language needs
and resources – the view from the
business sector
5.1. Introduction
Markus (2001:96) notes that while the entrepreneurial dynamism of migrants has long been recognized
in the United States, in Victoria the rhetoric has often highlighted the costs to the community, as for
example in provision of English classes and interpreters. Yet Victorian governments have for a century
supported migration for its contribution to growth and prosperity (Clyne and Markus 2001:80). The
Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks and the Minister Assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs, John
Pandazopoulos (in the foreword to the first state government report under the new Multicultural Victoria
Act 2004) observed that “Victoria has been enriched by the presence of people from all over the world
and the benefits are evident in the social, cultural and economic life of the State” (VOMA 2006: 2).
The 2001 Census (reported in Victorian Office of Multicultural Affairs20 2004 :4) shows that 23.4% of
Victorians were born overseas (in 233 countries) and of these 71.8% were born in mainly non-English
speaking countries. If we include the second generation, we find that 43.5% of Victorians were either
born overseas or have at least one overseas-born parent. Languages other than English are spoken
at home by 21% of all Victorians, with over 180 different languages and dialects spoken. Many more
Victorians are likely to know and use a language other than English outside the home, with extended
family members for example.
Twenty-four percent of migrants to Australia in 2004-05 settled in Victoria. The top ten countries of birth
of these arrivals to Victoria were China (11.7%), India (11.5%), the UK (11%), Sudan (7%), Malaysia
(4.5%), the Philippines (3.7%), Sri Lanka (3.5%), Singapore (3.4%), Vietnam (3%) and Indonesia (2.2%)
(DIMIA Settlement Database, reported in VOMA 2006:31).
In this chapter, the focus is on the business sector, using case studies to document the contribution of a
linguistically and culturally diverse workforce to a small sample of internationally-engaged businesses,
and assess the language-related needs of these businesses.
5.2 The impact of migration on the community
Migration policies have generally been driven by economic forces, such as the need for a supply of
labour.
Apart from limiting or preventing burdens on the taxpayer, immigration policy has always aimed
at specific economic objectives: the recruitment of labour; the filling of skilled vacancies, variously
defined; the avoidance of those likely to become unproductive or welfare-dependent; and the
encouragement of workers likely to be adaptable. (Jupp 2002:143).
Jupp (2002:144) suggests that while economic effects of migration are difficult to quantify, most
economic studies consider they are either benign or marginal.
Clearly, there will always be some costs to the community associated with migration and language
skills. New arrivals are often dependent on the welfare sector for support, and among more established
migrants those aged from their late 40s up who arrived in Australia with poor English and limited
qualifications are also dependent on welfare (Birrell and Jupp 2000:11). Overseas-born people aged
45-64 in Victoria have a higher rate of welfare dependence than Australian-born people, but aside from
this age group, fewer people born overseas are welfare recipients (Birrell and Jupp 2000:19). Migrants
from countries where English proficiency is high have lower rates of welfare dependency than those
with less background in English (Birrell and Jupp 2000: 17-21). Welfare costs and costs associated with
20
Henceforth VOMA.
page
81
provision of English language services may be offset by economic, cultural and linguistic contributions
to the wider community, some of which may be intangible or only partially subject to documentation,
and therefore need a long-term view.
In his foreword to a 2004 discussion paper on the Multicultural Victoria Act 2004, the Victorian Premier,
Steve Bracks notes the importance of “the social, cultural and economic contribution of Victoria’s
multicultural community” (VOMA 2004:6), and the report goes on to outline the social and economic
importance of cultural diversity to Victoria in its engagement with the global economy (VOMA
2004:6). Business investment, tourism, the arts and education are areas where according to the state
government, Victoria is already benefiting.
In 2006, the government lists the tangible benefits of Victoria’s cultural and linguistic diversity as:
❱ t he ability to cater for a wide variety of languages and cultural differences;
❱ an international perspective for the local industries of arts, services, education, business and
commerce;
❱ a wealth of overseas techniques and expertise coming to Victoria;
❱ knowledge of different social and business cultures helping local businesses to access overseas
markets; and
❱ support to the Victorian tourism industry. (VOMA 2006: 4).
The precise extent of the economic impact of the cultural and linguistic resources in the Victorian
community is difficult to document, because of the scale of diversity of the population, and the
representation of immigrants and their offspring across a wide range of employment sectors (cf. EDC
2004:18). The Italian community is an example. One participant from our Italian focus group working
with Job Watch (a group providing advice to people with problems at work) has collected data on the
background of callers. This person finds that people of Italian background are employed across a wide
range of industries, particularly manufacturing, property, and retail and wholesale trade.
While some commentators doubt the benefits, the Victorian parliamentary Economic Development
Committee (EDC 2004) suggests the economic contribution of multicultural migration is “enormous”
(EDC 2004:3). While acknowledging the difficulty of documenting the impact on productivity of
particular ethnic groups or effects on specific industries (EDC 2004:16), the report argues that there
is considerable anecdotal evidence of the effect of local work practices and settlement patterns on
specific industries. One example is the growth within the housing industry in Shepparton. This has
been attributed to new migrant settlement (EDC 2004:15). Agriculture and horticulture are highlighted:
immigrants working in extended family groups in agriculture, and the work ethic of refugees picking
fruit, are cited as exemplary contributions to productivity (EDC 2004:16-17).
page
82
The Economic Development Committee reports widespread agreement on the contribution of
immigrants to both the supply and demand sides of the economy, through their own spending, and the
expansion of business and government services (demand) and through the contribution of capital and
skills, development of new businesses, input to technology, and knowledge of international markets
(supply) (EDC 2004:7). Immigration also has a slight effect in retarding the increase in the average age
of the workforce. However, the economic impact of migration is not readily measured by short-term
economic indicators. As Markus (2001) argues, the contribution across a whole lifetime needs to be
taken into account.
There are language implications in a number of the ways in which migration interacts with productivity.
This chapter explores the internationally-engaged business sector, although we also need to be aware
of more local effects. The EDC report (2004) describes an aspect of what might be called the economic
life cycle of immigrant communities. New arrivals need to source commodities, particularly food,
which may not be available here. Small import, retail and service businesses are set up by community
members to cater for these needs, and over time the client base expands beyond the immigrant group
to the wider Australian community, building the import businesses, enriching the cultural resources of
the wider community, and raising the value of property in areas which have developed a cosmopolitan
life style (EDC 2004:20-22). This in turn enhances the tourism potential. The City of Ballarat laments the
effect of its limited cultural diversity on the choice of restaurants (EDC 2004:11), and most especially
on its potential economic development. It is currently working on building international relationships to
develop the information technology and communications sector (EDC 2004:22).
In the small business sector, a study by Williams (1987, reported in Holton 1989) shows that small
businesses whose owner-managers were born overseas (the vast majority of whom were of nonEnglish speaking background) had a higher survival rate than businesses with Australian-born
proprietors. There is “statistically significant evidence in favour of the greater durability of businesses
run by the overseas-born, which can in turn be regarded as a measure of the disproportionate
contribution of NESB persons to small business success in Australia” (Holton 1989:115).
This notion of ‘productive diversity’ takes into account the range of languages and cultural skills which
migrants have brought to Australia, and considers this to be a major asset in global business. However,
as Jupp (2002:146) argues, while this view is strongly favoured by companies with an international
focus, Australian immigration policies have always placed more emphasis on English proficiency.
A Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs report21, (cited in EDC
2004:18-19) shows that overseas-born migrants are highly represented in the manufacturing sector
(32.1%), and hospitality (30.2%) and retail sectors. The impact on international trade of cultural
diversity is unclear (cf. Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, reported in
EDC 2004:23), but again anecdotal evidence suggests a value. For example, EDC (2004:23) reports that
Gippsland Aeronautics recognized the value of its Chinese employees in working with a visiting Chinese
delegation, and consequently amended its recruitment practices to highlight language skills.
While there is “no strong correlation between the size of migrant populations or ethnic business
communities and Victoria’s major trade markets” (Dept of Innovation, Industry and Regional
Development, cited in EDC: 23), there is some negative evidence. The City of Ballarat laments that it
was unable to provide local Korean contacts for a large Korean company wanting to invest locally (EDC
2004:23). We might ask how much business is lost, because companies feel more welcome elsewhere.
This cannot readily be quantified.
5.3 Languages and employment
A survey of job advertisements in The Age of 10 September 2005 showed that very few specified
second language skills. Of approximately 1800 positions advertised that day, only 18 required language
skills, and more than half of these were in language teaching. In some cases the second language
was specified (Greek-speaking Telstra dealer, Greek-speaking pharmacy assistant) but in other cases
the second language was left open (Werribee Zoo tour guide, multilingual honours graduate for
international sales executive position in the publishing industry, Moreland Council community transport
coordinator).
The sampled edition of The Age contained a number of advertisements for positions where second
language skills might be thought to be extremely useful (overseas postings for facilities managers and
project managers; corporate travel consultants; Director of Studies and other staff at an Australian
education centre in Cambodia; medical director for the Australian Olympic team in Beijing; manager of
international services at a TAFE college; general manager, Asia; project directors and project managers,
Asia, Middle East, Europe). In these cases it may be supposed that should a suitable candidate prove
to have skills in the appropriate language it would be a strong factor in favouring their appointment.
Interviews with businesses, discussed below, suggest that employees with specific language skills are
sought through the ethnic press and the web. Where language skills are desirable but not essential
criteria for the job, even companies with a strong interest in hiring people with language skills may not
21
Population Flow: Immigration Aspects. 2002-3 Edition, DIMIA, Canberra 2004:79
page
83
specify that in advertisements, perhaps in order to attract as wide as possible a pool of applicants. The
possession of second language skills may then affect the choice between two otherwise comparable
candidates.
In order to take a slightly longer term view, we looked at previous years. Table 5.1 below gives details
of job advertisements mentioning language skills in The Age and The Australian on sample dates in
2003 and 2004.
Table 5.1 shows that apart from language teaching and community jobs, language skills are sought
in recruitment of Australian government trade, commerce and industry representatives (including
international expo staff), in the hospitality and airline industries, and in businesses engaged in export
of primary products and international construction projects. Key languages are Chinese, Japanese
and Korean, with some Greek and Vietnamese. It is worth noting that the languages sought in the
government and business advertisements do not match well with the languages being recruited in the
education sector, where Korean and Vietnamese do not appear, and Chinese and Japanese take second
place to French and German.
Table 5.1 Newspaper job advertisements mentioning language skills
Date & Languages
Occupation
Location
paper sought
Proficiency level
where specified
The Age
23/08/03 French, English
Indonesian
LOTE Coordinators
Monivale College
LOTE teacher
Xavier College
LOTE teacher
Ballarat High School
Japanese German
French
LOTE teacherGirton College, Ballarat
Japanese
LOTE teacher
Mackillop College
German
LOTE teacherSt Leornard’s College French, Mandarin
LOTE teacherEltham College of Education
French or MandarinHead of LOTE
Lauriston Girls’ Grammar
07/08/04 JapaneseCatering, hospitality, Japan – World Expo 2005
Japanese language skills
Guides, Retail, Finance
advantageous
& HR; Reception, PA
English
Live-in nannyRural Victoria ESL fine
English Live-in nannies for Various, not specificUniversity educated
Italian families applicants
Greek, Italian
Maltese, Chinese
Bilingual case manager,
continuing care team
Mercy Hospital, Werribee
French, Japanese
LOTE teachers
Bacchus Marsh Grammar
School
German, Chinese
page
84
LOTE teachers – P/T,
tempScotch College
14/08/04Greek, other Gulf Air flightRequire Greek & English;
languages attendants
other languages
preferable
German
LOTE teacher FT
Wesley College Mandarin
LOTE teacher PT
temporaryCaulfield Grammar
French
LOTE teacher
Kardinia International
College, Geelong
German
LOTE teacher-FTOvernewtown Anglican
Community College
Date & Languages
Occupation
Location
paper sought
Proficiency level
where specified
The Australian
23/08/03 KoreanTrade Commissioner
Korea
Korean language highly desirable
MandarinExecutive Director TaipeiHigh level of Mandarin
Australian Commerce Chinese is highly
& Industry Office
desirable
Spanish, French , Interpreters with
Russian
construction
experience
Various countries where Advanced ability to
Wagners speak a second language
(www.wagners.com.au)
has construction projects. Korean
Korea analyst, Meat & Korea
Livestock Australia Ltd.
Korean language
reading, translation & oral communication skills preferred
16/08/03 Vietnamese, ChineseTrade Commissioners,Ho Chi Minh Beijing
Austrade
01/08/04 Arabic
LOTE teacher Islamic School of Brisbane
07/08/04 Japanese Catering, hospitality, Japan – World Expo 2005
Guides, Retail, Finance & HR; Reception, PA
14/08/04 Indonesian, Italian , German
Japanese language skills
advantageous
*LOTE teaching Victoria
scholarships KoreanChef Sydney
Language skills essential
Greek and other Gulf Air flightRquire Greek & English
languages
attendants
speakers. Other languages preferable’’
Focus group data cited in chapter 6 suggest mixed attitudes within the business community towards
linguistic and cultural diversity. It is apparent that communities generally feel their language skills are
undervalued. Yet, at the same time, it is clear from the business interviews reported here that language
skills can be seen as a considerable asset.
The Chinese focus group (see Chapter 6) observed that ability in Chinese language is particularly in
demand in export and import companies. In the retail sector, for example, a company employing Asian
language speakers would be well equipped to expand into Asian markets. In other sectors, however, it
was felt that Chinese language skills are treated as just “a nice extra” by companies and government
departments, despite the fact that the Executive Director of the Australia China Business Council, Jim
Short, has predicted that Australian companies developing trade links with China will increasingly make
use of Chinese-speaking employees (EDC 2004:24).
The Hindi focus group noted the increasing importance of India as a trading partner to Australia,
and suggested that as the business language of India is English, the Australian government does not
acknowledge a language dimension to the partnership. The group argued that knowledge of Hindi
provides a deeper insight into the country and warned that “[i]f you want to sell to the masses in India,
English won’t be enough. In India you need a good command of local languages too”. This is supported
by the Australia-India Chamber of Commerce, which has strongly argued that the skills of the local
Indian population could be fruitfully exploited in developing trade links with Indian companies (EDC
2004:24).
It was reported by the Vietnamese focus group that Australian companies with staff in Vietnam find
employees with mother tongue language skills and cultural knowledge very useful. One participant
describes her sister’s experience running a company in Vietnam: while she is fluent in Vietnamese her
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appearance and behaviour do not reveal her heritage. This gives her a great advantage in business
negotiations when contacts, unaware that she knows Vietnamese, discuss deals among themselves in
her presence.
5.4 The view from the business sector: six case studies
In order to report directly on the experience of the business sector, interviews were conducted with
managers or senior executives of six companies or organizations in Victoria with international business
dealings. The goal was to identify language and cultural issues in their businesses, and the actual or
potential advantages of a multilingual workforce. The businesses were selected either from Austrade
information or through advice from our consultants as having model practices in relation to multilingual
employees or clients. The companies had different kinds of international links, and included both
small and large companies in different industry sectors. The companies and organizations cannot be
identified because of constraints under university guidelines for ethical research, but are all based in
Victoria, and include a meat exporter, a pet food exporter, a call centre for an international airline, a
law firm with an office in Vietnam, a company selling products and parts for major vehicle and other
manufacturing companies (also providing multilingual sales support, software and a helpline for dealers
across the world), and a tertiary institute in the TAFE sector. Additional information was collected from a
self-employed export agent.
5.4.1 The meat exporter
The head office of the meat exporter is in a suburb of Melbourne. The company has ten staff in
Melbourne, six of whom work in international trading (shipping, finance or export), a couple of staff
in Queensland in their domestic operations, and approximately ten staff in India. The company trades
widely, with markets in Europe, including Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and is
expanding into South America. The interview was conducted with the General Manager who is a fourth
generation Australian of German heritage. He retains only traces of family German, but has developed
some survival skills in Russian, Spanish, French and Italian through travelling and reading business
documents and emails.
The international meat export business is dominated by English-speaking countries: Australia, New
Zealand, America and Canada. South American countries are exceptions to this rule, but the manager
notes that most South Americans in the trade speak English. As the exporting countries are largely
English-speaking, customers expect to use English in transactions, and generally have English-speaking
staff or interpreters. Spain is noted as an exception here – communication is reported to be a struggle.
In countries such as Algeria and Japan, this particular company hires local agents with appropriate
language, cultural and local knowledge. In addition, it has used the services of Austrade in both
Hungary and Chile. More generally, it has made some use of SBS for verbal and written translations,
and has occasionally drawn on the telephone interpreter service.
As the company trades with such a wide range of cultures, it is difficult to target specific languages
in the company’s hiring policy22. Staff are recruited for their potential to complement the team, and
language skills are seen as secondary.
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The main thing is the team. They have something that can develop and grow. I find that most people
if they have a barrier and the desire to get around it they’ll start dealing with people that they can get
along with, particularly in trade as trade’s very personal. If you’ve got a product that people want, it
comes down to how that person trusts you.
However, it emerges that at least seven of his ten staff have skills in an extensive range of languages,
including Mandarin, Cantonese and another Chinese dialect, Vietnamese, Japanese, Punjabi, Malay,
Vietnamese, German, Cambodian and Yugoslav (sic). The Chinese language skills are particularly
valued, because most of their trading partners across Asia are ethnic Chinese. In one case, a Nigerian
22
For the same reason, the company’s general manager suggests that it is difficult for Australia to develop a coherent policy on second language education as it is hard to
know which language or languages to target. He observes that if he was looking at Australian language education policy as a business plan, he would divide the country into
four areas and specify which languages are to be targeted in each area.
customer (who speaks French but no English) has a French- and Chinese-speaking assistant who
handles negotiations in Mandarin with the company’s Chinese-speaking staff.
Most staff members came to Australia as children, are highly acculturated and speak English natively.
An exception is a staff member born in Vietnam, who is highly valued for his negotiating skills but who
has less than perfect English literacy. The manager sees his talents as worth grooming, and works with
him on editing emails and other written documents.
While linguistic skills are not considered essential in the workplace, cultural knowledge is seen as
extremely important. The manager notes the need to adapt communication styles, both on the web
and in verbal communication, for example to slow down and be more indirect with Europeans, or to
be more personal and persuasive with Arabic-speaking customers. He sees this as a part of a personal
repertoire of skills that need to be developed for effective marketing. Cultural differences include
different ways of doing business. For example, closing a deal can take a different length of time (up
to a week in China or Russia) and is signalled in different ways (Australians shake hands to signal
closure). The manager has acquired extensive awareness of cultural differences through travelling, but
recognizes that certain cultures require more knowledge than this provides, and perhaps a different
personality from his own. He finds Japan the most difficult community to understand, and feels a
knowledge of Japanese is essential to acquire the cultural knowledge necessary for successful business
in Japan. The company’s business in Japan is handled by a Pakistani who speaks Japanese and has
worked there extensively.
While linguistic and cultural knowledge is valued, the manager stresses the prior importance of a
shared workplace culture within the team. He recalls a case where the company hired a Spanish
speaker from Peru to help build trade with Mexico, but found that the Peruvian work ethic was too “laid
back” for the Australian workplace. Similar problems emerged with a French employee hired to build
trade between Europe and West Africa, who was described as having a public service mentality, rather
than the Australian work ethic. As the manager says of these former employees: “we have a saying:
hungry. And they’re just not hungry”.
He recognizes the problem of different marketplaces, and the need to bring language skills to a
particularly impenetrable market like Brazil, where it is difficult to get to suppliers without going through
agents, who may be difficult to trust. The tension between the need for language skills and local loyalty
and enculturation is encapsulated in the manager’s comment that “ideally if someone spoke both
Chinese and Spanish I’d probably hire them. And born in Australia”.
Trade is growing with India, and the manager notes that while everyone can speak English, they often
prefer to discuss the details in local languages. This supports the point made earlier by the Hindi focus
group. Yet the situation may well change. He considers that international trade has shown an increasing
shift towards English in the last fifteen years, and younger people coming into the area across the world
are increasingly well schooled in English. Thus this sector is likely to have less need of other languages
in the long term. He contrasts this with other sectors such as hospitality, tourism and education, where
he sees an enormous (and on-going) need for language skills. Within his own work sphere, the domain
of trade deals, English combined with cultural sensitivity and the experience and assistance from local
agents may suffice. He contrasts this with the domain of shipping, where precise language skills are
required for logistics. “If I was hiring someone to that side of the business I’d definitely hire someone
with language”. However, he adds that even in trading, while one can get by with English in making
deals, language skills are always needed for implementation (for example in drawing up letters of credit
etc).
The manager thus highlights the primary importance of work-related skills, interpersonal skills and
loyalty, but is strongly aware of the importance of language and culture knowledge and the contribution
of the bilingual skills of his workforce to the success of the business.
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5.4.2 The pet food exporter
An interview was conducted with the director, who had helped friends build a small pet food business
into a successful company exporting to a dozen countries. It remains a small company, based in
suburban Melbourne, with three employees. The director begins by noting that the topic of language is
of great interest, as everyone they deal with speaks another language. He feels it would be useful if his
team could speak up to five foreign languages. He studied some Chinese at school, but can use it only
for basic pleasantries.
The export market has been developed partly through Austrade, but also through their website. In the
early days they took part in many trade shows and, being a small industry, gained rapid recognition.
Some markets such as Singapore and India have been easily accessible, because of the local use of
English, but Japan has proved very difficult, and the company has made extensive use of Austrade for
written translation and interpreting at meetings there, and also in the Philippines and Korea. Austrade is
highly praised for its support for export businesses, but it is noted that for small businesses the charges
($190 an hour) can be prohibitive. The company has found it useful to hire its own employee in Japan,
as so many clients have no English at all. Similarly in Korea it has hired a Korean speaker educated in
the U.S. who can serve as a linguistic and cultural intermediary. The director feels that communication
problems are 70% linguistic, and 30% cultural, and styles of business are so different that he feels
trying to stumble through usually leads to failure. In China and Japan, in particular, it is necessary to
have someone to give instructions on appropriate behaviour. (This can be as basic as when and when
not to take off shoes.)
China is the biggest growth area for the company, which employs a local distributor who speaks some
English. Company employees find, however, that they tend to gravitate towards customers with whom
they are able to communicate readily, rather than spending time and money using translators, in order
to find more inaccessible customers. In countries like Taiwan, Indonesia and Korea, customers will
often have a child who has returned from education in Australia or the United States, and who can
communicate on behalf of the business. The director notes that while these customers recognized the
problem and took the initiative to solve it, Australians are generally lazy, and let other people solve the
language problem.
Given the scale of the developing market in China, he makes the point that it would be useful if the
office manager was a speaker of Chinese. However, there is a note of caution – an awareness of the
need for integrity and honesty when employees are negotiating in a language which others in the
company do not understand. He has learnt of two separate cases where companies had spent a lot on
developing markets, using Chinese-speaking employees to cultivate relations with customers. These
employees then set up on their own, taking the clients with them.
Doing business in China is difficult, and on business trips he finds he is completely reliant on others
for simple matters such as getting around. Even using a cab, he needs someone to write down his
destination. However, as in the case of the meat exporter, this director foreshadows a time when it will
be easier, as the younger generation in China are widely educated in English. He also notes that while it
would be useful to know Chinese, the practicalities of dealing with speakers of ten different languages
makes it extremely difficult to choose one language to learn over all others.
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While acknowledging the huge shift to English underway, the director is still someone who prefers to
refer customers to his in-country distributors. The clients’ standard of English is such that it is often
difficult to interpret emails, and such problems, he feels, are alleviated in face-to-face communication.
He notes that with people working in English as a second language it is always better to meet face-toface rather than relying on emails and phone calls. To paraphrase his words: you get nowhere unless
you sit down with people. Clients having to work in a second language lose interest more rapidly, and
if you fail to seize the opportunity in person it will disappear. This is necessary even across language
boundaries.
Specifically with the Koreans, the guy in charge won’t speak any English at all but until you make the
effort of going to see him, he’s not going to do any business through his intermediary or the agent he’s
appointed, or the girl in the office. Until you sit down and say hello and talk to the person next to him
who then translates back. It’s all about face.
As with the previous company, the point of closure of a deal is sometimes hard to recognize. He
doesn’t count something as a sale until he has the letter of credit, and with a new customer he always
sends a sample or emails a photo to make sure there has been no misunderstanding. “Confusion costs
you money – you always find a way to clarify things”.
Relying on others to handle language issues can be unreliable. He recently sent new printed packaging
to a translation service in Australia to be translated into five languages. When the packaging was
launched at the Shanghai Pet Show, the local agent was horrified because it was “horrible”, and didn’t
make sense. He suggests the translation service may have hired someone who was English-educated,
and did not have the level of sophistication appropriate to the task. The translation cost a lot of money,
and will have to be redone by his agent in China.
The linguistic situation can vary enormously, however. Dealing with Europe and the Middle East is
reportedly straightforward because, he suggests, they have better spoken and written English than
he does. “Quite often in a company you’ll deal with someone in Germany who’s an Indian. English
educated Indian. Everybody’s everywhere.” On the other hand, dealing with Brazil proves difficult, but
largely for cultural reasons. He claims there is a different, more relaxed, way of thinking. Workers below
senior management level have limited English skills, which also creates practical difficulties at the level
of routine interactions.
The director recognizes the value of language skills, though he does not specifically recruit for them
— he would welcome them as an extra, as long as he didn’t have to pay for them. With only three
positions available, he has to give priority to people with relevant workplace skills. He also recognizes
that if he spoke Chinese his business growth in China would be six months ahead. While his Chinese
distributor speaks some English there is a fair bit of confusion, and instead of communicating once a
day there might be five calls and emails, trying to clarify information.
We talk about it a lot when you struggle to talk to someone on the phone and how good it would be to
know other languages. I used to deal with a guy who spoke six languages. He sat in his office and just
swapped from one language to the other on the phone. What a wonderful skill that would be. It would
help but not everyone can be multi-skilled like that.
In such a small company with only three employees and ten languages among their trading partners it
would be difficult to find the resources in-house to deal with potential partners. While few people speak
six languages fluently, a large proportion of the Victorian community are at least bilingual, and some
trilingual. If by chance the latest company recruit had spoken Chinese, Korean or Spanish, business
potential would have been enhanced. As companies grow, the chances of recruiting from among the
bilingual population increase, though as noted above, education and business are out of alignment
here. In particular, the education sector is not contributing to Korean and Spanish language skills to
the extent that businesses might require. A more flexible education system would adapt to changes in
international business and make suitable language courses available.
5.4.3 The airline call centre
The airline call centre is part of an international organization with 1000 employees internationally,
running nine independently-managed call centres located around the world to handle a European
airline’s flight enquiries, bookings and frequent flyer scheme. An interview was conducted with the
Human Resources manager, a woman of Moroccan origin who has lived in Australia since the age of
eight. She speaks Assyrian in addition to English.
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The Melbourne office of the airline call centre was set up in 1998, primarily to service the Japanese
market, and currently employs 80 staff. Labour costs in Japan were considered too high, and
Melbourne was chosen because of its linguistic diversity. At a time when many international call centres
have been set up in India because of the labour costs and English language skills, Melbourne with its
multilingual population has become, to use the HR manager’s words “the India of Japan”. While there
are more Japanese speakers in Sydney or Brisbane, Melbourne is more multicultural, and has speakers
of German and other languages that the company also needs. Employees work in language-based
teams, of whom nearly half are Japanese speakers. Apart from Japanese flight enquiry services, the
centre has teams handling enquiries in Cantonese, Mandarin, and German, and all of them need to be
able to handle calls in English. So, for example, at times when Japanese language calls are infrequent,
the Japanese team will take calls in English from the Australian market. When the European call centres
close at night, calls are switched through to the Melbourne centre.
The company has a relatively stable work force, all permanent, with staff drawn from Melbourne’s
immigrant population, Australians with second language skills, and people on work visas of at least two
years. Training last seven weeks full-time, and most staff stay in the job for around two years. Many
staff members are recent migrants, or are in Australia on a spouse visa, and despite the relatively low
salaries, are happy in an environment where they can make use of their native language skills and work
in a team with a shared cultural background. The company has had no problem recruiting appropriate
numbers of staff with the required language skills, and employee retention is good. Employees are
recruited for their bilingual skills in one of the key languages and English. Initial assessment is made
of their English in a phone call from the HR Manager, and then a staff member with skills in the
appropriate language will also conduct a telephone interview.
In some cases, second language speakers of the target languages have been hired despite borderline
language skills. The HR manager stresses the importance of confidence here. Extroverts can get by, and
their language skills improve with practice on the job. Moreover, the formulaic nature of the language
and the use of airline jargon also means that those who have lived in Australia for many years and have
rusty language skills or lack currency in the language, can rapidly adapt. The same is true of English
language skills — some might have ability that would be insufficient for the wider workplace, but
would prove quite adequate for the formulaic nature of call centre work. The company has considered
introducing training to improve the English fluency of some of the workers, but as the call centre
operates from 7am to 10pm every day, with staff working on a roster, English classes would be difficult
to schedule. However, some newer arrivals have managed to take English courses offered by the Adult
Migrant Education Service alongside their work.
A new call centre has recently opened in Shanghai to handle the Chinese business, so no more
Cantonese speakers are being recruited. However, the company is keeping the Cantonese team to work
in English, because they have good English and are a valuable team, with extensive experience.
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Bilingual skills are widespread among the management team of 15. Team leaders need the language
of their team. The other management staff are not recruited for their bilingual skills, but many,
including the Managing Director, are German speakers, having come through the international arm of
the company. At senior level German is necessary, as all the managing directors of the international
branches are German and the meetings and correspondence are conducted in German. There are only
two monolingual staff members in the Melbourne office. The HR manager considers language skills
are valuable in dealing with a multilingual and multicultural workforce, leading as they do to enhanced
awareness of the workers’ needs and potential communication problems.
Around two years ago the company produced a culture report on family and business customs of
the three main groups, but now cultural knowledge across the employee groups is largely acquired
informally: “Now it’s just like a way of life here”. The H. R. Manager characterizes the workforce as very
un-Australian in terms of their cultural knowledge: “Nobody listens to the footy, they might not get a
joke”. As the most Australian member of staff, she takes pleasure in the cultural mix and enjoys the
diversity, but recognizes the need to ensure effective communication. A message might need to be sent
out several times in order for it to be understood, and while the Germans and Chinese will be direct in
their responses, the Japanese might not be willing to indicate lack of understanding.
The nature of the work in the airline call centre means that of all the companies interviewed, this
business was the most directly focused on making use of specific language skills and creating a
workforce drawing on the local multilingual population.
5.4.4 The multilingual product service information company
Working with the global automotive industry, including a number of leading automobile manufacturers,
the company is a specialist in delivering IT systems and support that assist in the selection and sale
of vehicle replacement parts. Its products include electronic parts and service catalogues, dealer
management systems, catalogue creation services and e-commerce solutions for small-to-medium
sized businesses. Originally two competing companies, the Sydney and Melbourne branches now
specialize, with Sydney handling data management and electronic catalogues, and Melbourne
managing operations. Management staff and team leaders move between the two offices on a weekly
or twice weekly rotation. The products themselves are sold in over 25 languages and hence language
skills are required in a number of areas, including translation of data and software. These are mostly
handled through the Melbourne office, and telephone support provided by multilingual personnel based
in Sydney.
An interview was conducted with the general manager, Data Management Division and the Electronic
Catalogues Division, and the operations manager. Established in 1991, the company has grown
rapidly, with a sevenfold increase from 19 staff in 1998 to 240 now working in Melbourne, Sydney and
across Europe. They trade with 158 countries, have sales offices in the UK, USA, Germany and the
Netherlands, and are hoping to expand into France and Italy. In the past they have supplied the product
while local distributors have handled the sales and marketing. Increasingly, however, the company
is taking over in this area, except in Japan and Mexico where distributors still look after the help
desk, product support and customer liaison. While some industries, such as finance, may feel able to
outsource, for example to India, this particular company points out it has a different market, with a very
specialized dealership type product. Having won several export awards in recent years, the managers
feel their success is partly due to their ability to represent the product better than distributors, who may
lack the specialist knowledge required – or who may have an ambition to create a competing company.
Always sensitive to the customer’s point of view, the company has invested substantially in people, and
especially in training, so that if someone in Belgium rings a help desk, they are able to speak with an
operator who can communicate in their language and knows their culture.
The company recruits people with language skills, particularly for the customer service office in Sydney,
which supports 12 languages. Language skills are also in demand for the Melbourne operations.
Languages for which they have recruited include Portuguese, Serbo-Croatian (sic), Dutch, Finnish,
Swedish, German, Italian, and at the time of interview they were seeking Spanish speakers. Most staff
have a migrant background, so are working in their first language.
Recruiting staff with appropriate language skills for customer service work has not been a problem.
There is generally a good response to advertisements for the core languages (English, French, German,
Italian, Spanish), though it took three months to find a Finnish speaker. Advertisements are run in the
general press, community language newspapers and on the web. The main barrier to recruitment has
been the working hours: the different time zones require staff to work from late afternoon to the early
hours of the morning. This becomes even more challenging during daylight saving. The working hours
have led to some turnover of staff.
The company offers no specific cross-cultural training to employees, but has been impressed by the
adaptability of its Anglo-Australian staff to the multicultural workforce. Nonetheless, working with
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such diverse personnel has given rise to occasional problems to do with both linguistic and cultural
differences. The interactive style of an Italian team leader may clash with that of an elderly German
worker, for example. English problems have shown up in emails of one staff member in sales whose
responses to sales enquiries from around the world sometimes appear very abrupt. The managers
expressed concern that “culture doesn’t translate into emails”, that the contextual information that can
be inferred in face-to-face communication is not present in emails. They are encouraging staff to use
the phone rather than emails where possible. Another team member, valued for his technical skills, has
difficulties with oral communication, so colleagues need to use a lot of confirmation checks to ensure
understanding.
While very satisfied with the language skills of the customer service staff, the company has had
problems with translation work. This is the responsibility of the Melbourne office, which outsources
the task to a translation company. The software is offered in 28 languages and the data has to be
translated into technical rather than conversational language. Problems stemmed from the use of one
particular translation bureau. Feedback from local offices on a pilot evaluation CD was that the language
was not sufficiently technical. For example, adjust rear brake would require the technical German
term for adjust. Such problems have forced the company to switch to a translation agency employing
specialized technical translators based in Europe. The German work goes to a mechanical engineer in
Germany, the translator in Finland used to work for the Finnish airforce, and the translator in Turkey
used to work for Saab, so all have the specialist technical knowledge required. As an additional step,
the translated texts which come back from Europe are sent out to local people for proof reading and
spell-checking. The pilot material is then distributed to a small sample of dealers for testing.
In addition to the customer service staff, the company has a number of multilingual employees whose
language skills prove very useful. While these employees were hired primarily for their job specific
skills, their language skills are now used regularly. A Russian staff members helps with Russian
and Ukrainian translation, a Spanish woman in the Melbourne customer service centre will answer
callers from Spanish speakers, an engineer with IT and Mandarin skills is called in to work with Asian
customers, and a second generation Japanese Australian software programmer has highly valued
culture and language skills that won the company a big contract. He travels with the managers on trips
to Japan, and acts as translator.
He’s fantastic. Every time anyone travels to Japan he comes with us. It’s a dream, he’s very skilled in
Japanese culture and language, and the customers love him. I’ve been trying to entice him out to work
in sales or account management but he loves his software development with his mates.
This staff member and others from different backgrounds work with management to help prepare them
for overseas trips, by providing informal cross-cultural training (e.g. when to bow and how to handle a
business card).
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Apart from the customer service area where language skills are required, recruitment of staff does
not specify language skills. However, given two equal applicants, the one with language skills would
be hired. Moreover, when applicants are found to have more than one language they are eagerly
recruited, as their additional languages can provide a back-up for existing staff. Apart from the
regular technical training, the company offers each employee a scholarship of $1,200 to be used for
personal development, and a language course is a highly recommended and very popular use for this
scholarship. When a new market is established; for example, in Korea or Japan, an employee is sent to
work in the customer’s offices, and staff might take courses in Korean to prepare for this posting. While
it is not possible to learn a great deal of the language in such short courses, staff, particularly those
in sales, find it useful to acquire some language skills for travelling, entertaining clients, dealing with
hotels, for social interaction around business meetings, and also to understand something of what is
being discussed when customers talk among themselves in meetings.
At top management level, meetings in Europe (and often elsewhere) are conducted in English, though
in Asia management staff always make sure translators are present. These translators are usually
bilingual in-house staff. However at the level of local dealerships, for example in Sweden, family-run
dealerships prefer to use Swedish for customer service enquiries. The manufacturers for whom the
company provide the information services would also prefer all information to be available in every
language spoken by their customers. For economic reasons it is not always possible to provide this, but
the calculation is not simply based on a balance sheet. For example, the firm may enter a market where
it will have only ten dealers. On the surface, it may not appear worth the $10,000 it will cost to get the
data, applications and help-files translated.
We used to weigh it up, but we don’t now because while you lose in that market, you make the
customers happy, and that spreads by word of mouth. So with Ford, for example, you might do that in
one country where you lose, but when it becomes known right around Europe that they’re happy then
it pays off. And when you’ve done that for a language, say with Turkish, and another company such as
Hyundai comes on board, then you’ve already done that once. So the set up work is really done and
you don’t have to do it twice.
This company thus combines recruitment of local bilingual staff and outsourcing of highly technical
translation work, backed up by local checking, to produce language products of high quality. Their
respect for customers’ needs and the long-term view of investing in language services of high quality
account for their pre-eminence in a highly competitive field.
5.4.5 The law firm
At a Melbourne law firm with two offices in Vietnam, an interview was conducted with a senior
associate in the Vietnam practice. This person also edits a database of Vietnamese laws and manages
ongoing translation of these laws. She has developed some basic Vietnamese proficiency, but it was
her interest in other languages (French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese) that led to her involvement in
the development of the Vietnam practice. The law firm originally became involved in Vietnam through
an employee, a Vietnamese-Australian former refugee who had qualified as a lawyer in Vietnam, and
subsequently studied law in Melbourne. When Vietnam began to open up in 1991, the firm recognized
that new trade opportunities required a knowledge of Vietnamese investment law, and began to
translate the laws. In 1992 they opened their first office in Vietnam, staffed by Vietnamese employees
and foreign lawyers, to serve the expanding international business engagement with Vietnam, and they
now have a second office in Ho Chi Minh City, serving clients from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea and a
few from Australia.
The Melbourne office has attracted lawyers with language skills, particularly Vietnamese and Chinese,
and there are staff in the Vietnam offices with some Japanese language skills. They have also in the
past offered legal services in Victoria to Vietnamese-Australians who need a bilingual lawyer. Informal
use is made of the language skills of staff: for example the Vietnam practice administrator translated a
colleague’s CV into Chinese for a potential project. At the time of the interview, they were also looking
for a Korean speaker for a planned project in South Korea.
The initial work on translating Vietnamese investment laws was done at the firm’s expense with the
co-operation of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Vietnam,
…and in ’92 we all assisted with the translation and this process is continuing. We have a first draft
translation done by a bilingual Vietnamese speaker, and then it’s reviewed by a foreign lawyer who
cross-checks continually with the Vietnamese translator to refine the translation and make sure it’s
correct, principally to refine it into proper English.
Melbourne is the base office but most of the work is done offshore. Translation is now a small but
integral part of the work. The firm’s legal work depends on knowledge of Vietnamese law, which they
need to have translated, and there is a market for that translation material. They have produced 16
volumes (now also in the form of an electronic database), and they expect to produce one or two more.
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She stresses the importance of being directly involved in the translation.
In the process of translating we are made and become aware of issues so dealing with the source
material actually assists our other work. It’s essential – we couldn’t advise on Vietnamese law without
it – but the process (and why we have continued with it even though it’s not a profit making part of
our business) is that it provides us with extra expertise. Concentrating on the translations brings out
these extra issues and brings out greater knowledge of the legislation than relying on third party
translations which are often incorrect. We have errors in our own as well, but the reviewing process
allows these to be picked up. Vietnamese law is notoriously ambiguous, so having a team of trained
translators working on source material means we can nut out the issues better than relying on third
party translations where things are quite simply put, but one can’t quite understand which side of the
fence a particular issue might fall on. … it’s very interesting how often translation issues come up in
larger projects and as part of larger issues. So it’s an integral part but not a profit making part and not
a large part. We are primarily legal service providers and we also have an extra string in our bow of the
law translation.
As she describes it, the firm is able to provide full service to clients: legal advice, access to translations
of laws, extra expertise arising from the translation process, assistance with communications with
Vietnamese Ministries and Government bodies. The language skills provided to clients are highly
valued, “and good language skills really stand out just as bad ones do as well”.
She regrets that translation is not a highly regarded profession in Vietnam, and some people who have
joined the firm as translators want to become lawyers. However one older translator has realized that
he has great status in the team because he holds so much knowledge in his head. The six member
translation team includes two NAATI accredited translators, and one is also an interpreter. The
interpreting skills are important to them, and they are trying to build them up by experience.
Exposure to situations is what will allow a legal interpreter to improve in their skills. … at the first
meeting that someone might attend, they’re dreadfully nervous and they only get half of it; but at the
next one, they will get more; and the more meetings they go to, the more issues they will understand.
Then they will go away and study up on the relevant language to assist them at the next meeting. …
it’s a very organic process.
For a long time they have not needed to hire outside interpreters. The law and the language of the law
are so interwoven that “we try to train up our legal assistants so they’re not only learning about law but
their language is improving as well”.
The firm does not have formal cross-cultural training. The Vietnam practice considers that
understanding of cross-cultural issues arises from one’s nature (“There are some people who have a
bent for these things and some who don’t”) and experience (“The more exposure to issues, the greater
the understanding of the person with the natural bent for these things”).
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In conclusion, in this company the presence of a bilingual immigrant (former) staff member was
instrumental in the development of a whole new branch of the company with its very specialized
practice in Vietnam, and the presence of other bilingual immigrant (current) staff members boosts the
services that the Vietnam practice can offer clients.
5.4.6 The TAFE Institute
The Technical and Further Education Institute (TAFE) in Melbourne has engaged with the global
education market since the early 1990s, and now has a significant international presence. Early projects
were in Papua New Guinea, but there are now projects in Fiji, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Chile
and other parts of Latin America, China, Indonesia and Vietnam. Initially the global links came from
recruiting international students, but now the Institute is out-sourcing courses and setting up extended
campuses, with students studying off-shore in Fiji, Kuwait, China and Vietnam. The Institute also engage
in project work. English language teaching is a major area that the Institute exports, and courses
prepare students to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests. Workplace
training and foundation studies courses equip students with language and other skills to qualify for
further education. Many of these courses are outsourced to regional clients, and a process of auditing
ensures the maintenance of standards. English teachers are also sent overseas to deliver courses. While
they teach in English, additional language skills are an advantage.
The Executive Support Manager of the TAFE Institute agreed to be interviewed for the study. She has
no language skills so relies heavily on translators in some countries such as China, but also draws on
the language skills of TAFE staff, as for example in taking Spanish or Indonesian-speaking staff on trips
to Chile and Indonesia. South America is a part of the world where English is not widely spoken, and
Spanish-speaking staff are invaluable. With the global spread of English, and the widespread use of
English on the internet, she finds she can rely on the bilingual skills of clients or agents in countries
such as Malaysia and Kuwait, but she is aware of the need to understand cultural differences. Cultural
differences in teaching styles may also be problematic. For example, a competency-based training
model is to be delivered in China by teachers who are more used to textbook methods.
The 675 staff members in Melbourne include people with skills in Spanish, Vietnamese, Indonesian,
Chinese, Hindi, Tok Pisin and Bahasa Indonesia among others. Languages are not key criteria for
recruitment, and there is no inventory of languages spoken, but use is made of the language resources
available. The French skills of a staff member have prompted the manager to look at setting up in
Mauritius, building on the staff member’s language skills and field of expertise in hospitality training. In
the past there has been some investment in language skills, with Bahasa Indonesia courses for staff in a
particular project.
Translation services are used extensively for Chinese, Spanish and Indonesian.
In international ESL education, our English materials and even our presentations are all translated for
marketing in certain countries. There’s obviously a significant advantage in that.
This area has sometimes proved to be problematic. For example, in the case of a translation done in
China of a contract with a Chinese client, there were dialect problems and missing sentences in the
translation. The translation had to be checked for legal details, and this proved to be very costly.
While no cross-cultural training is offered, there are careful briefings. The country manager prepares
staff before they go to the country concerned, and there is also a debriefing session afterwards.
At the time of interview, the Institute was considering involvement in AusAid projects in Indonesia, for
which Bahasa Indonesia speakers would be required.
You must have the in country presence and the contacts there to be able to secure those projects. To
send only English speakers is not to your advantage so you’ve got to have bilingual people. There’s
a lot of money being invested in the Asia Pacific and as part of that what we’re finding is that they
need people on the ground with the language skills. …It’s to our advantage if we’ve got someone who
speaks the language.
In this large organization with a wide range of international engagements, the need for language skills is
clear. However, only ad hoc use is made of bilingual staff, and there is no established policy at present
regarding language skills and recruitment for their international programs. For some projects, these
skills are essential, but in other cases, translation services and other forms of outsourcing are used. The
success of these ventures lies with the experience of the managers in identifying sources available and
making appropriate choices of language services.
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5.4.7 The independent export agent
Having arrived in Australia 30 years ago, at the age of 17, the export agent has extensive experience in
the Australian workplace, as well as Spanish and German language skills. He has worked as a bilingual
resource worker, helping El Salvadorean and Chilean women set up their own businesses, and has
also done Spanish translation work. He then set up a business establishing export markets for local
companies, making use of his knowledge of languages and cultures. He feels his immigrant background
has equipped him with entrepreneurial skills. “Being a migrant certainly offers you a different
perspective on what can be done and what I’ve learnt now over the years is rather than tell other
people what can be done, I’m just going to do it myself.” He detects no real interest in other languages
and cultures in the local business world, and he reports a widespread disinclination to move beyond
traditional markets. He feels Australians could make more effort to engage with world markets.
New Zealand are very good at marketing themselves overseas and using their cultural diversity. I have
been selling Australian cheeses in Canada. At the food trade fair people come to our stand and say “I
didn’t know Australia made cheeses. I know you’re big in butter and butter fat, but NZ cheeses, yeah
we know a lot about NZ cheeses but yours… Does Australia make cheeses? It’s obvious we’re not very
good about promoting ourselves anywhere. I think we’re lazy and hang out in our comfort zone and
don’t use the resources that we have at our disposal here and we could be exporting anywhere. We
don’t export to India and yet we have thousands of people from India living in Australia, many of whom
live in Melbourne. We’re better at exporting to India now than we were before, but we’re still small fry
compared to what other countries are doing and yet we have everything going for us.
He has established extensive markets for a small local cheese company in Canada and Chile, and a
niche market in New York for kosher products. The cheese company owners are second generation
Greek-Australians, and the export agent considers their bicultural experience makes them more open
to venturing into new markets. He notes that building export markets takes time. “To put a trading
program together you’ve got to travel, learn a new language, learn about new habits and culture. If
it’s too difficult, a lot of small, medium sized businesses won’t do it. Big ones have the resources so
they’re probably more adventurous but small medium sized businesses, they are still very traditional”.
He is enthusiastic about the support offered by Austrade which has been invaluable in building trading
networks in Canada, the U.S., Argentina and Chile.
In this agent’s view, there are exciting export opportunities in countries such as India and Brazil which
are being overlooked by many Australian companies unwilling to move beyond established trading
partners. He perceives a need to break away from traditional insularity and draw on the linguistic and
cultural resources of the immigrant population.
5.5 Overview: languages, cultures and business
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The six companies and organizations described above have very different types of international
engagements, and different resources related to the nature and size of the business. In four cases, the
TAFE Institute, the law firm, the airline call centre and technical materials support company, language
is a central element of their product or service and staff need to be directly recruited for their language
skills. Most of the companies have outsourced language work, using translation services in Australia
and overseas, interpreters based locally or in the client’s country, drawing on the telephone interpreter
service, using Austrade contacts, hiring employees to be based in-country, or accessing markets via
local distributors or agents. Different combinations of these resources, on-shore and off-shore, are used
by all six companies.
5.5.1 Use and limitations of available language resources
The larger the organization, the greater the incidental access to language resources brought to the
company by bilingual employees. It is clear that where possible firms are very keen to hire bilingual
staff, though the priority is obviously the job-related skills of the candidate. Firms with a specific
international market such as the law firm are in a better position to manage language services in-house,
and this is clearly a great asset in developing the technical legal skills and language knowledge of staff
to a high level of expertise. Companies dealing with a wider range of international contacts and clients
are less able to find the appropriate language resources in-house and are more dependent on costly
and sometimes unreliable outsourcing. This has been a particular issue with regards to translation: a
strong need was evident in several of the companies interviewed for high end technical skills, and this
resulted in costly errors in those companies where such skills were not available in-house or reliably
provided elsewhere. Barrett (1991) notes the efficiencies involved in having staff who combine technical
skills and language knowledge in-house. They are able to dispense with time-wasting interpreting,
ensure that communication is accurate, may have direct access to commercial intelligence, and are
likely to be more committed to the company.
5.5.2 Increasing use of English in trade
A number of interviewees suggest that English use in trade is increasing. A reliance on English,
however, comes with its own set of problems. While it is undoubtedly becoming the main language
of trade in the globalized world (Tonkin 2003), Baldauf and Djité (2003) note that non-native users of
English outnumber native speakers, so global English is not likely to be a native variety. Moreover,
the interviewees note problems with the level of English of some clients (cf. also Stanley 1991, Barrett
1991). Language skills give access to insider knowledge of business opportunities in the target country.
One of the smaller companies reports it tends to trade with customers who speak English, and to
ignore the more difficult potential deals where linguistic barriers exist. While this may be a feasible
survival strategy for a small firm, larger companies will want to ensure that they are competitive and
able to engage with all potential customers.
The companies identify areas of the world where English can generally be relied on (India, Malaysia
and Europe, excluding Spain), though as we have seen there may be problems with this assumption.
While top-level management in Europe speak outstanding English, middle-management, local dealers,
and other contacts may have more limited English skills. Latin America was identified by a number of
companies as a problematic area, and firms are hiring Spanish-speaking staff or using those already in
the company to facilitate business. With the growing importance of Latin America as an export market,
the importance of Spanish speaking staff will increase. Clyne (2005:36) laments the lack of response to
the 1991 Senate report recommending more widespread teaching of Spanish in Australian schools in
order to engage with new markets in South America.
5.5.3 Countries continuing to need specific language expertise
China, Korea and particularly Japan were also identified as regions where bilingual staff were proving
invaluable, for assisting management in travelling, communicating, brokering deals, managing phone
calls and handling the social dimension of business. But even with countries where English is widely
used, such as India, it became evident that local language and culture knowledge were extremely
valuable in promoting the company’s interests. Australia’s complacency when it comes to foreign
languages is likely to limit export growth.
5.6 Concluding remarks
This chapter has offered brief accounts of international engagement and use of language resources
of six organizations and an independent export agent. In each instance, these accounts show up the
importance that the knowledge of languages and cultures has to business success. As the interviews
reveal, companies make use of a patchwork of specialist language and culture knowledge among their
own employees, draw on professional and government services within Victoria, relocate employees or
hire services of agents or interpreters and translators off-shore.
In her discussion of Australian rhetoric about migration, Fincher (2001) argues that the prevalent
“impact narrative” is in need of redress. Instead of a simplistic account of a fixed site (Australia)
changed by an effect (migration), a more global perspective on international mobility is required (cf.
also Sassen 1996). Some of the complex ways in which the businesses described above are engaging
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with international markets, and recruiting across borders suggest that some Victorian businesses
trading internationally are benefiting from a global outlook. However the experience of the independent
export agent suggests that many businesses remain insular in focus, and the linguistic and cultural
resources of the community are yet to be adequately employed.
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chapter
six
Community needs and
resources
Chapter six: Community needs and
resources
6.1 Introduction
“[W]e must learn to travel hopefully in a discomfort of contradictions, a concordance of contraries and
a conjunction of opportunities” (Eva Cox, 1995 Boyer Lectures, cited in Shanahan 2006:2).
This chapter attempts to tease out some contraries and opportunities from the point of view of
non-English-speaking immigrant communities in Victoria. We have not used the currently accepted
term “culturally and linguistically diverse communities” to refer to our target populations, as its very
inclusiveness would embrace indigenous Australians, and by logic also those of Anglophone heritage.
Our focus is solely on immigrant languages other than English, and the experience of their speakers.
This chapter describes the participants’ concerns in relation to language maintenance, community
resources and needs, employment issues and the roles of the community language and English in
enhancing employability.
The views of members of nine linguistic minorities in Victoria were canvassed through focus group
meetings. While the groups are identified by a key home language, many participants were multilingual,
reflecting the pluricentric nature of the languages spoken (e.g. Arabic) or the multilingual nature
of the participants’ homelands or refugee experience (Bosnians, Sudanese). The language groups
were selected partly on the basis of insights from the preliminary census data analysis, and partly to
complement the language communities chosen for study by Kipp et al. (1995), who conducted focus
groups with German, Polish and Thai speakers. The intention was also to reflect the experience of a
range of immigrant groups in terms of size and migration history, including recently arrived immigrants,
members of earlier migration vintages, refugees and economic migrants. The focus groups were
conducted with speakers of Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese (including both Cantonese and Mandarin), Hindi,
Italian, Japanese and Vietnamese. In addition groups were conducted with a multilingual group of
Sudanese origin (comprising speakers of Dinka and Sudanese Arabic) and a second Arabic group to
reflect the youth perspective.
6.2 Focus group participants
Participants were contacted through community organizations and local networks. While some
languages such as Japanese are associated with a single ethnicity and nationality, others such as Arabic
comprise speakers from a wide variety of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. As far as possible an
attempt was made to contact and include participants who represented the diversity present in the local
Melbourne community. In the case of Arabic speakers, for example, this included participants from
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait, Palestine and Eritrea.
With help from members of the community organizations, participants were recruited by networking
and snowball sampling. A range of community members were invited to participate. Some participants
were volunteer members of or paid workers for community organizations, though their involvement
in the focus groups was in a personal rather than official capacity, and it is possible the groups only
partially represent the range of views in their respective communities. Those who found the time
to take part in the groups are likely to be actively concerned with community language issues. As
Kipp et al. (1995: 136) warn, participants who are involved in community organizations are likely to
be committed to community goals, in a way that may not be representative of the wider language
community, and Kilgower (2006:63) alerts us to the fact that there are also individuals who are not
connected to their culture or their community. The opinions expressed need therefore to be treated
with a measure of caution23.
23
It is important to note that a member of the Italian group challenged this disclaimer, arguing that it was too negative. In his view the diversity of focus group members and
their engagement in a range of community organizations allowed them to very effectively represent the views of the wider Italian Australian community. The difference may
be one of time and degree of commitment rather than point of view. Dimopoulos (2006:41) gives a useful discussion of issues in community representation.
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6.3 Data analysis
Focus group meetings were held in locations chosen by the participants, generally a community centre
or restaurant known to various members of the community and in which people felt comfortable
about speaking. Unfortunately, in some cases this compromised recording quality making parts of the
discussion difficult to transcribe (particularly with the Chinese focus group). The interview questions
covered three main topic areas: language issues related to employment (both community languages
and English), attitudes to language maintenance and perceived benefits of community language use,
and available support for the community language. Dimopoulos (2006: 43) argues that community
engagement involves listening to marginalized voices, working with the contradictions that emerge. The
discussion tries to stay close to the words of participants, quoting where necessary.
6.3.1 Group profiles
The details of the focus group participants are set out in Table 6.1 below. Under the university’s
research ethics regulations, individual participants cannot be identified.
Table 6.1 Details of focus group composition.
Language group
Number of
Females
Males
Age range
participants Years of arrival
in Australia
Arabic 1 – Adults
Arabic 2 – Youth Bosnian Chinese Dinka
Hindi Italian
Japanese
Vietnamese
4
2
5
4
1
6
5
4
2
1986-1999
1988-1997
1993-1999
1965-2000
1996-2001
1964-2002
1954-2003
1972-2003
1981-1995
6
6
6
10
5
11
8
7
5
2
4
1
6
4
5
3
3
3
19-52
19-32
23-50
15-54
24-44
28-73
31-72
33-57
26-61
In almost all cases, participants were first generation immigrants, though some had arrived as children
or teenagers. Exceptions to this were participants in the Italian focus group, four of whom were second
generation. This reflects the migration vintage of the Italian community in Australia, (peak Italian
migration took place before 1971) (Kipp et al. 1995:22). The groups are described in more detail below,
with a summary of views expressed.
6.3.2 Arabic
In 2001 there were 209,372 Arabic speakers in Australia from 21 countries The majority arrived after
1975, with significant migration from Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine24. Melbourne has a considerable
Arabic-speaking population, with 55,926 speakers in 2006 (up from 47,190 in 2001) (ABS website 2007).
Regional varieties of Arabic differ greatly, but Mansouri and Makhoul (2004:58) argue that they are
unified by Standard Arabic and a common culture.
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One focus group member was born in Australia, while the others had arrived between 1986 and
1999. Four women and two men, aged between 19 and 52, from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq and
Kuwait, took part in the initial Arabic group. Four spoke Arabic as a first language, one English and
one Assyrian, with Arabic as an additional language. Subsequently a group comprising two women
and four men aged from 19 to 32, from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Australia presented
the views of younger members of the community. In this group only one person listed Arabic as first
language (participants were asked to rank order their languages); the rest listed English first and Arabic
second. In terms of occupation, there were family support workers and social workers with Victorian
http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/language.php?page=info&language=Arabic
24
Arabic Social Services, a teacher, a factory manager, a TAFE student, an administrative officer, a radio
presenter and the executive officer of the Australian Arabic Council.
The community’s high unemployment rate is attributed to lack of experience in Australia, and problems
with English and racism, and these factors are interrelated. The mainstream community is seen as
reluctant to employ speakers of Arabic, or hijab-wearing women. Lack of access to the mainstream
workplace makes it difficult to improve English skills. One may have adequate English for social
situations, but not, suggested a group member, for practising psychiatry.
Participants noted the importance of community networking for finding employment, but the
disadvantage is that remaining within the close-knit community of Arabic-speaking friends makes it
difficult to break into the wider workforce: “The barrier for getting a job is language and the barrier for
improving language is getting a job”. Concern was also expressed that professional qualifications are
overlooked by employers who judge people primarily on their level of English proficiency. “In Australia
they need more doctors, but there are so many here working as taxi drivers etc. because their English
language skills are deemed not good enough”.
The participants felt that knowing Arabic constituted an extra job skill, albeit an ambivalent one given
perceived community racism towards Arabic speakers. For those wanting to work overseas, Arabic
language skills were seen as useful. The community sector offers avenues of employment where Arabic
language skills are valued. For example, one participant is employed to distribute information in Arabic
about children’s safety. Another, who speaks five languages, works in refugee resettlement for the
social services sector, having spent three years doing voluntary work. Voluntary work appears to be an
important pathway into work in the welfare sector, allowing volunteers to develop workplace language
and other skills, and forge network connections.
English language classes are available through the Adult Migrant Education Service (AMES), which
offers 510 hours of classes for new arrivals. Some problems with placement were highlighted,
with students being placed according to ability in reading and writing, rather than spoken English
proficiency, which is what they are keen to acquire. Others argued that the classes need more focus
on communicative skills, and less on grammar. Some complete beginners, particularly women, found
the starting point too high, as there were different levels of proficiency in the same class. However, an
Arabic group member praised the way the 510 hours were delivered to older community members.
“We had a teacher who came from AMES to help some ladies who had no English skills at all. She
came and started with the alphabet and now they can read and write and say a few things”.
Opinion was divided in the Arabic youth group as to whether English classes should be compulsory.
Some felt that it was an essential commitment to becoming a member of the Australian community,
while others felt that refugees might find the demand too great. One person believed compulsion could
be counterproductive: “The majority of the community hate English now because of these classes”,
which they had to attend to receive Centrelink benefits. This group generally had negative memories of
their English classes. However, they were also aware of their necessity. Indeed, they expressed concern
that the time limit to take the classes might well expire before some people were properly settled and
ready to begin.
Arabic classes are offered to VCE level, but, as with English classes, placement is a problem. One group
member noted that there is no streaming of native speakers and second language learners in Arabic
classes, which disadvantaged the second generation in relation to newer immigrants.
Mansouri and Makhoul (2004:132) report on an audit of mainstream and Arabic language services in
three regions, two in Melbourne and one in regional Victoria. A significant finding is that where Arabiclanguage services exist (support groups, religious services, recreation and education), community
members are often unaware of their existence. They call on Victorian Arabic Social Services to improve
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the transmission of information and referral. They also note the need for culturally appropriate health
services and housing assistance, particularly for new arrivals, and for greater government support in
education to address the high attrition rate of Arabic Muslim students (2004:133).
Language support for young children is offered through Islamic playgroups found in most suburbs
where the community lives. Victorian Arabic Social Services runs women’s groups to which members
bring their children. However, at the time of this focus group interview the playgroup was about to lose
its funding. Saturday and Sunday schools give young people from different backgrounds a chance to
socialize while learning Arabic.
Arabic newspapers are available. All come from Sydney, but have a Melbourne section, and there is a
24-hour pay TV Arabic channel, which many community members subscribe to. SBS broadcasts Arabic
programs, which receive strong approval from the focus group. The radio programs are widely listened
to, and are relied on for homeland news. Young people access the Arabic media less, partly because
it makes use of Modern Standard Arabic, which differs considerably from the colloquial varieties they
use at home. The youth group report that they use the internet in Arabic, listen to a radio program
for Arabic youth (in English) on 3CR, and watch Arabic movies. When sending mobile phone text
messages, they use English letters to write Arabic words.
Translating and interpreting services are provided for Arabic speakers but these are not always
readily available. One group member, who works with Victorian Arabic Social Services, reported that
immigration and housing forms, statutory declarations, and other bureaucratic forms often cause
problems. Centrelink forms are generally agreed to be very complex. The group also noted a particular
need for interpreters with detailed medical knowledge for specialist appointments. Clients in this
situation are often asked to pay for an interpreter themselves or bring along a friend or family member
who could interpret. Mothers may use children to interpret in medical situations. Apart from a lack
of specialist knowledge, there are privacy concerns in using children or friends. However, the groups
observed that there may be situations where clients feel their confidentiality is protected more if they
use a close family member to interpret, and it is easier and cheaper to draw on family resources. The
youth group noted that this is not always reliable, as in the case of a child who was failing at school
but giving glowing reports to his parents for whom he was interpreting the teacher’s concerns. This
group expressed a general fear that cuts to Arabic language programs in schools will limit the pool of
speakers from which future interpreters can be drawn.
6.3.3 Bosnian
Immigrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina are predominantly recent arrivals in Victoria, over half being
refugees fleeing upheavals in the Balkans. A recent survey of the community (Softic-Telalovic 2005:15)
reports that only 18% of respondents had been in Australia more than 11 years. In 1996 there were
reported to be 10,000 Bosnians in Australia25 and the 2001 census shows an increase of 80% in the
community since then26 (Softic-Telalovic 2995:15). Victoria is home to almost all of this community.
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The focus group consisted of five women and one man, aged between 23 and 50, all of whom had
arrived in Australia between 1993 and 1999. All spoke Bosnian as a first language, but several spoke
other languages (French, German, Slovakian) in addition to English. The group included a teacher, an
information management officer at AMES, a journalist, a chemical engineer/researcher and a childcare
worker.
As with the Arabic group, recognition of professional qualifications was identified as a significant
employment problem, one that the Bosnian community address by providing a support network
and employing other community members. Community support extends to those with recognized
qualifications as well. “Community members tend to seek out services provided by community
members such as doctors, real estate agents and dentists. Students about to finish secondary school in
particular, seek out mentors from within the community to help them find jobs”.
25
http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/language.php?page=info&language=Bosnian
26Softic-Telalovic (2005) argues that data from the 2001 census underreports the size of the Bosnian population in Australia, partly because of confusion with other groups
formerly classified as Yugoslavian.
The group reported that Centrelink is too ready to push people off benefits and into low level jobs,
preventing skilled people from attending the English classes they need to enable them to use their
skills in the workforce. While some areas of employment, such as the building industry, recruit workers
with low levels of English, there can still be workplace communication problems (as for example with
the foreman). Limited English can create problems in other areas such as buying a house. It can also
significantly affect self-esteem: “If you’re highly educated in your native language it’s hard knowing
that your English skills don’t match that high standard. You’re never happy with yourself when you’re
working or writing in English.”
Another group participant observed that victims of trauma have trouble concentrating, and so find
learning English difficult. However, there was general praise for the way some special needs are catered
for: one person was particularly impressed by the fact that when a blind community member had
problems learning English, someone came to the house to teach her English.
The maintenance of Bosnian was important to group members, though the younger generation appear
less interested. Communicating with relatives in Bosnia was one reason for maintaining the language.
There was a feeling that more educated people are more committed to maintaining the language,
particularly for its expressive power: “I feel that I’ve lost some of my identity since I’ve been forced to
speak other languages. I feel like I’m disabled here”. There was agreement that arguments and jokes
needed to be in Bosnian to be effective. As refugees from conflict, many have a particular recognition
of danger, impermanence and the need for the kind of flexibility offered by multilingualism. A group
member tells her children that “it’s worth having other languages because after what happened with
the war, even if you feel safe and happy now, you never know what’s going to happen in the future.
You may have to leave where you are now.” Some speak only Bosnian at home in order to transmit the
language to their children, although the children tend to use English with each other.
Victoria University runs an exchange program with Bosnia. The Bosnian Citizen’s Association organizes
activities to support the young people who want to maintain their language. The group deplore the
lack of Bosnian courses at university, which they see as reflecting an Australian view that everyone
internationally speaks English – so other languages are unnecessary.
The group were by and large happy with the availability of childcare, and access to distance and online
learning, and felt it was basically up to the individual to find what they needed. They saw little necessity
for targeted support for the elderly, or community childcare centres, being of the opinion that, as a
group, they had been here long enough to be settled.
Bosnian language media are available (newspapers, SBS and 3ZZZ radio, SBS television) and these are
seen as particularly important for the elderly whose English skills are limited. Bosnian newspapers are
read widely, and a magazine “Bosna” is produced locally and distributed throughout Australia.
The group report that the community has strong support networks. In 2004 a Bosnian Citizens’
Association was established in Victoria with about 30 committee members, and they ran a trip to
Bosnia. Some students are offered scholarships through a student association, and are found mentors
who are working in established professions. The community organizes soccer clubs, parties with live
music and Bosnian discos. The main purpose of these activities is to speak Bosnian, and be united in
the wake of the war. The group claim that the majority of young people want to maintain their Bosnian
language, so they socialize and go to youth clubs; however this contradicts the findings of the survey
of the Bosnian community which suggested that there were “low participation levels in Bosnian
community life and high dissatisfaction with the Bosnian activities available to them” (Softic-Telalovic
2005:28).
The Bosnian group expressed pride that Bosnian is recognized as a language by services such as
Centrelink, noting that “in 1995 Australia was one of the first countries to recognize Bosnia as a country
and Bosnian as a language”.
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6.3.4 Chinese
Though Chinese speakers have been in Australia since the Gold Rush, the community grew very fast
in the 1980s, with immigrants from all over the world, principally South East Asia and North Asia27.
There are speakers of many Chinese “dialects28” in Australia, the principal ones being Mandarin and
Cantonese. In 2006 there were 66,855 Cantonese speakers and 63,377 Mandarin speakers in Melbourne,
together making Chinese the third largest language. Birrell (2001:67) observes that many Malaysian
Chinese have come to Melbourne as students and stayed on.
It was decided to interview speakers of the different varieties of Chinese in one focus group. There
were ten participants (four women and six men) aged between 15 and 54, who had arrived in Australia
between 1965 and 2000, from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam or Malaysia. Three listed Mandarin as
their first language, two Cantonese, and the rest English. All but one of the English-speakers also
spoke Mandarin. The group included participants from the Indo China Ethnic Chinese Association of
Victoria, the North Eastern Melbourne Chinese Association, the Chinese Association of Victoria, and
a representative of a network of Chinese schools. Their occupations included author, SBS producer,
vice-presidents of two Chinese community associations, Chinese magazine publisher, students, Chinese
school principal and coordinator, and speech pathologist.
The group considered Chinese language skills greatly enhanced employability, particularly in the
area of international trade. Mandarin can be studied at VCE and at a university. However there was
unease about the workplace language skills of LOTE (Languages Other Than English) graduates. It was
suggested that some companies such as Citibank prefer to hire people from China and bring them
to Australia for training and six months of English classes rather than hiring Australian students of
Chinese, because the latter have limited language proficiency and knowledge of Chinese culture. The
group felt the tertiary sector needed to expand offerings for Australians who want to learn specialist
Chinese, such as Chinese for business.
Positive views were expressed about AMES English classes. A group member reported a good
experience at Box Hill AMES learning English, and a second found the 510 hours of English fantastic.
It was observed that family responsibilities hindered many people from attending the classes, and
the group stressed the need for after hours classes for working people, while recognizing that budget
limitations might preclude this.
The group noted that new arrivals needed time to feel comfortable in a new environment, and having to
function solely in English in classes might be problematic. The approach to teaching is also unfamiliar
to those who have learnt English in China, where speaking skills are not taught and the focus is on
spelling and learning vocabulary lists.
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Language maintenance was considered important to this group. The Chinese community started classes
for adults in 2005, and there is a lot of interest from business people including non-Chinese. Classes
are offered widely for children, but a Chinese group member notes that three hours of Cantonese a
week do not equip his son for trips to Hong Kong. Some people send their children to China or Taiwan
during the holidays so that they can develop their language skills. One person expressed a need for
her children to keep their heritage and to capitalize on future business opportunities with China —
accordingly, she resisted her children’s preference for English. She continues to speak Cantonese to
them, though they reply in English. Chinese classes and newspapers have to choose between simplified
characters used in China, and complex characters used in Taiwan. The group suggested generally that
the difficulty of learning the characters was a considerable disincentive for the younger generations to
embrace the language.
Concerns were expressed about Chinese international students in Australia, particularly those coming
for secondary schooling. It was felt that homestays were often problematic due to cultural differences,
the students’ greater wealth and their consequent disregard for the authority of their homestay families,
and the view of some homestay parents that the students are simply a source of additional income.
http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/language.php?page=info&language=Mandarin
While linguists would argue that there are different Chinese languages, it is conventional in Chinese-speaking countries to see these as dialects, unified by a common
writing system.
27
28
6.3.5 Dinka
African migration to Australia was predominantly from South Africa until the arrival of refugees from a
wide range of African countries in the mid-1980s (cf. Chapter 4)29. Refugees from Sudan, driven from
their homeland by instability, have arrived in Australia on humanitarian visas in increasing numbers,
often after some years in temporary camps in Egypt, Kenya or other African countries (Izon 2005:2). As
Chapter 4 shows, the Sudanese population grew by 537% between 2001 and 2006. Dinka is a major
language of Southern Sudan, but many Sudanese will also use as a lingua franca Juba Arabic, a contact
variety spoken in the South, or Sudanese Arabic which is also used in the North (Izon 2005:4). Most
speakers of Dinka have arrived in Australia since 2001 (Clyne 2005:68).
The five Dinka focus group members were residents of Melbourne’s Western suburbs. Three spoke
Dinka as a first language, one Bari Kakwa, and one Arabic, with Dinka as a second language. The Bari
Kakwa speaker also spoke Swahili. All had English and Sudanese Arabic in their repertoires. There were
four men and one woman, aged between 24 and 44, all of whom had arrived in Australia between 1996
and 2001. Participants were employed as community worker with the Victorian Foundation for Survivors
of Torture, a support worker with The New Hope Foundation, and a TIS interpreter and Juba Arabic
teacher.
The group felt there was demand for their language skills in the community work sector. A participant
who works in community service provision with survivors of torture noted: “if you speak several
languages, you can deal with people who come in, and won’t need days to look for an interpreter.
There are things that have to happen now. This guy is in the hospital - he needs to speak Swahili.”
According to the group, the AMES 510 hours of English was not enough. While it was possible to go
back to Centrelink to ask for more instruction30, they felt that involved spending more time in the same
environment and getting the same information. Considerable concern was expressed about mixed
ability classes at AMES. Someone with four or five years of schooling may be in the same class as
someone who has never held a pen and knows no basic literacy. The group reported that some people
leave after a month because they can’t understand anything the teacher says, and are forced to seek
language instruction elsewhere, or get a factory job and give up31 (this has been documented by Miller,
Mitchell and Brown (2005)). They suggested employing bilingual people to work as teaching assistants.
The group saw a general need for more targeted language instruction, focusing on the Australian
workplace. One suggestion was that classes should spend less time on orientation to Australia and
more on preparation for work. They argued that tradespeople need to take professional or technical
language courses suited to their trade, not the 510 AMES hours. There was also concern about family
members being in the same class: “I would not be comfortable being in a class with my mum.” The
group were particularly concerned about the limited resources provided for young children who go
through language schools and then struggle when they go into high school.
Language maintenance was considered very important. Dinka speakers come from a country where
knowing one or two languages is not enough to survive, but they also recognized the potential for
loss of identity in learning three or four languages: “If you don’t speak your mother tongue, who are
you?” The group expressed particular concern for younger children who have lived as refugees in
a number of countries. For example, children born in Egypt will speak Arabic and lack exposure to
Dinka. They noted a need for the parents and the community to make sure the first language is used
with the children, but this is a challenge because the children are refusing to speak Dinka. As Chapter
4 observed, the Sudanese population have a high proportion of young people, making rapid language
shift more likely. The group stressed that the home environment is insufficient for learning the mother
tongue, and support from schools was needed. Some Saturday schools exist but the volunteer
teachers lack teaching qualifications, which deters the parents. Hence, the children do not learn to
read and write32. Teaching materials are in short supply, and members of the group are trying to import
educational software to produce teaching materials and children’s books. They also saw a need for
more software licences for the resource centre they run. Members of the group were instrumental
in the establishment of the African Community Development Centre in 2004, under the aegis of the
See also http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/language.php?page=info&language=African
Refugees can access up to 610 hours, their children up to 910 hours.
Taylor and Stanovic (2005) note the lack of English skills as an important obstacle to employment among the Sudanese in Melbourne.
32
Izon (2005:3) notes the low literacy levels in Sudan, where 90% of women are illiterate, and only 23% of children are in schooling.
29
30
31
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Maribyrnong Council, who welcomed the suggestion that the different African communities could work
together more economically through a single centre. The Centre distributes information about services
and aims to become a service provider.
While they see the mother tongue as the anchor, the group also wanted to maintain their knowledge of
Arabic, an important link language and part of their multilingual cultural tapestry. However, as Christians
they are unwilling to enrol their children in Islamic Arabic classes.
The Dinka community does not have access to radio programs in Dinka, but some listen to Arabic
broadcasts. In May 2000 they were asked to apply for funding to develop community radio. The idea
was then that community members would be trained for six months to run the broadcasts. However
they could not find enough volunteers to be able to manage the continuity of broadcasting, and this
offer has not yet been taken up. Lekakis (2006:9) has noted the importance of ethnic community
volunteers who have worked to establish senior citizen’s clubs, women’s groups, youth groups, social
groups, and services to address a range of forms of disadvantage. He argues that ethnic communities
depend for their survival on these volunteers and the organizations they establish. However, the
Dinka focus group also made it clear that people cannot make a time commitment until they are
secure. Employment, housing and education need to be the priorities (Taylor and Stanovic (2005) note
the financial difficulties experienced by many Sudanese in Melbourne). The group suggested that
some people are suffering from “helper fatigue”. Nonetheless, they strongly felt the need for media
broadcasts in Dinka.
The community has regular gatherings, celebrations and activities especially associated with church,
including prayer in Dinka and sometimes in Arabic. However, the children tend to stay at home and
not participate, thus missing out on an opportunity for language development. The Dinka speakers
are generally concerned that the widespread use of Arabic as a language of wider communication
among Sudanese people leads to assumptions that everyone knows Arabic. Some Dinka speakers may
feel obliged to self-report as Arabic speakers in official contexts, leading to under-reporting of Dinka
speakers in the census.
The Telephone Interpreter Service make contact with new arrivals, and service providers can ring TIS
and get interpreting by phone or an interpreter on site. However, the group members argued that
there are not enough translators and interpreters available. One person, an interpreter for three years,
mentioned that though part-time he has dealt with almost twenty calls a day in the last year (in addition
to studying, and working two days a week). They noted that while interpreters need to be qualified, the
rapid expansion of the community in the last two years has induced some agencies to take whoever
they can get. This creates problems as an agency booking a Dinka interpreter might get an Arabic
interpreter instead. Because of the shortage of qualified interpreters, once again some people spend
a lot of time doing voluntary work. The reluctance of some agencies to contact interpreters by mobile
phone was cited as a problem arising from the reality of a community in which “everyone is mobile”.
Similarly, people organizing community volunteers will not contact them by mobile phone.
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The group was unhappy about the quality of some interpreters, and say there are registered Dinka
interpreters who do not speak the language. Until 2001 there were very few Dinkas in Victoria, and the
language was not well known. Most arrivals knew some Arabic, and the so-called “Dinka” interpreters
could use that. More recent arrivals include people from Southern Sudan who do not speak Arabic.
One agency which employs some of the group members asks for qualifications and educational
background, but other agencies may not. One person says he has had to interpret for the interpreters,
and comments on the problems caused, particularly when dealing with police. Some agencies recruit
speakers of what they call “Dinka-Arabic” but the group are unhappy with this and insist that Dinka
and Sudanese Arabic be treated as two languages. One member insists that if he is hired to interpret
Arabic, he will go and use Arabic, even if the person speaks Dinka. The group claim that some agencies
have got the languages mixed up: they say the problem arises because interpreters are hired for their
communication skills in English, not Dinka. Someone who speaks good Dinka and good Arabic will
not be hired if their English is not perfect. In addition, they note that other Sudanese languages (Barai,
Acholi, Wale, Shilluk or Nuer) are not catered for. This observation supports the critical discussion in
Chapter 4 of the reporting of African languages in the census. Members of these communities may
have picked up a little Arabic or Swahili in the refugee camps, but not enough to talk about sensitive
issues like health, or to understand rental contracts, which use legal language. The group recognize
that the government is working to offer what the community needs, but there remains a lack of people
who are trained and who know how to do the work. While training courses exist (e.g. through RMIT
University) often it is difficult to find enough people with appropriate English skills to undertake the
training.
6.3.6 Hindi
Hindi is one of the top twenty community languages in Australia (Clyne 2005:7) with an increase of
110.4% between 1991 and 2001 (Clyne 2005:6) and 69.4% from 2001 to 2006. Birrell (2001:56) sees
Melbourne as particularly attractive to people born in India, and notes the influx of skilled migrants and
students, particularly in the field of computing (2001:67).
Eleven people, six women and five men, took part in the Hindi focus group. Their ages ranged from 28
to 73, and they had arrived in Australia between 1964 and 2002. Four listed Hindi as their first language,
three English and one Punjabi, and these four all had Hindi as a second language. Other languages
spoken by the group included Swahili, Kumauni, Marathi, Urdu, Gujerati and German. Group members
came from the Indian Senior Citizens Forum, the South Asia Times and its supplement, Hindi-Pushp,
Indian television (Channel 31) and the Victorian School of Languages. Occupations included newspaper
editors, television producer, PhD student, former university physics lecturer, retired teachers, Hindi
co-ordinator, and unemployed.
English is one of the languages of India, and educated speakers tend to speak English natively or with
high levels of proficiency. As English is the business language of India, Australia relies on using English
in the growing trade with India. The Hindi group see this as is a mistake, arguing that the deeper insight
gained by knowledge of Hindi would allow greater access to markets. Some big companies are aware
of the advantages of bilingual skills and appoint employees who have grown up in Hindi-speaking
families in Australia. However, when posted to India, these people often find their Hindi is not good
enough. Most community members who came to Australia have a professional background, hence their
proficiency in and preference for English. One member of the Hindi group mentioned their community’s
increasing pride in speaking Hindi, but others felt that the value attributed to English far outweighed
that given to Hindi.
Generally, the Hindi group did not feel they needed English classes, because of the high education level
and English proficiency levels among the community, but it was suggested that even proficient English
users could benefit from some classes on Australian English and culture, including the Australian work
ethic and classroom culture, which they perceive as very different.
Some among the Hindi group members felt that there were no employment advantages from learning
Hindi, arguing that Hindi qualifications gave people access to jobs only in teaching. However, as one
person pointed out, Hindi language skills are also important in Australia for community language media,
where specialist skills are needed. One participant who was hired by SBS to present a Hindi program
listened to the BBC Hindi broadcasts from New Delhi to pick up appropriate broadcasting language.
The active use of the language in daily interaction, particularly in the family, is seen as important for
language maintenance. The children tend to use Hindi only for simple things, and use English as their
main language. Hindi classes are available up to VCE but few students are willing to sacrifice their
weekends as they see potential benefits. “It’s not in the mainstream language group anywhere… it’s not
as important for Indians to teach their children Hindi as it is for other groups.” The Victorian School of
Languages runs two classes in Brunswick and three classes are run in Blackburn. These are Saturday
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schools that accommodate children from Grade 1 to Year 12. However community settlement patterns
(there are small pockets where the community has concentrated, in Preston, Taylors Lakes, Glen
Waverley and Dandenong) may make it difficult for parents to take children to language classes (though
some come from as far away as Ballarat). Hindi school competes with other activities (music, sport)
and to succeed it would need to move from Saturday and be taught in mainstream schools. Learning
materials would need to be relevant to Indian-Australians, and teachers of Hindi would need to be
trained. Printed resources are scarce, and they have to come from India. Distance instruction in Hindi is
offered at university level by Latrobe University, and there is a correspondence course that comes from
India for children over 10. RMIT University has introduced a diploma course to train accredited Hindi
translators. The course covers Hindi grammar and English grammar but there are no translation jobs
available for those who complete the course.
There is no exclusively Hindi newspaper available in Melbourne (apart from one that comes from
Fiji). However there are six Indian English newspapers. One of these includes two pages in Hindi, in
a 40-page newspaper. The Hindi pages were introduced to provide an avenue for people wanting to
write in Hindi. The volunteer production team do not have access to a Hindi standard keyboard, or a
spellchecker, and feel that technical issues are holding Hindi back, “but really the real issue is that if
you lose your language you lose your culture, so that’s why we want the newspaper.” The difficulty in
accessing books is lamented, and it is noted that the Hindi community in England is better established
and resourced. In Melbourne there is no bookshop. There are some libraries which stock Hindi
magazines, and some books, but there is no resource centre. Regional libraries will borrow things for
people, but it is difficult to get teaching resources. The first volume of a textbook for VCE was printed in
2004, and the second volume in 2005.
There are three Hindi programs a week on SBS radio, including news, music, and other items, and a
show on 3ZZZ on Saturday night. All are produced in Melbourne or Sydney. There is one TV program,
on Channel 31. The group noted that there are some Fijian radio programs in Hindi too, and they
suggested that the Fijian community maintain more of their Hindi because they are less bilingual with
English. There was some discussion in the group about the contribution of Bollywood films to language
maintenance, and general agreement that Bollywood is a culture apart, not reflective of real Indian
society. However, some participants felt that in a way Bollywood has promoted Hindi, despite being
focused on entertainment rather than education.
While in general the group saw no need for interpreters, (except for the Fijian Indians), they were
concerned about the elderly. However they recognized that there is unlikely to be any investment in
training interpreters for a small and diminishing sector of the population (as the RMIT experience,
mentioned earlier, would also suggest).
6.3.7 Italian
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Italian immigrants began arriving in Australia in the 1850s but there was a rise in numbers after the
First World War and an even greater upsurge after World War II. The Italian economy improved, and
migration had almost ceased by 1971, at which stage in Australia there were approximately 660,000
people of Italian descent (Church 2005:5). Italian is the largest community language in Melbourne, with
149,999 speakers in 2001 and 133,327 in 2006. The mass migration of Italians occurred at a time when
unskilled immigrants were able to find employment, often through entrepreneurial activities (Birrell
2001:67).
The eight participants (five women and three men) in the Italian focus group covered a wide range
of ages (31-72) and included the editor of an Italian newspaper, several teachers, a bilingual lawyer
employed in the community sector, and a multilingual community worker with experience in the
disability rights area. Three were born in Australia, one in France and the rest in Italy, arriving between
1954 and 2003. One female participant in her thirties was a recent professional immigrant from Italy,
and now works in the commercial cinema industry in Australia. Participants came from Il Globo
newspaper, COASIT (the Italian resource centre in Carlton), Job Watch Inc., Employment Rights Legal
Centre and the Migrant Resource Centre.
The Italian Australian community, having arrived a generation earlier than most of the other groups
discussed here, are more integrated into the work force. One participant works with Job Watch, a group
providing advice to people with problems at work. She has collected data on the background of callers,
and has found people of Italian background employed across a wide range of industries, particularly
manufacturing, property, and retail and wholesale trade. Among the second and third generations,
home language use and language study at school are seen to contribute to employment prospects.
The daughter of a participant recently started a part-time job with a company importing Italian clothing.
In recruitment, her Italian skills and qualifications (VCE Italian) were looked on favourably. While no
extra pay is offered, a bilingual applicant has a competitive advantage in recruitment. However a
woman who came to Australia wanting to work in the aged care sector with elderly Italian and Spanish
speakers found that potential employers were interested only in her other qualifications, and discounted
the value of her bilingual skills. Repeatedly throughout the interview, the language needs of elderly
immigrants emerged as being of increasing concern to focus group members.
While employers are often unwilling to pay for language skills, they are happy to make use of those
skills, sometimes inappropriately. It was suggested that people are being put under pressure to work
beyond their skills level. For example, in banks employees of Italian background are assigned to deal
with elderly customers, using whatever knowledge they may have of their home dialects. The group
identified a need for banks to invest in training dialect-speaking staff in standard Italian.
Similarly in education, it was argued that principals who employ teachers of Italian tend to go by
qualifications, without having a member of the interview panel equipped to check the candidate’s
language skills. It was also reported that teachers with Italian surnames are given Italian to teach, with
no language qualifications or LOTE teacher training.
Home language use does not equip people with workplace language skills, and the group suggested
that even tertiary education in Italian does not adequately prepare students for the demands of
bilingual work. They perceived a shortage of bilingual people with high level skills, and argued that
Italian companies would be reluctant to employ those who speak Italian as a second language. The
local Italian press urgently needs proficient bilingual staff, but the newspaper editor lamented that
Italian language education, even at tertiary level, does not equip people with the specialized language
skills needed to report on medical and technical fields. He argues that there is a need for specialized
interpreting and translating and this will increase, especially in the commercial field. Australia also lacks
literary translators. Apart from the need to master the range of registers used for different purposes,
there are problems created by ongoing language change as metropolitan Italian evolves. As a result,
the newspapers hire only journalists who come from Italy.
English support is still needed for some sectors of the population, particularly older people. The group
are critical of the English language courses available to them, especially through the local council.
Classes are few, and have very large numbers. Women over 45, who are used to relying on their
families to deal with the world, often are the ones with limited English skills; yet they are reluctant to
join language classes.
Among the third generation, the group reported a resurgence of interest in Italian. They note that the
development of the borderless European Community has given many second and third generation
Italian Australians the urge to travel and work in Europe, using Italy as a base, and they argued that
the desire to travel will enhance language learning. Few of the second generation learned the standard
language, most having spoken Italian dialects at home, but now as parents they send their children
to classes to learn standard Italian. The group stressed the importance of language to their sense of
cultural identity, and applauded the shift from the 1950s public policy goal of assimilation to recognition
of the value of community languages.
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It was noted that Italian community members vary in their confidence in using the language. A second
generation member said she has “good Italian days and bad Italian days”. A relatively recent immigrant
was aware of this lack of confidence, saying she never speaks Italian with Italian-Australians, because
she wants to fit in and not embarrass people. A school consultant reports his policy of using only Italian
with teachers of Italian. While reticent, they will respond to his persistence and his willingness to ignore
their mistakes. The Italian community offers language classes to native and non-native speakers. For
example the COASIT Resource Centre in Carlton runs Italian language classes for children and adults.
However, the group argued that two hours of classes a week will not take their children very far, and
they advocated student exchange programs as the most effective means of language learning.
As intimated earlier, there continues to be a flourishing Italian press in Australia. The editor reported
that the average newspaper readership in some areas of southern Italy is lower than it is among
migrants from the same areas, and he argues that the print media have played a role in self-education
for Italian immigrants, most of whom come from rural backgrounds and from the south. At first, he
said, they bought the paper in order to read the name of their town or province, and connect with the
reality they left behind, but by having the paper continuously around the house they started to pick
up words and decipher the headlines, even if they did not follow the politics. As a result, people who
never read anything before have become literate. On the other hand the younger generation who are
officially literate watch television in preference to reading, and cannot do more than look at the pictures
and read the captions of the Italian newspapers. With limited Italian migration to Australia for the past
25 years, the market for Italian papers might be expected to decline, but in fact the circulation has not
gone down. When Il Globo was founded there were 1,500 students of Italian in Australia. Now, the
editor estimates there are 80,000 to 100,000. There are a large number of subscriptions from secondary
students and schools, making up for the loss of first generation readers.
Italian news is broadcast on SBS television and radio nearly every day, and pay TV allows access to
Italian television channels 24 hours a day. There is also a radio network broadcasting 24 hours a day in
Italian.
The group generally applauded the excellent quality of Italian interpreters. The telephone interpreter
service was also felt to be good, although not always affordable. It was argued that the people who do
not have much English (for example, women at home) are unable to access the service because of the
cost, so are forced to rely on family members to interpret. One group member noted that reliance on
family members to translate or interpret is particularly problematic for people with a disability. Those
coming from non-English speaking background have a double barrier, as they have fewer opportunities
to develop English and little information about services (government or non-government) available
to them. They live in a very isolated world and it can be very hard to identify them. The Victorian
Government showed awareness of this problem with its launch in December 2004 of the Disability
Services CALD Strategy aimed at providing disability support services more effectively to people from
culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (VOMA 2006: 3).
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The group indicated that there is a perception that Italians as a long-established group need fewer
and fewer services as the older generations are dying out. However, elderly Italian people who have
functioned effectively in English or Standard Italian are now reverting to the Italian dialects of their
youth, and are having increasing trouble with standard Italian, especially on the phone or on television.
The group see the future of the ageing population as the primary problem facing the Italian community
in Australia. Appropriate respite care is difficult to find. COASIT has a team of volunteers rostered to
visit elderly people, and support is also available through the Migrant Women’s Health Service. One of
the main problems is identifying and making contact with the people who need help.
6.3.8 Japanese
The small Japanese community in Australia differs from other groups in a number of ways, including
employment levels and prosperity. There were few Japanese speakers in Australia before the 1970s
apart from Japanese war brides, but following the abolition of the White Australia Policy numbers
increased. Watanabe (2004) reports that by 1991 there were approximately 25,000 Japanese speakers
in Australia, with about 4,000 in Melbourne. These included immigrants and sojourners who worked in
Australia but intend to return to Japan (Watanabe 2004:6). In 2006 there were 6,534 Japanese speakers
in Victoria.
The seven Japanese focus group participants (four females and three males) were aged in their 30s
and 50s and varied in their migration and professional backgrounds. Several were self-employed
business people working with Japanese clients, while others worked in tourism-related positions, one
in the commercial sector as a tour guide and another in a high level state government position. They
had arrived in Australia between 1972 and 2003 and all spoke Japanese as a first language. The group
included the president and secretary of the Japan Club and the Managing Director of Tryber Hibiki
Magazine.
The group felt that a mastery of Japanese constituted an extra job skill, making people more
employable. They reported that Japanese companies based in Australia are keen to employ Japanesespeaking residents of Australia to save relocation, housing, education and other costs associated with
bringing in Japanese expatriates. While the government tourism office employs Japanese speakers, the
group felt that there were few Asians employed by other government departments.
It was argued that culture-based modesty conventions can prevent Japanese people from gaining
employment in Australia. As skilled migrants they can satisfy immigration requirements, but at job
interviews they feel intimidated or unable to promote themselves appropriately. The Japanese group
identified a need for targeted training in interview techniques. While cross-cultural problems may block
access for Japanese candidates to employment in Australian companies, the converse is also found:
Japanese companies may not hire or promote to top jobs Australians who have learnt fluent Japanese,
as the companies like group consensus and do not appreciate individualism.
Schools and universities employ Japanese speakers to provide pastoral care to international students.
Japanese students come to study English for a couple of years and, if confident enough, go on to
university. Concern was expressed that the students are getting younger, with 12 or 13 year-olds, and
in one case a 10 year-old, being sent here unaccompanied. Frequently problems emerge with host
families and unfamiliar food.
A Japanese group member recruits employees with Japanese language skills, but has problems finding
enough suitable candidates in Melbourne. Of more than 30 responses to a bilingual job advertisement,
most had spent a year or two in Japan, at school or university or on a working holiday. While they
may have acquired some cultural knowledge, the language registers with which they are familiar are
not those required for the business world. She argued that a little Japanese knowledge is worse than
none, as the speakers will make both linguistic and cultural mistakes. Thus employers prefer to hire a
Japanese person with English skills.
The second generation see themselves as Australian. They have friends from different migrant groups
and eat all kinds of food. They may have some Japanese friends if other families live nearby, but the
community is widely dispersed.
Parents try to use Japanese with the children but they answer in English, a pattern of interaction which
is widespread across the groups , and indeed in immigrant communities more generally (cf. Kipp
et al. 1995). Group members also worried about their own loss of language skills, with vocabulary
disappearing with lack of use. The group found that the availability of internet sport and music
programs, videos and DVDs in Japanese has encouraged their children to study Japanese. Through the
internet the children are able to keep up with contemporary usage in Japan in a way their parents do
not.
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SBS shows the Japanese news, and the community can access Japanese television (NHK-TV) by
satellite. In Victoria there is easy access to Japanese newspapers, including locally produced papers,
as well as other supports such as Japanese grocery shops. The Japan Club runs activities, including
athletics events and karaoke, at which most members speak Japanese. However, when the children
gather they tend to speak English. In general though, the group noted that whereas in the past there
were no Japanese shops and restaurants and not many people spoke Japanese, now they feel that
Japanese is everywhere.
The Japanese community has the choice of full-time Japanese schooling or Saturday morning classes.
The latter are becoming more popular as the proportion of Japanese expatriates drops, the number
of mixed marriages rises, and the Japanese education system becomes more open to students who
have been educated in other systems. Parents report that children dislike attending Saturday school,
partly because Japanese grammar is difficult, but also because children like to play sport on Saturday.
Japanese is taught widely in Australian schools and universities.
In recent times, the Japanese community has started a support network for the ageing war brides who
are now in their seventies and eighties and may be linguistically isolated. Often with little education in
Japan, they came here and learned English without help, often acquiring only limited proficiency. Most
have not used Japanese for many years. They did not speak Japanese in public, and their children were
told to pretend their mothers were Chinese. Some nursing homes now have elderly Japanese residents
who are forgetting English and going back to Japanese, being no longer able to communicate with their
husbands. One old lady cannot accept Australian food, but there is no Japanese food in the nursing
home.
The group felt that the Japanese community is overlooked in service provision. At hospitals and
government offices including Centrelink there are no documents offered in Japanese translation, nor
can the driving test be taken in Japanese. They perceive a need for translation services, especially in
dealing with complex government documents, and in the aged care sector. Interpreters or bilingual
professionals such as accountants are needed to assist in specialized areas such as the Australian tax
system. (Price Waterhouse employ Japanese accountants but ordinary people cannot afford their fees).
The group also felt that people in mixed marriages, need bilingual counselling services. A few Japanese
families have children studying accountancy and law, and the group hoped that the second and third
generation will provide bilingual accountants, lawyers and counsellors.
6.3.9 Vietnamese
The Vietnamese community in Australia dates back to 1976, when the first refugees arrived to seek
asylum following the communist takeover of South Vietnam. Arriving as boat people, community
members often had to struggle to find employment because of limited English and problems with
recognition of skills33. In 2001, Vietnamese was the third largest community language in Melbourne,
with 63,033 speakers (Clyne 2005:8), growing to 72,161 in 2006.. Birrell (2001:67) observes that
Indochinese immigrants arriving under humanitarian visas have often found it difficult to find suitable
employment apart from ‘outwork’ industries, though small businesses, particularly in Richmond, show
entrepreneurial energy (Birrell 2001:70).
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The Vietnamese focus group was organized with the assistance of the Australian Vietnamese Women’s
Welfare Association, in which three participants were employed. While the majority of the five
participants (two women and three men) were in their thirties, the group included a twenty-six year old
female bilingual community worker who had spoken proficiency but limited literacy in Vietnamese. She
listed English as her first language, while the others listed Vietnamese. A man of sixty-one had work
experience providing services in the aged care sector. All participants were born in Vietnam.
The group attributed high unemployment in the Vietnamese community to lack of experience in
Australia and problems with English. One participant reported that his wife had problems finding
33
http://www9.sbs.com.au/language.php?page=info&language=Vietnamese. Accessed 7/9/05.
employment because she lacked the technical language needed for her profession, having qualified
in Vietnam. Restricted mainstream social networks can also limit employability as it is difficult to find
someone to write a reference if one’s social universe consists only of speakers of Vietnamese. As with
the Japanese, cultural differences in interview style are seen as contributing to problems in gaining
employment. The Vietnamese report that to them confidence can seem arrogant, and culture dictates
that candidates should be quiet and reticent in employment interviews, rather than selling themselves.
State funded English classes are offered through the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Welfare
Association. The group noted the relative ease with which younger people acquire English, and the
problems confronting older people. They argued that AMES classes are not particularly suited to elderly
people who find studying difficult.
Speaking Vietnamese is seen as an important part of being Vietnamese. The group reported that the
language is strong in areas such as Footscray, but it is slipping away across the generations, though
it might take a bit longer to die out than other ethnic communities. A Vietnamese youth worker who
runs workshops for children, reports that they dislike going to Saturday schools because the teachers
are friends of their parents and anything they do at school will be reported back. There is also a
widespread feeling that they do not learn anything at Saturday school, possibly because the teachers
lack qualifications. Language maintenance in the Vietnamese community may be happening more
actively outside class: the group reported that in the Melbourne’s western suburbs many young people
are using Vietnamese with each other. It was noted that young people feel neither Australian nor
Vietnamese, but rather have a dual identity. They observe that those born in Vietnam or in Australia are
totally different in culture and identity, and tend not to mix socially. Use of Vietnamese between young
people varies across different schools. Students who mix with new arrivals tend to speak Vietnamese,
and the new arrivals often stick together. It was suggested that those born in Vietnam tend to be
reticent and lack confidence, while those born here are like other Australians.
The importance of using the heritage language at home and with extended family members was
stressed. Some members encourage their children to develop their Vietnamese skills to improve their
future employment prospects. International educational marketing is an area where bilingual Australians
may be a valuable resource, but the Vietnamese group advised that outsider status can sometimes be
more valuable, as in the case of a Victorian school which sends a “westerner” to Vietnam to promote
the school to prospective students. It was suggested that while language skills might allow the school
representative to speak to parents, an overseas Vietnamese would face more obstacles in dealing with
official paperwork.
Marriage outside the community is generally disruptive to the transmission of heritage languages
(Pauwels 1985). The Vietnamese group reported that while the majority of Vietnamese marry within the
community, families seem to be relaxing their pressure over time, and accepting exogamous marriages.
Members recounted that it is becoming increasingly the case that outsiders who marry in, and learn
Vietnamese, and are then embraced by the community.
SBS provides Vietnamese broadcasts, sourced from Vietnam but, because of the history of conflict,
the group said “we do not want to watch them. The community here does not know why they show
them”. There are considerable differences between the southern Vietnamese dialects spoken by
most immigrants and the northern dialects used in education and broadcasting in Vietnam (Nguyen
1997). Vietnamese radio broadcasts include a little Australian news. There are about six Vietnamese
magazines and newspapers available. Group members say they buy the locally produced ones, but not
those imported from Vietnam. While such media are seen as important for maintaining the language,
they appeal only to the older generation. The Vietnamese community has a website in Vietnamese, but
the younger generations have their own websites in English. This is in line with a general trend in ethnic
media broadcasting in many communities internationally to shift the focus from language to culture, the
latter normally being discussed in English (Edwards 2004:182).
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The Vietnamese community has sports clubs, attracting young people, mostly men from a variety of
occupations. The group argued that religion also plays a role in cultural maintenance, and observed that
Vietnamese Catholics are very orthodox. In Broadmeadows, mass is served in Vietnamese by a Dutch
priest. The community collects money to send him to Vietnam every year to study Vietnamese.
Vietnamese interpreters are readily available but the group note that people who speak a little English
are assumed not to need interpreters, and have to answer a lot of questions before they are given
access to the interpreter. For those with no English, arranging an interpreter may be difficult. For
example, someone needing to ring the hospital will have to speak to the operator in English initially.
A Vietnamese woman who works with young people noted that if parents need to talk to the school
or go to parent-teacher interviews, they will use the child as interpreter. The use of family members is
convenient, but there are drawbacks. One group member who as a child had the task of translating felt
uncomfortable if the teacher had negative comments to report about her. Specialist medical interpreting
can also be difficult for family members.
The group raised some of the new problems for translation and interpreting that have been caused by
changes in Vietnamese since reunification (Nguyen 1997). New words have been introduced by the
government, and the official variety is based on northern dialects, while most immigrants came from
the south. The group suggested that those born here speak a different form of Vietnamese from new
arrivals, partly because the people who teach Vietnamese in Victoria do not accept the Vietnamese
taught in Vietnam, including the spelling. Old and new arrivals communicate in Vietnamese but
sometimes do not understand each other well. The group observed that most translation agencies
use newly-arrived translators, who may not be able to communicate with elderly people. The younger
generation also have problems because their Vietnamese is less proficient.
6.4 Overview of community needs and resources
6.4.1 Languages and employment
Several groups reported problems with the recognition of overseas qualifications (cf. Kipp et al.
1995:78). A recent government report (Joint Standing Committee on Migration 2006) recognizes
difficulties in this area and makes 55 recommendations designed largely to streamline procedures,
remove inconsistencies, increase access to information, reduce delays and collect data from migrants
on the process of gaining skills recognition. Important recommendations included the introduction of a
HECS-type scheme to allowed migrants with some trade training overseas to take courses to upgrade
their skills, the revision of Job Network contracts to allow such training rather than forcing migrants into
immediate placement in unskilled jobs, and the monitoring of English tuition to humanitarian entrants to
ensure their language needs are met.
In general, skills in community languages were seen as valuable assets for participants and their
children. However there was an overall feeling among the groups that while employers often valued
bilingual skills, they were not prepared to pay for them. It was also suggested that some employers
overlooked the value of second language skills, and this accords with Kipp et al’s (1995:91) observation
that the business sector places a higher priority on professional, vocational and interpersonal skills than
on languages.
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What emerged very clearly from the interviews was how communities differ in the extent to which
they are able to use their mother tongue or heritage language skills in the Australian workplace. At one
extreme, a Vietnamese participant knows no-one who uses Vietnamese at work, while the Japanese
group report that most Japanese in Victoria work in Japanese-related companies, and were hired for
their Japanese language skills. These differences reflect patterns of global business and tourism34.
Focus group members reported that community language skills are sought by employers in a number
of sectors including import and export companies, tourism, education, welfare and community work,
and community language journalism and broadcasting. The state government recruits bilinguals in the
34
Kipp et al. 1995 discuss the importance of Japanese language skills for the tourism industry.
health and community services sectors. The education sector also recruits community members on the
basis of their language skills. Community language media need employees with specialist community
language skills.
Kipp et al. (1995:xv) observed that “… the usefulness of second-generation speakers in the workplace is
often limited by the nature of their competence in their L1, an issue closely bound up with the success
of language maintenance in the first generation.” We would go further and argue that successful home
language maintenance serves as the foundation on which formal education can build, but without that
formal education to the appropriate level, the second generation will not develop workplace skills.
Employers who seek to benefit from the language skills of their employees need to ensure that the
employees receive training to equip them for the tasks assigned.
There was a high level of agreement that language instruction in Australian schools and tertiary
institutions did not equip students, even those with the language at home, with the specialist language
skills needed for work, a point also made by Kipp et al (1995:10). Several groups (Chinese, Japanese,
Italian) reported problems with the level of language skills of LOTE graduates. Kipp et al. (1995:18) argue
that “a certain amount of restructuring of language teaching needs to take place if the education system
is to produce bilinguals capable of filling positions of importance in business, education, diplomacy,
tourism etc.” and this remains true eleven years later.
Participants noted that skills in languages other than English need to be accompanied by proficient
English (the Information Technology field was noted as an exception). People whose English skills were
not adequate for the workplace were seen as trapped, having no opportunity to improve their language
skills or access to employment. In particular, limited knowledge of technical and professional registers of
English was seen as a barrier to employment.
In general, the focus groups reported that the Victorian community has a rich resource of qualified and
experienced professionals and skilled workers who could benefit from access to targeted professional
or technical English training, possibly in the workplace. Networks of compatriots provide a valuable
support system for those unable to find employment in the wider community as a result of language
barriers or racism; but while a useful interim support mechanism, this may serve in the end to inhibit
the development of skills needed for integration into the mainstream workforce.
The focus groups identified a vast reservoir of talent and skills in the language communities, unable to
be properly tapped because of gaps in specialist language knowledge. Both in English and in languages
other than English there appears to be a need for specialist training in workplace language registers.
A relatively small investment could be made by government and employers to extend the substantial
skills base existing in the communities, an investment which would greatly enhance Australia’s business
potential.
6.4.2 Acquiring English
Birrell et al. (2006) documented the impact of levels of English on employment of migrants, showing that
skilled migrants who speak English “very well” gain a 30% margin of earnings over those who do not.
They recommended raising the IELTS band score for skilled migrant entry to Australia from Band 5.0 to
Band 6.0, a change which was implemented in September 2007. Participants were extremely conscious
of the need for community members to be supported to acquire proficient English skills. In the main,
English language skills were seen as necessary for finding employment. New arrivals are offered 510
hours under the Adult Migrant Education Program (as mentioned earlier, humanitarian entrants are
entitled to up to 610 hours, or 910 if they are children with limited schooling). Mansouri and Makhoul
(2004: 134) criticize the exclusion of the most vulnerable group, the holders of temporary protection
visas from English language classes.
Some people take what they need from AMES and are successful, but many people do not, and
feelings run high about taking classes under duress. Cultural expectations about language learning
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and classroom processes may impede learning. While Australian teachers expect students to take the
initiative and to speak up if they’re having problems, students from Asia, for example, may expect the
classes to be more structured.
English classes offered to new arrivals are a valuable resource, but there are clearly problems with
aspects of delivery to some sections of the community, particularly those who have limited classroom
experience, no background in English, or are older or victims of trauma.
6.4.3 Community language maintenance
Participants were unanimous in seeing the need to maintain the community language, but many
expressed concern about the extent to which it would be possible. Reasons given for wanting to
maintain the languages were communicating with the extended family, identity and heritage issues,
access to cultural knowledge, potential usefulness in employment and travel and the importance of
language for its own sake. Groups stressed the importance of language knowledge for heritage and
cultural identity.
The typical pattern for immigrant language loss is a shift to bilingualism in the second generation and
community language being replaced by dominant language in the third generation, though this varies
depending on a range of factors such as settlement and marriage patterns, cultural distance from
mainstream culture, and attitudes (see Kipp et al 1995, Chapter 6 for an excellent discussion of the
factors contributing to language maintenance or shift).
Groups cited practical advantages of L1 knowledge including bonus points awarded for language study
at VCE (mentioned by both the Bosnian and Arabic groups). One Arabic group member pointed out
the advantages for Australia: “My generation are very interested in maintaining language but our kids
aren’t so interested and that’s bad for Australia because having all these languages makes Australia
rich”. Another group member stated: “We need to speak more than one language to be clever”. It is
unclear whether the latter speaker intended we to refer to individuals, members of the Arabic-speaking
community, or Australia as a whole, but these interpretations are not mutually exclusive, and fit the
contention of this study that languages constitute a valuable resource for individual and societal
development, both culturally and economically, but that these need resources to be developed.
Kipp et al. (1995) observed that the primary cost and responsibility for language maintenance rested
with the immigrant communities themselves, with little financial support from the mainstream
community. The primary resource for community language maintenance remains the family, but the
groups observed that there are difficulties with home language use, and formal education is needed.
For many new arrivals, ensuring that the children acquire English is a priority. As noted above, children
tend to shift to English under peer pressure and the impact of mainstream schooling, and dialect
speakers need formal support to instruct children in the standard varieties.
Many communities organize community-run language classes on Saturday morning or after school
hours, some of which are offered to VCE level. Language classes are also offered through the Victorian
School of Languages35 and a few community languages are available through mainstream schooling.
Appendix 3 provides details on languages studied at the VSL.
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Jupp et al. (1991:67) note the singular lack of tertiary education in community languages. Their concern
is the lost opportunity for moving “cultural sensitivity” from rhetoric to reality among the mainstream
community, but there is also a failure to build on the latent language knowledge abounding in the
community.
Some language maintenance efforts are supported by the availability of electronic and print media, and
young people engage actively with the former. The internet connects communities to their ancestral
homelands in more direct ways than was possible for earlier generations. Visiting the homeland is seen
as a means to give children’s language-learning a boost, and members of the Japanese and Chinese
35
“The VSL provided language programs through 34 centres (27 in the metropolitan area and 7 in regional and country areas), making a significant contribution to the range
of languages offered across Victoria. Forty-two of the 44 languages offered by the VSL were provided to secondary school students from Years 7 to 12. The VSL, along
with ethnic schools, provide formal study to VCE level for many of the smaller cohort languages not available in mainstream schools. The VSL caters for students from
government, Catholic and independent schools who wish to develop their home or heritage language, who are seeking continuity in LOTE study after changing schools, or
who wish to learn a new language. Lessons are generally provided outside regular school hours, usually on Saturday mornings, and are of approximately 3 hours duration.”
LOTE Report 2003 (2005:75).
groups report this as a strategy adopted by some parents. Clyne (2005:95) suggests that homeland
trips allow Australian-born children who will have used English with their peers to develop a register for
interacting with their own age group in the community language. Homeland immersion may not always
work. An Arabic group participant went to Lebanon but found that many people there spoke English and
wanted to practice their English with him. That caveat notwithstanding, this report endorses the value
of language immersion, while noting that for many recent migrant and refugee groups, homeland visits
may be dangerous or unaffordable.
Language maintenance efforts are impeded by time limits, attitudes of the wider community and the
learners themselves to the community language, unwillingness to sacrifice Saturday mornings to extra
schooling, problems with teaching methods, a lack of resources, and unavailability of classes. As with
English classes, mixed language levels in classes may act as a deterrent to potential language learners,
and the lack of resources for language learning may also be a problem.
6.4.4 Community-based resources and services
Jupp et al. (1991:60) observe that while new ethnic communities establish support networks and
organizations, these are often transient, without the loyalty, resources and experience of the more
stable organizations of established communities. With stability comes the establishment of ethnic media
and interstate community connections. Access to service provision is more difficult, and new groups
are often reliant on religious organizations for help. As government and other service providers shift
their focus to new groups, older groups begin to feel overlooked, and become concerned about the
increasing needs of their elderly members (Jupp et al. 1991:66).
The more established communities use state and community funding to run community language
television, radio and newspapers which provide language support and community cohesion. Jupp et
al (1991:70) note the advantage that larger, more affluent communities (Italian, Greek, Arabic, Chinese)
have in attracting advertising and other revenue to produce newspapers, and also note the availability
of Chinese cinema and Vietnamese videos. The evidence from the focus groups is that the internet has
made resources even more widely available.
Translators and interpreters are available to some but not all communities, and while those services
are valued, there are also problems, particularly with contacting appropriate interpreters when they are
needed. Cost may deter possible clients in some contexts, people with a little English are considered not
to need interpreters, and there are questions about the number of interpreters and their qualifications.
Centrelink is cited as a particular problem for a number of groups. Brough (2006:3-4) in a study of 85
Italians, Vietnamese, Iraqis and South Sudanese in Melbourne showed that while most participants
preferred professional interpreters for medical consultations (especially in serious or very personal
cases), family members were more likely to be used because of lack of available interpreters, the delay
involved in arranging an interpreter, reticence on the part of the patient, or doubts about the reliability
of the interpreting. Concerns were expressed that the quality of interpreting was extremely variable,
and there was a need for interpreters with specialist training in medical terminology. Brough identifies
a particular shortage of interpreters of Sudanese (Dinka, Bari, Nuer, Cholok, Sudanese Arabic) and Iraqi
(Kidanean, Iraqi Arabic) languages.
A number of groups note the problem of elderly people who are unlikely to acquire more English. Guerra
(2006:28) observes that young people may have particular difficulty in engaging with bureaucracies,
and gaining access to information, because of problems with English, but also problems with the kind
of language that adults use in meetings and forums, which may allow young people little access to
engagement. Translated materials tend to be thrown in the bin, and Guerra (2006:30) argues that young
people need more direct communication.
As Lekakis (2006:11) notes, the government espouses the view that Victoria’s religious, cultural and
linguistic diversity is a great asset. Yet the message has still to be acted upon. It is time for bureaucracy
to be made aware of the gaps.
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CONCLUSION
In the intervening fifteen years between the 1991 census analysed by Kipp, Clyne and Pauwels (1995)
and the 2006 census discussed in the chapters above, there have been some significant changes, but
the overwhelming picture is one of continuity. While demographic aspects of the community and the
consequent linguistic resource base have changed, the problems identified by Kipp et al. remain, and in
some cases have intensified.
Recent years have seen a shift in language policy. Previously an evidence-based integrated policy linked
the need for English skills, maintenance of languages other than English, provision of resources and
second language acquisition across the Australian community. In the last decade this swung towards a
more ideologically-driven policy focus which attempts to heighten concern about levels of English and
literacy. It is hoped that a change of government will herald a change of policy direction.
While Kipp et al. (1995) described diversity across Australia, this report focuses on Victoria, and
using data from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 censuses, we have documented recent changes. Important
demographic trends since 1996 include an increase in most language communities in Victoria, apart
from the southern and central European languages of post-war migration. Patterns of migration have
shifted. While numbers coming from Asia (in particular from China, Indonesia and the Philippines) have
increased, the fastest growing immigrant group is from the Horn of Africa, and Sudanese numbers rose
particularly rapidly.
In Victoria, as in Australia as a whole, linguistic diversity among immigrants has increased (chapter 1
notes the rise to 200 in the number of LOTEs spoken at home in Australia). The most widely spoken
languages in Victoria are Italian and Greek, followed by Vietnamese, Cantonese and Arabic, while the
fastest growth has been in Asian and African languages. Since 1996 there has been a strong increase in
South Asian (Hindi, Sinhalese) and Southeast Asian languages (especially Indonesian). Bosnian, Albanian,
Russian and Serbian also increased markedly. Linguistic diversity in Victoria has been greatly enriched
by a large international student population, of whom 95% are from multilingual or non-English speaking
backgrounds (mostly from China or other parts of Asia). Despite this flourishing of linguistic activity in
Victoria, communities report restrictions in funding for services supporting LOTE-speaking immigrants.
The census data show that new migrants (and to a lesser extent older migrant groups) typically have
lower employment rates than the general community. It is clear that skills recognition is a continuing
obstacle to job market access, and this is compounded for those with lower levels of English. The
data raise two concerns: the need to find pathways to employment among lower skilled members of
communities with high unemployment rates (Vietnamese, Turkish, Persian, Khmer, Indonesian, Bosnian
and Arabic) and the need to facilitate skills recognition and access to suitable employment for those
with qualifications. In some communities (Vietnamese, Turkish, Khmer, Arabic and Albanian), those
with post-school qualifications appear to have a relatively high degree of success in finding appropriate
employment, while in others (Tamil, Sinhalese, Hindi, Tagalog, Indonesian), level of employment does
not match qualifications. The disparity between communities in this area needs further investigation,
but may be related to recency of arrival. That is, the migrants of more recent vintages may have to wait
some time before appropriate skills recognition procedures are established for their communities.
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Provision of services needs to take account of diverse community needs. Immigrants who arrived as
young adults after the Second World War (Italians, Greeks and others) are now ageing, and the need
for linguistically and culturally appropriate aged care services will grow. With age, L2 proficiency can
diminish, and the call for appropriate translating and interpreting services becomes more acute. Focus
group members were keenly aware of this problem, and they reported the development of support
structures managed by community organizations. The newer immigrant and refugee groups typically
have a high proportion of 20 to 30-year-olds, but some groups (e.g. Somali and Sudanese) have a very
large population of children and young people (0-24 years) with consequent educational, linguistic
(English and L1) and workplace training needs. Those who have survived trauma also need counselling
and other forms of support.
The evidence of this study supports the previous Federal government’s call to improve English skills
in the immigrant communities. However, formal testing for citizenship appear to be based on an
assumption that immigrants are unwilling to learn English: testing on its own will do little to improve
workplace English skills. It is clear from the previous chapters that English skills are essential for
employment, and that communities are clamouring for more and better English classes. Kipp et al.
(1995:xv) observed that
Recency of arrival, lower English proficiency, cultural distance and refugee status all emerge as
factors militating against workplace participation in Australia, as does low level of qualifications and
recognition of such qualifications. (1995:xv)
Fifteen years on these factors remain significant barriers to employment, as for example in the Bosnian
and Vietnamese communities: both have high unemployment and low levels of English (by self-report).
Analysis of the Victorian census data supports the comments above and suggests that new arrivals,
particularly those arriving from war or civil strife, need time to settle before they may be able to benefit
fully from support provided. Recognition of qualifications remains extremely problematic, as a recent
government enquiry has observed (Joint Standing Committee on Migration 2006). The discussion paper
on the formal citizenship test foreshadowed greater provision of language classes for refugees and
humanitarian settlers who may have had disrupted schooling, for 14-18 year olds and for migrants of
earlier vintages who have not taken English classes. That suggestion is applauded by the authors of this
report.
Kipp et al. (1995:xv) noted the lack of ESL support beyond the introductory level, which, they argued,
would disadvantage young people in further education and employment. This remains an issue. Many
immigrants (e.g. from the Indian sub-continent) arrive with well-developed English skills. The focus
groups suggest that for those who do not the options appear to be to repeat the introductory courses
(of limited value); to find work within the immigrant community network (a positive step in terms
of gaining an income and self-respect, but of little assistance in English skills development); or to
abandon attempts to work in the profession or trade for which they are qualified, and take a factory job
where English skills are unnecessary, and the potential for language improvement is limited. A hurdle
requirement for citizenship is unlikely to widen the avenues for English language improvement open to
these people. A more flexible and effective policy would recognize these difficulties and find ways to
provide language instruction at intermediate and advanced levels. This could perhaps be done through
modules which might be tailored to fit different industries, perhaps in the form of increased funding
to the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program and the Workplace English Language and Literacy
Program.
Concern about limited English skills often overlooks the existing wealth of language knowledge
which immigrants bring to the community. The language resources of Victoria appear under-utilized,
partly because of the need for some polishing of skills. The first generation bring to Victoria their
native speaker competence in their home languages, but may need support in achieving workplace
competence in English. The second generation are native speakers of English, but need support
to develop their domestic use of the family LOTE(s) to a level suitable for sophisticated workplace
registers. Kipp et al. (1995:xv) observed that “there is still felt to be a lack of motivation among young
people to develop their L1, almost certainly due to the continuing low status accorded language and
lack of appropriate employment opportunities using such languages”; and they further noted that the
cost of maintaining community languages generally fell to the community members themselves. Once
again, little has changed.
The business interviews discussed in this report suggest that some Victorian companies have
recognized that language skills among their staff can provide a “gateway to the world”, and these
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companies show what can be achieved. Knowledge of other languages and cultures not only facilitates
business transactions, but also changes thinking about possible new markets. Instead of being “too
hard” to take on, a new market may open up through the agency of bilingual employees. The more
successful companies in the international marketplace show innovative thinking which often reflects the
effects of bilingual competence.
Stephen of Hungary recognized as early as the 11th century the value that came with a multilingual and
multicultural nation. In counselling his successor, he advised that “a country unified in language and
customs is fragile and weak” (Bailey 2006:335).. The abundance of languages in Victoria is one of its
strengths but clearly, we are far from taking full advantage of these linguistic riches.
page
122
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appendix
one
Language communities in
Victoria – statistical
profiles
Appendix 1: Language communities
in Victoria – statistical profiles
This appendix presents statistical profiles of 27 of Victoria’s community languages. All languages which
had 5000 speakers or more according to the 2001 Australian census were included, and information is
presented regarding the size, settlement and birthplace of the population, age and gender distribution,
educational qualifications, labour market status, and (self-reported) English proficiency. In order to allow
for a better understanding of community dynamics and longitudinal development the chapter discusses
data from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 censuses. The language communities described are Albanian,
Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese languages, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian,
Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Macedonian, Maltese, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Russian, Serbian,
Sinhalese, Spanish, Tagalog (Filipino), Tamil, Turkish and Vietnamese.
A1.1 Albanian
The Albanian community numbered 6,021 in 2006 (2001, 5,685; 1996, 4,859). The two main settlement
areas in 2006 were Greater Dandenong (1,602 speakers) and Brimbank (1,006 speakers), followed by
Whittlesea (415 speakers).
Around 40% of speakers of Albanian were born in Australia, a percentage which decreased slightly
between 1996 and 2006 (from 43.6% to 39.6%). The majority of the remaining speakers were born in
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Yugoslavia and Albania.
Figure A1.1 LOTE use by birthplace: Albanian, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
As can be seen in Figure A1.2 below, the Albanian-speaking community is a younger community with
70.8% aged under 45. With 20% of speakers under 15, the language vitality appears relatively high
while the low number of speakers over 65 (7%) is testimony to this group’s relatively recent migration
to Australia (32.4% arrived since 1986). The community is relatively balanced with regard to gender: in
2006 49.0% speakers were female and 51.0% male speakers (in 2001, 48.7% female and 51.3% male; in
1996, 47.8% female and 52.2% male).
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Figure A1.2 Age distribution: Albanian, 2006 population
Source: ABS 2006
In terms of schooling the Albanian community shows a comparatively low skill level. In 2006, 6.3% had
never attended school, 23.9% had left school at Year 8 or below, 17.4% had post-school qualifications,
and 26.4% had completed the equivalent of Year 12. The proportion completing Year 12 has risen
quite markedly since 2001, when it stood at 20.2%. This is a consequence of the large cohort of
younger people moving through and completing their schooling.. Correspondingly the number with no
schooling has declined from 9.1% and the proportion having left school at Year 8 or below has fallen
from 29.2%. The proportion with post school qualifications remained constant between 2001 and 2006,
giving the Albanian community the lowest rates of tertiary education of all language groups studied.
This may be a further consequence of the relative youth of the community. As the younger group
move through schooling and on into tertiary education we can expect a rise in the tertiary-educated
population.
The Albanian community had a relatively low labour force participation rate of 51.3% in 2006 (48.8% in
2001). In line with the low education levels reported above, labourers (27.7%) and machinists (14.4%)
were the largest occupational categories, while fewer than 20% of Albanian speakers were employed as
managers (13.3%) or professionals (6.6%).
Compared to other groups studied Albanian speakers have below average English proficiency.
Nevertheless, 81.0% indicated that they spoke English ‘very well’ or ‘well’ in 2006 (81.6% in 2001;
80% in 1996), 14.9% said that they spoke English ‘not well’ (14.4% in 2001, 14.6% in 1996), and 4.1%
reported not speaking English at all (4% in 2001, 5.4% in 1996).
A1.2 Arabic
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In 2001 Arabic was used by 47,183. Victorian residents, and by 2006 this number had increased to
55,870. Hume, Moreland, Whittlesea and Darebin were the main settlement areas of Arabic speakers in
2006. As illustrated in Figure A1.3, the majority of speakers are Australian-born, followed by speakers
born in the Lebanon and Egypt. The proportion of speakers from Iraq and Sudan remains relatively low
(6.9% and 5.1% respectively) but has grown rapidly since 1996 as a result of substantial refugee intake
from these countries.
Figure A1.3 LOTE use by birthplace: Arabic (including Lebanese), 2006, 2001 and 1996:
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Arabic-speaking population is relatively balanced with regard to gender (2006 49.1% female; 2001
48.4% female; 1996, 48.5% female), but biased in terms of age, with over 75% aged under 45. With
26.1% of speakers aged under 15, Arabic has a higher proportion of speakers in this age bracket than
any other language studied, while its proportion of 15-24 year olds is also well above average. To
an extent the youth of the Arabic community reflects relatively recent migration (36.3% of speakers
arriving post 1985), however it is also testament to some of the highest second generation language
maintenance rates of all groups studied, with 38.4% of speakers born in Australia.
Figure A1.4 Age distribution: Arabic, 2006 population:
Source: ABS 2006
Just under a third of the population (31.4%) had formal post-school qualifications in 2001 (1996, 28.9%),
10.1% left school at Year 8 or below (2001, 10.4%) and 6.1% never attended school (2001, 7.7%)
However, between 1996 and 2001 the percentage of those who completed year 12 increased from 26%
to 29%.
In 2006 the Arabic-speaking community had the lowest labour force participation rate of all the
language groups being studied, at 42.7% (2001, 41.8%). Arabic speakers are quite evenly spread
across all census occupational categories: professionals are the most numerous group (16.1% of the
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population) but managers, tradesmen, clerical workers, sales workers, machinists and labourers each
make up between 10-15% of the Arabic speaking labour force.
Among Arabic speakers, 82.9% claimed to speak English ‘very well’, or ‘well’ in 2006 (2001, 83.3%;
1996 81.2%).The number claiming not to speak English decreased 1.1 percentage points between 1996,
now standing at 3.8%. Those who reported speaking English ‘not well’ remained stable at 13.5% (2001,
12.5%; 1996 13.9%)
A1.3 Bosnian36
The Bosnian community grew by over 50% between 1996 and 2001: from 3,708 to 5,883, and increased
marginally, to 5939 in 2006. Bosnian’s were “the largest single component of Australian humanitarian
migration in the 1990s” (Colic-Peisker 2005: 616), when they were granted permanent protection visas.
About half of the Bosnian refugees were Muslim (Colic-Peisker 2005: 616). The two main settlement
areas in 2001 were Greater Dandenong (2006, 1463 speakers, 2001, 1,568 speakers) and Brimbank
(2006, 1,294 speakers; 2001, 1,125 speakers), followed at a considerable distance by Casey (2006, 501
speakers; 2001, 350 speakers). Over 70% of Bosnian speakers in Victoria were born in Bosnia, and
fewer than 20% were born in Australia (Figure 3.3).
Figure A1.5 LOTE use by birthplace: Bosnian, 1996 and 2001
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001
The gender-ratio in the Bosnian community changed only slightly between 1996 and 2001, from 49.3%
female speakers to 50.4% female speakers. The Bosnian-speaking community in Australia is young,
with 23.7% of speakers younger than 15 years of age (1996, 26.1%), and 15.9% younger than 25 (1996,
15.2%). 36.2% were aged between 25 and 44 in 2001 (1996, 36.9%), and 19.7% were aged between
45 and 64 (1996, 19.1%). The percentage of those aged 65 or older increased between 1996 and 2001:
from 2.8% to 4.6%.
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132
Over 40% of the Bosnian-speaking community had post-school qualifications in 2001 (43.0%; 1996,
38.2%), and 27.5% had completed their schooling up to the equivalent of standard 12 (1996, 24.5%).
The percentage of those who had left school at age 15 or younger decreased between 1996 and 2001,
from 20.3% to 15.6%.
Despite the relatively high proportion of Bosnian speakers with post-school qualifications,
unemployment rates within the community – although they decreased significantly between 1996 and
2001 – remain high: in 2001 the unemployment rate was 17.7% (1996, 35.2%). The majority of those
employed work in the area of trade and transport (2001, 33.5%; 1996, 27.2%), followed by clerical
occupations (2001, 18.0%; 1996, 10.7%), manual work (2001, 15.6%; 1996, 17.6%), and professional,
associate professional and managerial positions (2001, 15.5%; 1996, 9.3%).
In the 2006 census the Bosnian community was no longer ranked among the top 30 communities, so no data was commissioned from the ABS. Therefore the 2006 update
is limited largely to statistics available from the ABS website.
36
Bosnian speakers are generally confident about their English language skills with 40.8% reporting that
they speak it ‘very well’ in 2001 (1996, 29.8%), and a further 29.5% claiming to speak it ‘well’ (1996,
36.2%). 22.7% indicated that they speak English ‘not well’ (1996, 25.8), and 7.1% had no knowledge of
English (1996, 8.5%).
A1.4 Chinese languages
In 2006, a Chinese language was spoken by 144,750 Victorian residents (in 2001 the number was
113,182; in 1996 96,692). Of these, 46.2% spoke Cantonese (2001, 53.6%; 1996, 55.7%). Mandarin was
spoken by 44.5% in 2006 (2001, 34.3%; 1996, 26.5%) In 2006, 3.4% spoke Hakka (2001, 4.0%; 1996,
4.4%), 1.8% spoke Hokkien (2001, 2.4%; 1996, 3.3%), 1.3% spoke Teochew (20001, 1.3%; 1996, 1.5%),
and 0.3% Wu (2001, 0.3%). The remaining 2.5% (2001, 4.1%; 1996, 8.3%) spoke other varieties of
Chinese or did not specify which Chinese language they use.
In terms of geographical distribution within the Melbourne metropolitan area, Cantonese speakers are
concentrated in Boroondara (which with 12.8% had the highest share of Cantonese speakers in 2006),
Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse and Greater Dandenong,. Mandarin speakers are found in much the
same areas, as well as Melbourne, and to a lesser extent in Glen Eira, Stonnington and Darebin. The
smaller Chinese languages show similar concentration patterns: in 2001, the Teochew community had
the most clearly defined geographical centre with 30.8% of speakers residing in Greater Dandenong
(2001, 28.8%); the greatest concentration of Hakka speakers (20.5% of speakers) lived in Brimbank
(2001, 18.0%), and for Hokkien speakers Monash constituted the main geographical centre (with 14.8%
of speakers residing in the area; 2001, 15.3%).
The majority of Cantonese speakers were born in Hong Kong (see Figure A1.5) and the People’s
Republic of China, other prominent birthplaces are Malaysia and Vietnam.
Figure A1.6 LOTE use by birthplace: 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
Mandarin speakers, on the other hand, originate predominantly from the People’s Republic of China,
with smaller numbers coming from Malaysia and Taiwan (see Figure A1.6). In both language groups,
the percentage of Australian-born speakers increased between 1996 and 2006, a trend that is more
pronounced for Cantonese than for Mandarin.
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133
Figure A1.7 LOTE use by birthplace: Mandarin, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
There is a slight female bias among both Cantonese and Mandarin speakers: in 2006, 51.3% of
Cantonese and 53.2% of Mandarin speakers were female. In both the Cantonese and Mandarin
communities in Victoria the largest number of speakers are in the 25-44 age bracket (29.6% and 33.6%
respectively). However, as Figures A1.7 and Al.8 show, the proportion of speakers over 45 is higher for
Cantonese speakers (35.3%) than Mandarin speakers (24.0%), reflecting the latter group’s more recent
migration to Australia (79.1% of Mandarin speakers arrived post 1985 and 38.5% since 2001,while only
52.8% of Cantonese speakers are post 1985 arrivals).
Figure A1.8 Age distribution: Cantonese , 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
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134
The Mandarin-speaking community in Victoria shows high educational achievement. In 2001, 56.7%
had post-school qualifications (up from 50.0% in 2001), and 3.8% (down from 5.8% total in 2001) had
either had no education (1.5%), or left school at Year 8 or below. For 29.8%, Year 12 was their highest
qualification (28.7% in 2001). Cantonese speakers showed lower levels of post-school qualifications
(43.3% in 2006, and 36.6% in 2001), and also slightly lower levels of Year 12 completion (26% in 2006,
24.5% in 2001), while the proportion of Cantonese speakers with little or no schooling stands at nearly
15% (9.2% less than year 8, 6.1% no schooling in 2006).
Labour force participation among Mandarin speakers remains relatively low in 2006, standing at 53%
(49.5% in 2001). Cantonese speakers continue to have higher participation rates (though lower than
Figure A1.9 Age distribution: Mandarin, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
average), reaching 59.8% participation in 2006 (1996, 54.3%). Professionals are the largest occupational
category for both language groups (26.8% of employed Mandarin speakers and 27.6% Cantonese). For
Mandarin speakers the next largest categories are managers (13.6%) and labourers (12.2%), whereas
for Cantonese speakers they are clerical workers (13.2%) and tradesmen (12.9%).
Speakers of both Mandarin and Cantonese have become increasingly confident about their English
proficiency: 75.0% of Cantonese speakers and 78.0% of Mandarin speakers indicated in 2006 that they
spoke English ‘very well’ or ‘well’ (2001, 72.3% and 74.2% respectively). Around 20% stated that they
did not speak it well (18.7% and 17.3% in 2006; 20% and 20.2% respectively in 2001, 21.6% and 22.6%
in 1996), and 6.3% of Cantonese speakers and 4.7% of Mandarin speakers spoke no English at all (2001,
7.7%, and 5.5%; 1996, 9.3% and 6.7%, respectively).
A1.5 Croatian
As is the case for many other European languages, the number of Croatian speakers in Victoria
decreased between 2001 and 2006: from 25,551 to 22,851. The three main settlement areas of the
Croatian community were: Brimbank (4,559 speakers), Greater Geelong (2,356 speakers), and Casey
(1,482 speakers).
About a third of Croatian speakers were born in Australia, around 55% were born in Croatia, and
around 5% in Bosnia.
Figure A1.10 LOTE use by birthplace: Croatian, 2006, 2001 and 1996
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135
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
In 2006, the gender ratio of the Croatian-speaking showed a minor swing towards female speakers,
who now comprise 51.3% of the population (2001, 49.7%; 1996, 49.8%). As the Figure A1.10 shows,
the Croatian speaking population is aging rapidly, with 53.1% of speakers aged over 45. With 22.0%
of speakers over 65 there are now more speakers in this bracket than in the 0-14 and 15-24 brackets
combined (9.1% and 9.6% respectively), suggesting that Croatian has limited vitality in Victoria. The
age profile of the Croatian speaking population is complicated by two distinct migration waves. While
49.4% of the population arrived pre 1985 (mostly as post-war labour migrants) 10.1% entered Australia
between 1991 and 2001, following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia and the ensuing conflict. In
addition, 31.7% are Australian born, and age profiling suggests that many of these are the now adult
offspring of the earlier wave of migration, who have successfully maintained the language.
Figure A1.11 Age distribution: Croatian, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
The Croatian-speaking community has a slightly below average skill-level with 37.2% of Croatian
speakers having post-school qualifications in 2006 (2001, 35.8%), and 19.5% having completed the
equivalent of Year 12 (2001, 17.3%). The number of Croatian speakers schooled to Year 8 or below (if at
all) was 25.5% in 2006 (26.8% in 2001), nearly three times the 2006 state average of 9.5%..
Between 2001 and 2006 Croatian speakers increased their labour force participation increased from
60.1% to 64.4%. Of all groups examined, Croatians had the largest proportion of workers employed in
the trades sector (21.3%). Other key occupational categories for this group are labourers (16.4%) and
clerical workers (13.2%), while managers and professionals are under-represented, standing at 8.6%
and 12.9% respectively.
Croatian speakers showed confidence in their English proficiency: in 2006, 83% indicated that they
spoke English ‘very well’, or ‘well’ (2001, 81.8%; 1996 82.6%), while 15.4% were recorded as speaking
English ‘not well’ and a further 1.6% as ‘not at all’ (2001, 16.3% and 1.8% respectively; 1996, 15.1% and
2.3%).
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A1.6 Dutch
Dutch was used as a home language by 9,559 Victorian residents in 2006 (2001, 10,995; 1996, 11,346).
The largest group of Dutch speakers could be found in the Yarra Ranges (882 speakers), followed by
Casey (688 speakers) and Greater Geelong (645 speakers). As Figure A1.11 shows, the vast majority of
Dutch speakers were born in the Netherlands, though the proportion from other countries has gradually
risen since 1996.
Figure A1.12 LOTE use by birthplace: Dutch, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Dutch-speaking community showed a marked bias towards women (55.4% female in 2006, 55.1%
in 2001, and 55.0% in 1996). This may reflect the fact that the Dutch community is an old community
(74.6% of speakers are over 45) and women in Australia have a higher life expectancy than men.
With 45.0% of speakers aged over 65 the Dutch have the highest proportion of speakers in this age
group. At the other end of the spectrum they have the lowest proportion of speakers in the 15-24
age group (2.9%) and one of the lower proportions of 0-14 year olds (6.0%). Length of residency in
Australia is clearly related to these points, with 68.1% arriving before 1986 while low rates of language
maintenance are reflected in the fact that only 13.8% of speakers are Australian-born.
Figure A1.13 Age distribution: Dutch, 2006 population.,
Source: ABS 2006
In terms of education the Dutch-speaking community was well skilled, with 50.3% having post-school
qualifications in 2006 (2001, 45.4%). A further 15.1% had completed the equivalent of Year 12; while
only 13.8% had fewer than 8 years of schooling (2001, 15.4% and 16.6% respectively).
In 2006, the Dutch community had one of the highest labour force participation rates of all language
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groups studied, standing at 73.5% (67.6% in 2001). Dutch speakers were overwhelmingly employed in
white collar profession, with 19.9% working as managers, 24.7% as professionals and a further 12.5%
as clerical workers. Just over 10% worked as either labourers (6.7%) or machinists (4.4%).
Dutch speakers reported very high levels of English proficiency in 2006, with only 2.7% claiming
to speak it ‘not well’, and 0.5% indicating no knowledge (2001, 3% and 0.8; 1996, 2.8% and 0.3%
respectively). Thus 96.8% claimed to speak it ‘very well’ or ‘well’ (2001: 96.1%, 1996: 96.8%).
A1.7 French
The number of French speakers in Victoria increased slightly between 2001 and 2006, from 11,098
to 11,816. The following LGAs showed the greatest concentration of French speakers in 2006: Casey
(1,713 speakers), Greater Dandenong (1,098 speakers) and Monash (692 speakers). The majority of
French speakers in Victoria were born in Mauritius (just under 40%), followed by Australia (around 20%)
and France (around 15%; see Figure 3.8). Other countries of origin include Egypt, Canada, Belgium and
the Seychelles.
Figure A1.14 LOTE use by birthplace: French, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The French-speaking community showed a slight (and stable) bias towards women. In 2006, 52.9%
of speakers were female (53.1% in 2001; 53.2% in 1996). The French- speaking population is
predominantly middle-aged: while 53.1% are under 45, the number of 25-44 year olds and 45-64 year
olds is equal (30.3%) and the next largest group (over 65s) comes in a distant third with only 16.5% of
the population. Interestingly, the French speaking community has seen the highest proportion of new
arrivals since 2001 of all languages studied (17.2%), coming mainly from Mauritius.
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The French-speaking community is highly skilled with only 5.3% having been educated to less than
Year 8 level (2001, 6.7%). In 2006, 52.5% had post-school qualifications (2001, 45.2%), and 22.5% had
completed Year 12 or equivalent (1996, 23.4%).
French speakers in Victoria recorded high labour force participation rates in both 2006 (71.6%) and
2001 (68.5%). Like the Dutch community, discussed above, French speakers are mostly employed in the
white collar areas: professionals are the largest group, at 27.8%, followed by clerical workers (17.1%)
and managers (11.9%). Labourers make up 8.4% of the employed population.
Figure A1.15 Age distribution: French, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
Given that the majority of French speakers were born in Mauritius, where English is used as an official
language and also a medium of instruction, it is not surprising that members of Victoria’s French
community report high levels of English proficiency. In 2006, 95.9% indicated that they spoke English
‘very well’,or ‘well’, 3.6% ‘not well’, and 0.6% ‘not at all’ (2001: 95%, 4.4%, 0.6%; 1996: 94.1%, 2.8%
and 0.3% respectively).
A1.8 German
The number of German speakers in Victoria decreased between 1996 and 2001 from 27,460 to 20,656,
and again to 19,604 in 2006. Within Melbourne in 2006 the greatest concentration of speakers was
found in Knox (1,257 speakers), followed by Monash (819 speakers), Yarra Ranges (954 speakers) and
Whitehorse (723). Sizeable concentrations were also found in Greater Geelong (949 speakers). The
majority of German speakers in 2006 came from the Federal Republic of Germany (52.7%), followed by
Australia (20.8%) and Austria (9.1%). In 1996, there were still around 10% of German speakers who had
been born in Eastern Europe (mainly Poland and Yugoslavia); however, their numbers had halved by
2006.
Figure A1.16 LOTE use by birthplace: German, 2006, 2001 and 1996
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Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
As with the Dutch-speaking community (discussed in Section A1.6), the German-speaking community
shows a female bias (2006, 54.4%; 2001, 54.1%; 1996, 53.0%), and a large percentage of speakers
aged over 45 (65.9%). Once again female bias collocates with an ageing population (over 40% of
the population were aged over 65), although German has had more success than Dutch in retaining
younger speakers: 8.4% of German speakers were under 15 and 5.3% between 15 and 24. Clearly the
major period of German migration to Australia had peaked, with 57.3% of speakers arriving before
1986. However, there has also been a mini-resurgence in migration in recent years, with 8.6% of the
population arriving since 2001.
Figure A1.17 Age distribution: German, 2006 population
Source: ABS 2006
In 2006, 62.2% of German speakers in Victoria had post-school qualifications (2001, 59.7%), making
them one of the best educated language groups studied. In common with the Dutch, Italian and Maltese
communities, there are more Germans who left school between Year 9 and the end of Year 12 than
there are with Year 12 as their highest level of qualification (16.3% versus 13.0% in 2006), probably
reflecting an era where many students left school in their senior years to take up apprenticeships or
otherwise begin contributing to the family economy. Only 8.5% of German speakers had been educated
to Year 8 or below, down from 10.4% in 2001, In 2001, 12.3% of German speakers had completed the
equivalent of standard 12 (1996: 9.7%), and 14.8% had left school before the age of 15 (1996: 23.2%).
The German speaking community saw significant growth in labour force participation between 2001
and 2006, rising from 69.7% to 74.3%. This gives the community the highest participation rates of all
groups studied, well above the average for all Victorians (68.9%). Almost half of the German-speaking
labour force was employed as either professionals (30.2%) or managers (16.4%), however trades were
also well represented at 14.2%. Fewer than 10% were either labourers (6%) or machinists (3.2%).
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Reported English proficiency levels were high within Victoria’s German-speaking community. In 2006,
96.9% claimed to speak English ‘very well’ or ‘well’ (2001, 96.4%; 1996, 95.6%), 2.5% to speak it ‘not
well’ (2001, .3.1%, 1996, 3.7%), and only 0.6% to speak it ‘not at all’ (2001, 0.5%; 1996, 0.6%).
A1.9 Greek
In 2006, there were 117,509 speakers in Victoria (2001, 122,353). The LGAs with the highest
concentration of speakers were Monash (11,040 speakers), Darebin (10,835 speakers), and Moreland
(8492 speakers). Greek had a large proportion of Australian-born speakers. According to Kipp et al.
(1995: 49), this might reflect “the established nature of the Greek-speaking community, the absence of
large-scale new immigration and/or relative success in language maintenance”.
Figure A1.18 LOTE use by birthplace: Greek, 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
There was an even gender distribution in the Greek-speaking community in 1996, 2001 and 2006
(49.8%, 50.1% and 50.8% female speakers respectively). While the 25-65 age range encompasses
the majority of Greek speakers, the numbers of speakers above and below 45 is relatively balanced
(52.2% under 45) and the proportion of speakers aged under 25 (20%) is impressive given the fact
that migration from Greece has all but ceased in the years since 1985 (2.1% of the population arrived
between 1986 and 2006). With 49.5% of the population Australian-born the community has by far the
highest proportion of second (and later) generation speakers of all languages studied.
Figure A1.19 Age distribution:Greek, 2006 population
Source: ABS 2006
The percentage of those with no schooling was relatively high in the Greek community (5.9% in 2006,
and 5.7% in 2001). About a third of Greek speakers had post-school qualifications in 2006 (2006, 31.4%;
2001, 29.4%), and just under 20 percent had completed the equivalent of Year 12 (2006, 19.3%;2001:
17.9%). In 2006, 26.5% of Greek speakers had left school at Year 8 or below (2001, 28.1%), one of the
higher percentages of all groups studied.
In 2006, the labour force participation rate among Greek speakers was 65.8%, up from 61.5% in 2001.
Greek speakers were spread relatively evenly across a number of occupations: 18% were professionals,
16.2% clerical workers, 14.3% tradesmen and 13.8% managers. Just over 10% worked as labourers
(10.7%) while 7.2% were machinists.
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English proficiency ratings within the Greek-speaking population remained remarkably stable between
1996 and 2006. In 2006, 80.6% of Greek speakers stated that they spoke English ‘very well’, or well
(2001, 80.8%, 1996, 80.2%) 17.8% ‘not well’ (2001, 17.4%; 1996, 17.7%), and 1,6% the category ‘not at
all’ (2001, 1.8%; 1996, 2.1%).
A1.10 Hindi
The number of Hindi speakers in Victoria increased by almost 70% between 2001 and 2006, from 10,735
to 18,160 (1996, 7,305). The three LGAs with the highest number of speakers in 2006 were: Casey (1,844
speakers), Monash (1,474 speakers) and Darebin (1,015). The majority of Hindi speakers were foreign
born (over 80%), with Fiji and India being the main birthplaces.
Figure A1.20 LOTE use by birthplace: Hindi, 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The percentage of female Hindi speakers in Victoria has been declining since 1996: from 49.5% that
year to 46.3% in 2001 and further to 44.9% in 2006. As figure A1.20 shows, 82.4% of the population are
under 45, but the population is heavily concentrated in the 25-44 age group, which on its own accounts
for 46.9% of speakers. Hindi speakers are mostly recent arrivals to Victoria, with 44.2% migrating since
2001 and only 6.2% before 1986. Given this recent migration, it is unsurprising that few have reached (or
passed) the age of 65 (3%), while federal government restrictions on skilled migrations for older people
are the likely cause of the marked population drop-off between the 25-44 and 45-64 age brackets.
Figure A1.21 Age distribution:Hindi, 2006 population.
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Source: ABS 2006
The Hindi-speaking community in Victoria showed the highest rate of tertiary education among
all groups studied in 2006, standing at 70.9% (59.9% in 2001). 17.8% held Year 12 as their highest
qualification, while only 3.5% had education below Year 9 level (4.1% in 2001).
In 2001, Hindi speakers reported above-average labour force participation (66.7%). In 2006 this rose
to 72.1%, making them one of the leaders in this area among the groups considered in this report.
Hindi speakers have an interesting occupational profile relative to other groups, as they are overrepresented among professionals (27.2%, as against a state average of 20.7%) and yet lag behind the
state average for the proportion of managers (9.4%, as against 13.5%). A large number work as clerical
workers (17.2%), while around 10% work in each of sales, trades and labouring (11.5%, 10.4% and 9%
respectively).
Hindi speakers in Victoria reported very high levels of English proficiency: in 2006, 95.8% indicated that
they spoke English ‘very well’or ‘well’ (2001, 95%; 1996, 94.1%), 3.2% claimed to speak it ‘not well’,
(2001, 3.9%, 1996, 4.5%) and 1.0% not to speak it at all (2001, 1.1%; 1996, 1.4%).
A1.11 Hungarian
The number of Hungarian speakers in Victoria in 2006 was 7,859 (8,915 in 2001). The main settlement
areas were: Casey (1,102 speakers), Greater Dandenong (635 speakers), and Glen Eira (570 speakers).
Only 47% of Hungarian speakers were born in Hungary, with around 20% being Australian born. Due to
political upheaval in the region, a number of other birthplaces are given for Hugarian speakers, however
around 25% come from what could be described as the former Yugoslavia.
Figure A1.22 LOTE use by birthplace: Hungarian, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
As in other ageing migrant groups, we see a growing female bias among Hungarian speakers: In 1996,
52.5% of Hungarian speakers were female, rising to 54% in 2001 and 54.6% in 2006. The Hungarian
population has one of the highest concentrations of speakers aged over 45 of all language groups,
standing at 71.2% in 2006. Of these, 38.6% are in the over 65 age-bracket, suggesting that the need for
Hungarian aged-care service is currently peaking. Once again older populations collocate with migration
waves peaking before the 1980s (61.5% of the population arrived before 1986), while the proportion of
speakers born in Australia (18.9%) is broadly inline with figures for other European languages.
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Figure A1.23 Age distribution: Hungarian, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
The Hungarian-speaking community has a high proportion of speakers with post-school qualifications:
47.1% in 2001, and 45.9% in 2006. Fewer than 20% of speakers education below Year 9 level (2006,
16.5%; 2001, 18.1%), while 19.3% had completed Year 12 (2001, 17.1%).
Between 2001 and 2006 labour force participation rose markedly in the Hungarian-speaking community,
from 62.8% to 69.1%. After Croatian speakers, Hungarian speakers have the second highest proportion
of workers employed in trades (19.9%), with professional and clerical work also important sources of
employment for this group (19.1% and (13.2% respectively). Just over 10% of the population were
employed as labourers (10.6%), and 8.7% as machinists.
A high percentage of Hungarian speakers in Victoria reported speaking English ‘very well’ or ‘well’
(2006, 87.5%; 2001, 85.1; 1996, 85.6%), and in 2006 11.2% reported speaking it ‘not well’ (13.5%, 2001;
12.6%, 1996), while 1.3% indicated that they spoke no English at all (1.5% in 2001, 1.7% in 1996).
A1.12 Indonesian
The analysis in this section will focus on those speakers who have indicated ‘Indonesian’ rather than
the related language, Malay, as their home language. The Malay-speaking community was relatively
small and thus does not fall into the top-27 language groups (i.e. language groups with a minimum of
5000 speakers in 2001). Unlike the Indonesian community, the Malay-speaking community decreased
between 1996 and 2001: from 1,874 to 1,720.
In 2006, Indonesian was used as a home language by Victorians 10,467 (9,140 in 2001). A significant
increase was recorded in the Melbourne LGA, where the number of Indonesian-speaking residents
increased from 510 in 2001 to 2,262 in 2006, making it the home of 21.6% of the Indonesian-speaking
community. Other areas with sizeable numbers of Indonesian speakers in 2006 were Monash (1,360
speakers) and Boroondora (618 speakers).
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Over 80% of speakers of Indonesian were born in Indonesia; the percentage of Australian-born
Indonesian speakers decreased from 15.6% in 1996 to 12% in 2006. This development reflects high
in-migration rates from Indonesia between 1996 and 2006.
Figure A1.24 LOTE use by birthplace: Indonesian, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
In 1996 the Indonesian-speaking community showed a slight male bias with 47.8% female speakers.
However this changed to 52.0% female speakers in 2001 and 52.4% in 2006. Indonesian has the highest
proportion of speakers under 45 (87.2%) of all languages studied. Moreover, it is the only language
studied to have more speakers in the 15-24 age group (37.9%) than any other group, reflecting the
high numbers of Indonesian students studying at Victorian educational institutions. As international
student migration is a relatively recent phenomenon in Australia it is unsurprising to see that 45.6% of
the population have arrived since 2001, and 23.1% arrived between 1996 and 2000. Indonesian has the
lowest proportion of Australian-born speakers of all languages investigated, standing at 12%.
Figure A1.25 Age distribution: Indonesian, 2006 population
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Source: ABS 2006
The Indonesian speech community is well-skilled with 59.9% holding post-school qualifications in 2006,
and 31.5% having completed the equivalent of Year 12 (2001, 45.6% and 40.4% respectively). In 2006,
fewer than 1% had left school at Year 8 or below and only 0.2% had no schooling at all.
In 2001 the labour force participation rate for Indonesian speakers was easily the lowest among all
groups studied, standing at 37%. This rate may reflect a very high percentage of Indonesian speakers
being full-time students who did not also hold part-time jobs during their studies. Whatever the reasons
for this low rate, by 2006 it had begun to change, with participation rising 17.4 percentage points to
54.5%. While still markedly below the state average of 68.9% this no longer leaves Indonesian with
the lowest rates among all groups. Among Indonesians in the labour force, the largest group are
professionals (26.4%), with clerical workers a distant second (15.1%). Roughly equal numbers are sales
workers and labourers (12.8% and 12.9% respectively) and also managers and community workers
(8.5% and 8.8%).
In the 2006 census 1% of Indonesian speakers indicated that they spoke no English (2001, 0.8%; 1996,
1.4%), while 6.5% claimed to speak English ‘not well’, and 92.6% ‘well’, or and ‘very well’ (2001, 6.2%
and 93%; 1996, 10.7% and 87.9% respectively).
A1.13 Italian
The number of Victorians using Italian at home decreased between 2001 and 2006: from 149,185 to
132,581. In 2006, the four LGAs with the highest number of Italian speakers were Moreland (16,053
speakers), Darebin (12,717 speakers), Whittlesea (10,739 speakers) and Moonee Valley (9,502 speakers),
followed by Brimbank (7,464 speakers), Hume (7,218 speakers) and Manningham (7,080 speakers).
Within regional Victoria, Italian speakers were found in sizeable concentrations in Mildura (1,512
speakers), Nillumbik (1,394 speakers) and the Yarra Ranges (1,852 speakers).
Over half of Victoria’s Italian speakers were born in Italy, and around 40% in Australia. Italian speakers
originating from Egypt form a small sub-community (1,236 speakers in 2006), with several hundred
speakers also originating from Croatia and Libya.
Figure A1.26 LOTE use by birthplace: Italian, 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
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In 2006 there was a slight female bias in the Italian-speaking community in Victoria with 51.9% of
speakers being female (2001 51%; 1996, 50.5% female speakers). The Italian community is primarily
made up of older speakers, with 62.4% aged over 45, and over 65s form the largest single age group
on the graph below (33.8% of speakers). Italian migration to Australia has all but ceased in recent
decades (only 2% of the population migrated post 1986), however language maintenance remains
strong, with 40.4% of the population Australian born. While the proportion of speakers aged under 25
remains low, Italian is Victoria’s most widely spoken LOTE so the absolute numbers remain over 15,000.
Figure A1.27 Age distribution: Italian, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
About a third of Italian speakers had formal post-school qualification (2006, 29.1%; 2001, 27.8%) and
another third had reached Year 8 or less (2006, 35.6%; 2001, 36.5%). The percentage of those who
completed the equivalent of Year 12 increased very slightly between 2001 and 2006: from 13% to 14.3%.
Labour force participation in the Italian community was close to the state average of 69.8%, standing at
70.7% in 2006 (2001, 65.9%). Italians were quite evenly spread across the four occupational categories
of trades, clerical, managerial and professional work (16.9%, 16.4%, 15.0% and 14.8% respectively), with
10.0% working as labourers.
Italian speakers were relatively confident about their English proficiency: in 2006, 82.7% claimed to
speak English ‘very well’ or ‘well’, (2001, 82.8%; 1996, 81.8%). The number indicating they spoke English
‘not well’ remained stable between 1996 and 2006 (15.7%) while there was a slight decrease in the
proportion knowing no English, declining from 2.3% to 1.6%.
A1.14 Japanese
In 2006, 6,534 speakers of Japanese as a home language were recorded in 2006 (2001, 5,157). The three
main settlement areas in 2006 were Melbourne (619 speakers) Monash (543 speakers) and Glen Eira
(511speakers). The Japanese-speaking community is largely foreign-born, with just over a quarter of
speakers born in Australia.
Figure A1.28 LOTE use by birthplace: Japanese, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
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147
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The female bias among Japanese speakers has been steadily increasing; from 55.0% in 1996 to 57.2%
in 2001 and then to 58.7% in 2006. The Japanese-speaking community is a young community: in 2006
82.6% of speakers were under 45, with 44.3% clustering in the 25-44 age bracket. A relatively high
proportion of speakers are also in the 15-24 age bracket (17.9%), which reflects the large number of
Japanese international students studying in Victoria. While it is difficult to prove, a likely reason for
the gender imbalance in the community is the popularity of marrying English-speaking men among
Japanese women, whereas no similar trend exists of Japanese men marrying western women in
large numbers. Wide-scale Japanese migration to Australia is a relatively recent phenomenon with
26.3% having arrived since 2001. Yet despite this recency over 25% of Japanese speakers were born
in Australia. This may indicate a large number of Japanese-speaking families rearing their children to
speak Japanese alongside English, .Japanese sojourners working in Australia for Japanese companies
and a number of couples in mixed send their children to Japanese mainstream or Saturday schools
(Watanabe 2004).
Figure A1.29 Age distribution: Japanese, 2006 population
Source: ABS 2006
The Japanese-speaking community is highly skilled with over 60% holding a post-school qualification
(2006, 62%; 2001, 53.1%). In 2006, only 1.0% had not been educated to at least Year 9 level and 28.3%
reported Year 12 as their highest qualification (2001, 32.3%).
Labour force participation among Japanese speakers rose slightly between 2001 and 2006, but still
remains well below state averages (51.9% in 2001, 57.3% in 2006). However those speakers who
are in the workforce cluster in professional employment – at 35.4% the Japanese community has
the highest concentration of workers in this area. The community also has the largest proportion of
workers employed in the community sector, which at 13.4% is the next largest employer of Japanese
speakers. Managers (12.8%), tradesmen and clerical workers (both 11.1%) are the only other significant
occupational groups, while it is noteworthy that the community has the lowest number of labourers
(4.9%) and machinists (1.4%) of all groups studied.
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Between 1996 and 2006 Japanese saw one of the highest increases in the proportion of speakers
reporting that they spoke English ‘very well’ or ‘well’: from 71.2% to 81.4%.There was an associated
decline in both the number claiming to speak English ‘not well’ (from 24.5% to 16.1) and ‘not at all’
(1996 4.3%; 2006, 2.5%).
A1.15 Khmer
In 2006, 9,937 Victorians used Khmer as a home language (2001, 8,545). Over half of Victoria’s Khmer
speakers resided in Greater Dandenong (5132 speakers), followed by Casey (1,333 speakers) and
Kingston (1021 speakers). Over two-thirds of the population was born in Cambodia, however as figure
A1:29 shows the Australian-born population has been steadily increasing in recent years, beyond 20%
in 2006.
Figure A1.30 LOTE use by birthplace: Khmer, 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
There is a slight bias towards women in the Khmer-speaking community with 52.7% of speakers being
female in 2006 (2001 51.6%; 1996, 50.9%). The Khmer-speaking community is a young community
with 76.8% under 45 in 2006. After the initial influx of refugees from the Killing Fields, migration from
Cambodia has remained relatively constant, with around 12-15% of the population arriving in each of
the five year periods between 1986 and 2006. As a result a wide range of ages are represented in the
community, although the community has not lived in Australia long enough to build a significant aged
population (fewer than 4% of speakers over 65). Ongoing migration is evident in the fact that while 41%
of the population is under 25, only 21% are Australian born.
Figure A1.31 Age distribution: Khmer, 2006 population.
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Source: ABS 2006
The Khmer-speaking community had a very low skill level. This is reflected in the high proportion of
speakers who had never received any schooling: 18.6% in 2006, and 24% in 2001. Only 13% had
post-school qualifications in 2001, however by 2006 this had jumped to 18.1%, suggesting that the
community is starting to overcome the educational disadvantage that has plagued it in the past.
Encouragingly too, the proportion reporting Year 12 as their highest qualification also rose in this period
from 19.6% to 26.1%, while those leaving school between Year 9 and Year 12 fell from 30.6% to 24.4%.
In both 2001 and 2006, Khmer speakers recorded some of the lowest labour force participation rates
of all groups investigated: 45.7% and 51.9% respectively. The impact of the low skill level discussed
in the paragraph above can be seen in the occupational groups of those who have managed to find
work: 31.7% are labourers and 20.5% work as machinists (the state averages are 9.9% and 6.6%
respectively). Unsurprisingly, Khmer speakers lead all groups investigated in the proportion of their
workers employed in these sectors, and also have the lowest rates of employment in the professional
(7.3%) and clerical sectors (6.9%).
In 2006, Khmer speakers recorded the lowest proportion of speakers claiming to speak English ‘well’
or ‘very well’ of all groups studied. Nevertheless, this group increased substantially between 1996
and 2001 (from 55.6% to 63.8%) before stabilizing at 63.3% in 2006. The number of Khmer speakers
reporting that they spoke English ‘not well’ stood at 29.2% in 2006 (2001, 28.2%; 1996, 34.1%) and ‘not
at all’ at 7.5% (2001, 7.8%; 1996, 10.4%).
A1.16 Macedonian
The Macedonian community decreased slightly between 2001 and 2006: from 32,631 to 30,741.
In 2006, over a third of the community (34.8%) resided in Whittlesea (10,365 speakers), followed
by Brimbank (5,812 speakers), and Darebin (2,710 speakers). Macedonian has the second largest
proportion of Australian-born speakers (following Greek, see Figure A1.17). Kipp et al. (1995: 59) remark
that it is likely that there is under-reporting regarding the use of Macdonian as a home language “in
favour of languages explicitly named on the census form, particularly Greek”.
Figure A1.32 LOTE use by birthplace: Macedonian, 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
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The Macedonian speech community is balanced with regard to gender, with 50.0% of speakers in 2006
being female (2001, 49.6%; 1996, 49.5%). The Macedonian community is predominantly working age:
54.8% of speakers are under 45 and just over 60% are between 25 and 64. Macedonian migration
since 1985 has been slight (13.0% of the population arrived in this period), however almost a quarter
of speakers are under 25. Together with the high percentage of speakers born in Australia (39%)
this attests to the success of the community in passing on its language to second and subsequent
generation.
Figure A1.33 Age distribution: Macedonian, 2006 population
Source: ABS 2006
The Macedonian community shows a wide range of educational attainment: in 2001 between 20 and
25% of the population had attained each of the education levels of tertiary education, Year 12, Years
9-11 and Year 8 or below. By 2006 there was a slight increase in the proportion with post-school
qualifications (27.2%) and Year 12 (25.7%), ,with a concomitant fall in those leaving school between
Years 9 and 12 (20.6%) or before Year 9 (21.6%). Around 5% of speakers never attended school.
The Macedonian community saw only limited growth in labour force participation between 2001 and
2006, rising from 62.3% to 64.1%. The blue collar areas of labouring (20.5%) and machining (15.8%)
were the primary occupations within the community, although the clerical, trades and professional
sectors were also well represented (14.1%, 12.6% and 10.5% respectively).
The reported English proficiency of Macedonian speakers has remained relatively stable over the years.
In 2006, 80.9% of Macdonian speakers claimed to speak English ‘well’ or ‘very well’, 16.8%’not well’,
and 2.3% ‘not at all’ (2001, 80.1%, 17.8%, 2.6%; 1996, 78.9%, 17.8%, 3.3%).
A1.17 Maltese
In 2006, the Maltese-speaking community in Victoria numbered 18,921 speakers (21,488 in 2001, 23,605
in 1996). Within the Melbourne metropolitan area Brimbank had the largest concentration of speakers
(6,745 speakers, i.e. 35.6% of the total community), followed by Hobsons Bay (1,528 speakers), and
Hume (1,269 speakers). A sizeable community could also be found in the Shire of Melton (1,820,
increased from 836 in 1996).
Figure A1.34 LOTE use by birthplace: Maltese, 2006, 2001 and 1996
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Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Maltese-speaking community was balanced with regard to gender in 1996 (50.1% female speakers)
and has seen only a marginal increase in female speakers in the intervening censuses (2006, 51.5%;
2001 50.6%). The community is rapidly aging, with 71.9% aged over 45. For many post-war migrant
groups, such as Dutch speakers, over 65s already constitute the largest age bracket of speakers.
Maltese has not yet reached this point but the proportion in the older group is expected to increase
rapidly –13% of the population was in the age bracket 55-59 in 2006. Some years ago the community
obviously had success passing on the language to a number of children, since 25% of Maltese speakers
are Australian born. However, it seems Maltese is no longer routinely taught to children, with only 8.6%
of its speakers aged under 25.
Figure A1.35 Age distribution: Maltese, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
With 20.5% of speakers in 2006 holding post school and only a further 12.8% having completed Year
12, the Maltese community has arguably the lowest educational attainment of any group studied (19.6%
and 11.9% respectively in 2001). That said, the number who left school between Year 9 and Year 12 is
comparatively high (26.9%), which when taken with the relatively high age of the community suggests
many speakers left school after several years of secondary education to take up apprenticeships and
trades. This still leaves nearly 40% of speakers in 2006 with either no schooling (6.5%) or Year 8 or
below (33.2%)
Perhaps reflecting their low skill level, labour force participation rates in the Maltese community
were relatively low, standing at 55.0% in 2001 and 56.8% in 2006. Maltese speakers also tend to
cluster in blue collar (and often low-skilled) occupations: in 2006, 19.6% worked as labourers, 14.3%
as machinists and 17.5% in trades. Fewer than 10% described themselves as managers (7.3%) or
professionals (8.4%).
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The number of Maltese speakers claiming to speak English ‘very well’, or ‘well’ remained steady
between 1996 and 2006, at 90.3%. There was a slight decrease in those who had no knowledge of
English (from 0.9% in 1996 to an even lower 0.5% in 2006) and a corresponding rise in those who
speak it ‘not well’ (8.9% to 9.3%).
A1.18 Persian (Farsi)
As was the case with Bosnian, Persian no longer ranks in the top 30 languages spoken in Victoria, so
detailed commissioned figures from the 2006 census are not available. Where possible, updates will be
included from the ABS website.
In 2006, 9,389 Victorians indicated that they spoke Persian (Farsi) as a home language (2001, 5889;
1996, 4,620). The main settlement areas were: Greater Dandenong (2006, 247; 2001, 989 speakers),
Casey (2006, 313; 2001, 774 speakers), and Manningham (2006, 845; 2001, 613 speakers). Whitehorse
became important in 2006 with 457 speakers.
The majority of Persian speakers in Victoria were born in Afghanistan or Iran; in 1996, Iran, with
41%, was the dominant birthplace. This changed in 2001, with Iran coming second (37.4%) following
Afghanistan (41.3% in 2001, from 30.3% in 1996). In 1996 over 10% of Persian speakers were born in
Iraq (577 speakers), this dropped to 0.6% (36 speakers) in 2001.
Figure A1.36 LOTE use by birthplace: Persian (Farsi), 1996 and 2001
Source: ABS 1996, ABS 2001
In 2001, 46.8% of Persian speakers were female (1996, 48.0%). The Persian-speaking community is
a young community with over 60% younger than 35 years of age (2001, 0-14: 23.1%, 15-24: 21.0%,
25-34: 16.6%; 1996, 0-14: 28.3%, 15-24: 18.0%; 25-34: 19.0%). In 2001, 3.9% of Persian speakers were
aged 65 or older (1996, 3.0%), 19.2% were in the age bracket 35 to 44 (1996, 17.1%), and 16.1% in the
age bracket 45 to 64 (1996, 14.8%).
The Persian-speaking community is well-skilled with 42.2% holding post-school qualifications in 2001
(1996, 45.9%), and about a third (34.3%) having completed the equivalent of standard 12 (1996, 29.2%).
While the percentage of early school-leavers is relatively low (2001, 8.9%, 1996, 11.2%), there has been
an increase in the percentage of those without schooling between 1996 and 2001: from 5.3% to 7.6%.
Unemployment among Persian speakers remained high in 2001: 24.4% (1996, 39.0%). There was
an increase of those in all occupational categories between 1996 and 2001: associate professional,
professional and managerial, from 22.6% to 26.0%; clerical, from 15.3% to 18.8%; trade and transport,
from 17.1% to 20.2%; manual labour, from 6.0% to 10.5%.
In 2001, 44.7% of Persian speakers indicated that they spoke English ‘very well’ and 33.2% that they
spoke it ‘well’ (1996, 38.1% and 36.5% respectively). 17.8% claimed to speak it ‘not well’ and another
4.3% to speak it ‘not at all’ (1996, 19.1% and 6.3% respectively).
A1.19 Polish
Polish was used as a home language by 17,785 Victorian residents in 2006 (2001, 19,732; 1996, 20,869).
The LGAs with the highest number of speakers were (2006): Brimbank (2,000 speakers), Casey (1,557
speakers) Greater Dandenong (1,182 speakers) and Glen Eira (1,122 speakers).
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Figure A1.37 LOTE use by birthplace: Polish, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Polish-speaking community shows an increasing female bias (1996, 53.8% female speakers;
2001, 54.8% female speakers, 2006 55.9% female speakers), and is an older community, with 61.7%
of speakers aged over 45 in 2006. Like the Maltese group discussed above, the 45-64 age group is
currently markedly larger than the over 65s (35.6% of the population as against 26%), however with
11% of the population in the 55-59 age group in 2006 and a further 11% aged 50-55% demand for
aged-care services for this group is likely to rise dramatically in the next 10 years. As Kipp et al (1995)
note, Polish migration to Australia has occurred in a number of distinct vintages, creating a community
with a broader age spread and much higher proportion of post 1986 migrants (25.2%, mainly in the
years 1986-1991) than those from other European source countries.
Figure A1.38 Age distribution: Polish, 2006 population.
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Source: ABS 2006
The education level of Polish speakers remained relatively stable between 2001 and 2006, reflecting the
low proportion of speakers aged under 25. There was a slight increase in the proportion holding tertiary
qualifications (up 4.5 percentage points to 49.8%) and Year 12 (up 1.5 percentage points to 23.1%)
while those leaving between Year 9 and Year 12 fell from 17.7% to 14.3%. Only 1.5% reported having
had no schooling.
In 2006, the labour force participation rate in the Polish community was in line with state averages,
standing at 68.7% (up from 64.2% in 2001). Polish speakers are most frequently employed as
professionals (22.6%) or in trades (17.1%), with management, labouring, machining and the community
sector each employing between 8 and 10% of the population.
In 2006, 86.6% of Polish speakers claimed to speak English either ‘very well’ or ‘well’ (85.9% 2001;
83.4% 1996).11.8% indicated that they spoke it ‘not well’ and 1.4% reporting that they spoke no English
(1996, 14.5% and 2.1%; 2001, 12.6% and 1.5% respectively).
A1.20 Russian
Russian is one of the few European languages (alongside Albanian, Croatian and Serbian) which
showed an increase in speakers between 1996 and 2006: from 12,331 to 14,338. This increase in
overall numbers was mirrored by an increase of speakers in two of the main settlement areas: Glen
Eira (4,792 speakers or 33.5% of the overall community, up from 4,141 speakers in 1996), and Monash
(966 speakers, up from 541 speakers in 1996). However, the second largest settlement area, Port Phillip,
showed a sizeable decrease of Russian speakers: from 2,840 to 1,454 speakers.
A large percentage of Russian speakers listed ‘other’ as their birthplace in 2001 - a consequence of the
deletion of ‘Former USSR’ from the census form’s list of birthplaces. The majority of Russian speakers
in Victoria were born either in the Ukraine or in the Russian Federation; the percentage of Australianborn speakers is relatively low.
Figure A1.39 LOTE use by birthplace: Russian, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Russian-speaking community shows an increasing female bias: 53.6% female speakers in 1996,
rising to 54.5% in 2001 and 55.0% in 2006. The community has one of the more uniform age spreads
in the sample, with 50.9% of speakers under 45, and no age group includes more than 28% of the
population. Russian speakers migrated to Australia in several distinct waves, with White Russians, many
from China, migrating to Australia in the first half of the twentieth century. Following the Second World
War there was an influx of Russian-speaking Jews. After the break-up of the Soviet Union a third, and
larger group of Russian speakers arrived: 20.1% of speakers arrived prior to 1986, while 62.9% have
migrated since then, with numbers peaking in the years following the fall of the Iron Curtain (27.8%
arrived between 1991 and 1996). This also means that many of the 23.7% of speakers aged under 25
are first generation migrants, rather than members of the second generation maintaining their parent’s
language. In 2006, 21.9% of the Russian-speaking population were over 65.
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Religious and cultural practices distinguish the earlier Russian Orthodox immigrants, from the Jewish
immigrants of the second wave, and the post-Marxist, often atheist third wave.
Figure A1.40 Age distribution: Russian, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
Victoria’s Russian speaking community saw a noticeable increase in skills between 2001 and 2006. In
2001, 60.6% held tertiary qualifications, 18.5% Year 12, 14% had left school between Year9 and Year 12
and 4.9% had only attended school to Year 8 or below. By 2006 these figures stood at 65.9%, 18.1%,
10.4% and 3.7%, while the proportion with no schooling remained stable at 1.9%.
Between 2001 and 2006 there was a marked increase in the Russian labour force participation rate,
rising 9.5 percentage points from 60.3% to 69.8%. The high skill levels of many Russian speakers is
reflected in their high rates of employment as professionals (33.5%), although interesting only 9.1%
have gained managerial roles. Trades are also a major employer of Russian speakers (16%), while the
percentages of labourers (5.1%) and machinists (8.4%) are close to state averages (6.6% and 10.2%
respectively).
Reported high level English proficiency in the Russian community increased substantially between
1996 and 2006. In 1996 69.4% indicated that they spoke English ‘very well’,or ‘well’, . 23..2% claimed to
speak it ‘not well’ and 7.5% to speak it ‘not at all’); by 2006 these figures had risen to 77.3%, 17.6% and
5.1% respectively.
A1.21 Serbian
The Serbian-speaking community increased marginally between 2001 and 2006: from 16,038 to 16,829.
The three main settlement concentrations in 2006 were: Greater Dandenong (2,846 speakers), Casey
(2,135 speakers) and Brimbank (1,945 speakers).
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Figure A1.41 LOTE use by birthplace: Serbian, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Serbian community was relatively balanced with regard to gender (1996, 49.0% female speakers;
2001, 49.8% female speakers; 2006, 50.3% female speakers) and is a young community with 57.9%
aged under 45. These younger speakers are in part second (and later) generation speakers (26.9%
of speakers are Australian-born) but their numbers are buoyed by the 44.4% of speakers who have
migrated since 1986, and particularly in the years 1991-2001 (31%) following the violent disintegration
of the former Yugoslavia. The community is thus in some ways unique for its even age distribution
across the 15-59 age group (roughly 7% of the population in each 5 year group), suggesting a market
for Serbian language services may exist in Victoria for quite some years.
Figure A1.42 Age distribution: Serbian, 2006 population
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Source: ABS 2006
Between 2001 and 2006 the Serbian community saw a sharp increase in the number of students
holding Year 12 as their highest qualification (up 5 percentage points to 27.5%). This probably reflects
the large proportion of speakers aged under 25, and suggests that the current rate of tertiary education
(39.9%) may be set to rise sharply in the next decade, as this crop of students complete university and
TAFE courses. The proportion with minimal education has also started to decline: in 2001 18.6% had no
schooling beyond Year 8 (if any) while in 2006 this figure was reduced to 15.5%.
Labour force participation rates among Serbian speakers rose sharply between 2001 and 2006; from
53% to 60.6%. While numbers in employment rose, many remained in low-skill occupations: in
2006 17.9% were labourers and 15.4% machinists. However skilled occupations were not entirely
un-represented: 12.9% work as professionals, 11.3% in clerical roles and 7% as managers, and the
largest employer within the community is the trade sector, with 18.7%.
In 2006, 79.0%of Serbian speakers stated that they spoke English ‘very well’ or ‘well’ (2001, 77.4%;
1996, 76.4%). The percentage of those reporting to speak English not at all remained roughly the same
between 2006 and 1996 (4.3% and 4.8% respectively), while the percentage of those speaking English
‘not well’ declined slightly (2006, 16.7%, 1996, 18.8%).
A1.22 Sinhalese
The Sinhalese-speaking community increased by about 45% between 2001 and 2006: from 11,642
to16,890. The three largest communities resided in the following LGAs: Casey (3,247 speakers), Monash
(1,465 speakers) and Greater Dandenong (1,739 speakers). The Sinhalese-speaking community is highly
homogeneous in terms of origin: over 80% of speakers were born in Sri Lanka (Figure A1.43).
Figure A1.43 LOTE use by birthplace: Sinhalese, 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
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The Sinhalese-speaking community is relatively balanced with regard to gender but shows a slight
male bias (2006, 48.1% female speakers; 2001, 47.5%; 1996, 47.8%). The overwhelming majority of
Sinhalese speakers are recent migrants to Australia: only 5.6% arrived before 1986, and 32.2% arrived
since 2001 The age profile of this community reflects this intense and recent migration flow through
the skilled stream, with 40.7% of the population in the 25-45 age bracket and 74.9% in total under 45.
The community has not lived in Australia long enough to have a significant aged population (3.5% aged
over 65), nor can one be expected to develop in the near future as only 12.5% of the population was in
the 50-65 age bracket in 2006, and 21.0% of speakers are under 15. Australian-born speakers currently
make up 14.1% of the population,
Figure A1.44 Age distribution: Sinhalese, 2006 population
Source: ABS 2006
Sinhalese speakers in Victoria are highly skilled with 65.6% holding post-school qualifications in 2006
(2001, 59.6%). Fewer than 1 percent had no schooling beyond Year 8 and 24.3% held Year 12 as their
highest qualification.
In 2006, labour force participation among Sinhalese speakers stood at 70.3% (65.9% in 2001). Despite the
group’s high skill level, they are represented at or below average rates in white collar employment: 22.5%
work as professionals, 13.6% in clerical roles and only 6.4% as managers. Around 15% work as either
labourers (8.3%) or machinists (7.8%) suggesing that the skills of this group may be being under-utilised.
The Sinhalese community saw the biggest increase of any group in the proportion of people claiming
to speak English ‘very well’ or ‘well’ between 1996 and 2006. Starting at 76.4% this figure grew to
91.3% in 2001 and, less dramatically, to 93.8% in 2006. Similarly the numbers claiming to speak English
‘not well’ and ‘not at all’ declined: the former from 2.9% to 0.9% and the latter from 20.7% to 5.3%.
A1.23 Spanish
The number of Spanish speakers increased slightly between 1996 and 2006, from 22,873 to 24,470. The
main residential areas of the Spanish-speaking community were (2006): Brimbank (3,100 speakers),
Casey (2,976 speakers).Greater Dandenong (1,938 speakers). Figure A1.45 shows that Victoria’s
Spanish-speaking community is largely of South and Central American origin, with fewer than 8% of
speakers born in Spain.
Figure A1.45 LOTE use by birthplace: Spanish, 2006, 2001 and 1996
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159
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
There was a slight female bias in the Spanish-speaking community in 1996, 2001 and 2006 (51.0%
51.2% and 51.9% female speakers respectively). A relatively young community, it boasts 61.3% of
speakers under 45, including 27.0% under 25. While a core group have lived in Australia for many
years (38.4% arrived pre 1986), conflict in Central America in the mid 1980s saw an influx of Spanishspeaking refugees, with 16.4% of the population arriving between 1986 and 1991. Migration has
continued at the rate of several hundred speakers per year, bolstering the ranks of younger Spanish
speakers. At the same time the language has also been transmitted to a strong contingent of second
generation speakers, with 24% of speakers Australian born.
Figure A1.46 Age distribution: Spanish, 2006 population
Source: ABS 2006
The percentage of Spanish speakers with post-school qualifications rose 4.8 percentage points between
2001 and 2006 to 47.2%. The proportion with Year 12 as their highest qualification also rose slightly and
to 27.5%. Fewer than 10% of Spanish speakers have had either no schooling (1.3%) or left before Year
8 (7.6%) in 2006.
The labour force participation rate among Spanish speakers was 66.9% in 2006 (61.7% in 2001).
Compared to state averages, a disproportionately high number of Spanish speakers work as labourers
(18.9%), machinists (8.8%) and tradesmen (16.4%) while the white collar areas of management
(7.1%) and professionals (17.4%) are under-represented. (The Spanish-speaking community was
well represented in both blue-collar and white-collar professions: in 2001, 24.1% worked in associate
professional, professional and managerial positions (1996, 18.9%), 25.1% in the clerical sector (1996,
20.5%), 23.8% in trade and transport (1996, 26.9%), and 16.0% as manual labourers (1996, 16.5%). The
unemployment rate was 11.0% (1996, 17.2%)).
In 2006 85.7% of Spanish speakers stated that they spoke English ‘very well’ or‘well’ (2001, 80.9%)
while 16.4% of speakers chose the option ‘not well’ (1996, 18.1%), and 2.7% the option ‘not at all’.
A1.24 Tagalog (Filipino)
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160
Filipino is the national language of the Philippines. It was a planned language, created from a number of
Philippine languages, but with a large component drawn from Tagalog.
In 2006, 21,943 Victorians indicated that they used Tagalog (Filipino) as a home language (2001, 18,011;
1996, 16,018). The LGAs with the largest number of Tagalog speakers were Brimbank (2006, 2120; 2001,
3,632 speakers), Casey (2006, 849; 2001, 1,200 speakers), and Hume (2006, 733; 2001,1,106 speakers).
Wyndham (1025 speakers) and Melton (760) also had significant Tagalog speaker numbers in 2006. Like
the Sinhalese-speaking community in Victoria, the Tagalog-speaking community is highly homogeneous
in terms of origin, with almost 90% of speakers born in the Philippines.
Figure A1.47 LOTE use by birthplace: Tagalog (Filipino), 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Tagalog-speaking community shows a strong but stable female bias, with 59.4% female speakers
in 2006 (2001 59.7%;1996, 59.4%). As with Japanese speakers, this bias can be accounted for by
high rates of Fillipino-speaking women marrying non-Filipino men, which, as a trend of the last 30
years, also explains the high numbers of speakers in the 25-44 and 45-64 age brackets (38.7% and
31% respectively). The population overwhelmingly consists of post 1986 arrivals (73.1%), with 22.7%
arriving since 2001. The number of Australian-born speakers is low (12%) which is likely to reflect
low levels of language maintenance in families with exogamous marriage (Pauwels 1985), as well as
a general tendency towards shift to English evident in the Philippines itself. However Tagalog is not
disappearing completely from the younger generation – on the contrary there remains a core of (mostly
overseas-born) children and young people who continue to speak the language and make up over 25%
of the total population.
Figure A1.48 Age distribution:Tagalog, 2006 population
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Source: ABS 2006
Tagalog speakers are highly skilled and fewer than 5 percent (4.1% in 2006; 5.3% in 2001) fall into the
category of early school-leavers (i.e. education to less than Year 9 level).In 2001, 61.5% had post-school
qualifications and 22.3% had completed Year 12 or its equivalent (2001, 58.4% and 20.6% respectively).
Notwithstanding the high skill level within the Tagalog community almost a third worked as either
labourers (21%) or machinists (11.3%). The proportion of managers is much lower than any other
group studied at only 3.9%, though the other white collar areas of clerical work and professionals are
well represented at 17.1% and 18% respectively. The labour force participation rate stood at 74.2% in
2006, increasing slightly from 69.8% in 2001.
Given the prominence of English in the Philippines, it is perhaps unsurprising that reported English
proficiency among Tagalog speakers is very high. Over 95% report speaking it ‘very well’ or ‘well’ (1996
95.2%; 2001 96.2%; 2006 96.5%) while those selecting ‘not well’ and not at all declined from 4.2% to
3.3% and 0.6% to 0.3% respectively between 1996 and 2006.
A1.25 Tamil
Tamil was spoken as a home language by Victorians 11,054 in 2006 (7,982 in 2001). The highest
concentration of speakers was found in Monash (1,881 speakers, i.e. 17% of the community resided
in this LGA), followed by Greater Dandenong (1,296 speakers), and Casey (990). The majority of Tamil
speakers were born in Sri Lanka and India; smaller groups have migrated from Malaysia and Singapore.
The Australian-born component of the community is still small (around 10%).
Figure A1.49 LOTE use by birthplace: Tamil, 2006, 2001 and 1996
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
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162
Tamil is one of the few languages which show a decrease in the proportion of female speakers between
the three censuses. While the genders were equally balanced in 1996 (50.0% female) this decreased to
49.5% female in 2001 and 48.4% in 2006. The age and migration profile of the community is strikingly
similar to that of their compatriots, the Sinhalese community, with 31.2% arriving since 2001 and only
6.8% being resident prior to 1986. While the clear majority of the population is under 45 (69.6%), it
is in the 25-44 age group where the population most clearly clusters (38.1%), with a small flow-on to
the 45-64 bracket (24.4%). Interestingly, the growth in the youngest age group which is evident in the
Sinhalese community does not occur to the same extent in the Tamil community, with only 17.2% of
speakers aged under 15.
Figure A1.50 Age distribution: Tamil, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
As with other communities from Sri Lanka and India, Tamil speakers are highly educated, with two
thirds of the community holding post school qualifications in 2006 (up from 57.8% in 2001). Additionally
22.2% report Year 12 as their highest qualification (25.7% in 2001) while only 1.5% percent have fewer
than 9 years of schooling (1.9% in 2001).
Labour force participation among Tamil speakers was very close to the state average in 2006, at
68.2% (63.5% in 2001). Tamil speakers are overwhelmingly employed as professionals (33%) or
clerical workers (17.1%) but are not employed as managers in large numbers (8.4%). Only 9% work as
labourers and 7.6% as machinists.
Somewhat unusually, the proportion of Tamil speaker in each English proficiency category remained
unchanged between 2001 and 2006 (93.3% ‘very well’ or ‘well’, 5.5% ‘not well’ and 1.2% ‘not at all’).
This came after a slight increase in proficiency from 1996, when the figures stood at 90.9%,, 7.2% and
1.9% respectively.
A1.26 Turkish
In 2006, there were 29,707 Turkish speakers in Victoria (1996: 28,441). The main settlement area
(encompassing 39.5% of the community) was Hume (11,732 speakers), followed by Brimbank (2,949
speakers) and Moreland (2,771 speakers). The majority of Turkish speakers in Victoria are either Turkishor Australian-born; smaller groups originate from Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria.
Figure A1.51 LOTE use by birthplace: Turkish, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
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163
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The Turkish-speaking community showed a balanced gender ratio across all three censuses (1996,
49.1% female speakers; 2001, 49.4% female speakers; 2006, 50.0% female speakers). The youth of the
Turkish community is striking: not only are 74.4% of speakers under 45, but the 0-14 age group (22.4%)
represents the second largest bracket of Turkish speakers, following the age group 25-44 (34.9%).
Together with Arabic, Vietnamese and Japanese it is one of the few language groups where the 0-14
age bracket is so large, and this bodes well for ongoing Turkish vitality in Victoria. This figure is all the
more impressive when one realises Turkish migration to Victoria had all but ceased years ago: only
21.3% of speakers migrated after 1985 and 42.5% are Australian born – one the highest proportion of
any language group investigated. These figures attest to the success of language maintenance in the
Turkish community.
The Turkish population is also ageing. Although only 5% of the population was over 65 in 2006, another
20% are in the 45-64 age bracket.
Figure A1.52 Age distribution: Turkish, 2006 population.
Source: ABS 2006
The Turkish community has traditionally had quite a low educational level: In 2001 only 19.8% held
post-school qualification, and 21.8% had completed Year 12 while 30.4% had had fewer than 9 years
of formal education. Given the youth of this community, one would expect the educational profile
to improve in coming years as students complete their education, and indeed in 2006 we see the
proportion having completed Year 12 increase to 27.3%, while the proportion leaving between Years 9
and 12 has dropped to 24.7%. The number holding tertiary qualifications in 2006 was still only 22.9%,
which might suggest that Turkish speakers are still locked out of higher education, or simply that many
have not finished their courses yet.
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164
After Arabic speakers, Turkish speakers have the second lowest labour force participation rate of all the
languages studied: 45.0% in 2006 and only 41.6% in 2001. The community has almost equal numbers
of workers employed as labourers (15.5%) and machinists (15.7%), but also similar percentages in the
more skilled areas of trades (16.2%) and professionals (12.5%)
There was a notable increase in Turkish speakers’ reported English proficiency between 2001 and 2006.
In 2006, 77.7% of Turkish speakers stated to they spoke English ‘very well’, or ‘well’ (2001 75.5%; 1996
71.7%,). 19% selected the category ‘not well’ (2001, 20.1%; 1996 21.9%), and 3.4% the category ‘not at
all’ (2001 4.4%; 1996, 6.5%).
A1.27 Vietnamese
There were 72,037 Vietnamese speakers in Victoria in 2006 (2001: 63,821). The two main settlement
areas were Brimbank (21,112 speakers) and Greater Dandenong (13,026 speakers), followed by
Maribyrnong (7,467 speakers). Although the majority of Vietnamese speakers are still foreign-born, the
Australian-born part of the community has increased steadily since 1991 (cf. Kipp et al. 1995: 72 for a
summary of the 1991 data).
Figure A1.53 LOTE use by birthplace: Vietnamese, 2006, 2001 and 1996.
Source: ABS 2006, ABS 2001, ABS 1996
The gender ratio of the Vietnamese-speaking community has been gradually moving to favour female
speakers, who made up 51.8% of the population in 2006 (1996, 50.2%; 2001, 50.8%). The population is
young: 75.0% of speakers were under 45 in 2006, including 24.3% in the 0-14 age bracket. Vietnamese
migration to Australia began with boat people arriving as a result of the Vietnam. While 22.0% of
the population had settled in Australia by 1986, Vietnamese migrants continued to enter Australia as
refugees and on family reunion visas for many years, with 30% of the population arriving between
1986-1996. As the high number of speakers under 15 perhaps implies, the Vietnamese population have
had strong success with language maintenance: around 29% of speakers are Australian born.
Figure A1.54 Age distribution: Vietnamese, 2006 population.
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165
Source: ABS 2006
As a group with a strong refugee past, it is perhaps unsurprising that a large number of Vietnamese
speakers have had interrupted schooling. Thus in 2006, 7.3% had not attended school, while 11.1%
had attended to Year 8 or below (10.4% and 12.2% respectively in 2001). The proportion of Vietnamese
speakers with post-school education remains low at 26.6% but there was a substantial increase from
the 2001 figure of 21.5%. Encouragingly too, the Vietnamese population currently has the highest
proportion of speakers holding Year 12 as their highest qualification of all groups studied (32.4% in
2006, 28.8% in 2001). As a community with a number of younger speakers, this suggests that the
proportion with tertiary qualifications may rise substantially in the near future as students complete
their courses.
In 2006 the labour force participation rate among Vietnamese speakers was a comparatively low
52.2% (47.1% in 2001). Labouring (19.1%) and machining (17.5%) were the main occupations in
the community, with a sizeable proportion of speakers also working as professionals (15.5%) and
tradesmen (12.7%).
The Vietnamese community had the lowest percentage of speakers selecting the categories ‘very well’
or ‘well’ to describe their ability to speak English in all years studied: 64.2% in 2006, 60.8% in 2001
and 54.5% in 1996. They also had the highest proportion of people reporting no English proficiency, at
12.3% in 1996, 9.9% in 2001 and 8% in 2006. The category ‘not well’ was selected by 27.8% speakers
in 2006, 29.3% in 2006 and 33.1% in 1996.
A1.28 Conclusion
The profiles presented above show that the 27 communities with more than 5,000 speakers (in 2001)
are diverse in patterns of growth, birthplace, age and gender distribution, educational qualifications,
rate and type of employment and self-assessed English proficiency.
page
166
appendix
two
Settlement patterns
for the Horn of Africa
Communities in Victoria
Appendix 2: Settlement patterns for
the Horn of Africa Communities in
Victoria
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Sudan
Shires
Alpine
Baw Baw
Cardinia
Colac-Ottway
East Gippsland
Hepburn
Macedon Ranges
Moorabool
Melton
Mornington Peninsula
Nillumbik
South Gippland
Yarra Ranges
12
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
3
6
0
0
0
42
0
3
0
0
3
3
3
0
15
6
0
3
6
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
24
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
3
0
3
0
3
Rural Councils
Ararat
Mildura
Wangaratta
0
0
0
0
6
3
0
3
0
0
0
0
3
0
3
0
City Councils
Ballarat
Banyule
Bayside
Boroondora
Brimbank
Casey
Darebin
Frankston
Glen Eira
Greater Bendigo
Greater Dandenong
Greater Geelong
Greater Shepparton
Hobsons Bay
Hume
Kingston
Knox
Latrobe
Manningham
Maribyrnong
Maroondah
Melbourne
Monash
Moonee Valley
Moreland
Port Phillip
Stonnington
Whitehorse
Whittlesea
Wyndham
Yarra
984
0
6
6
16
28
24
12
3
0
0
89 (9%)
3
0
15
44
37
6
0
3
74 (7%)
3
197 (19%)
3
286 (29%)
40
21
9
3
3
15
48
1920
3
15
15
22
140 (7%)
36
62
3
30
6
201 (10%)
3
3
80
9
64
19
3
3
428 (22%)
3
136
54
305 (16%)
26
22
15
12
12
94
93
2274
0
405 (18%)
16
6
39
0
287 (13%)
0
20
0
112
3
0
24
112
32
9
0
0
159
0
286 +58
24
471 +56
102
27
11
0
30
48
51
948
0
0
27
3
67
12
43
6
18
0
135(14%)
0
3
23
0
12
27
0
86 (9%)
119 (12%)
9
76
82
113 (12%)
21
12
9
23
12
6
4
Source: ABS 2001.
page
169
appendix
three
LOTEs studied at the VSL
Appendix 3: LOTEs studied at the VSL
Other 1,159
Croatian 348
Greek 356
Serbian 214
Indonesian 432
Spanish 444
Polish 311
Italian 454
German 517
Arabic 347
French 539
Japanese 656
Macedonian 348
Turkish 848
Vietnamese 1,024
Chinese 1,603
Number of students
Figure A3.1 Secondary enrolments at the VSL, all sectors for 2003 (From LOTE report
p. 78)
Figure A3.2 Primary VSL enrolments by language, 2003 (From LOTE report p. 90)
Primary VSL enrolments
Gov’t school
students
Non-gov’t
school
Total
students
Gov’t school
students
Non-gov’t
school
students
Total
Chinese
Vietnamese
Turkish
Greek
Arabic
Spanish
Macedonian
Sinhala
Croatian
Polish
Punjabi
Italian
Portuguese
Serbian
German
Khmer
Hindi
Tigrinya
854
539
727
537
293
132
221
141
70
42
86
31
29
49
34
33
28
10
275
551
66
176
137
132
24
95
131
71
22
45
42
7
9
6
9
27
14
29
25
23
18
19
14
14
5
10
10
12
6
8
4
3
0
4,070
19
3
6
5
8
1
5
4
8
2
1
0
6
0
1
0
1
1,896
33
32
31
28
26
20
19
18
13
12
12
12
12
8
5
3
1
5,966
1,129
Maltese
1,090
Persian
793
Japanese
713
Dari
430
French
264
Pushtu
245
Amharic
236
Albanian
201Hungarian
113
Bengali
108
Bosnian
76Gujarati
71Russian
56
Korean
43
Indonesian
39Tagalog/Filipino
37
Dutch
37Total
page
173