Australia is usually thought of a monolingual, English-speaking country. However, you will be surprised to know that the number of languages spoken nowadays in Australia by immigrant minorities and Indigenous Australian communities amounts to around 200. Our main cities, and their multicultural suburbs, reflect the richness of this multilingual society. The number of towns and places named after Indigenous language groups does not give justice to the wealth of Australian Indigenous languages that were spoken in the country before European settlement, many of whom are now extinct or endangered. This course gives an overview of multilingual Australia and the variety of languages spoken, referring to both minority languages and Indigenous languages. It will be of interest for anyone who is curious about languages and the role they play in our society.

This class will be delivered online via the online platform Zoom. Enrolling students need to ensure they have an email, a reliable internet connection, microphone/speakers and access to a tablet, smartphone or computer.