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It is the country's common language and de facto national language; while Australia has no official language, English is the first language of the majority of the population, and has been entrenched as the de facto national language since British settlement, being the only language spoken in the home for 72% of Australians. [5]
English is the majority language of Australia today. Although English has no official legal status, it is the de facto official and national language. [2] [3] Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, [4] and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. [5]
As of 2024, there are 57 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities where English is an official language. Many administrative divisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level. Most states where English is an official language are former territories of the British Empire.
Australian English is a major variety of the English language spoken throughout Australia.Most of the vocabulary of Australian English is shared with British English, though there are notable differences. [1]
In Kachru's three-circles model, the "outer circle" countries are countries such as the Philippines, [84] Jamaica, [85] India, Pakistan, Singapore, [86] Malaysia and Nigeria [87] [88] with a much smaller proportion of native speakers of English but much use of English as a second language for education, government, or domestic business, and its ...
The next most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin (1.7%), Italian (1.5%), and Arabic (1.4%); almost all migrants speak some English. [47] Australia has multiple sign languages, the most spoken known as Auslan, which in 2004 was the main language of about 6,500 deaf people, [48] and Australian Irish Sign Language with about 100 speakers.
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Braj Kachru divides the use of English into three concentric circles. [8]The inner circle is the traditional base of English and includes countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland and the anglophone populations of the former British colonies of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and various islands of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.