At the time of European colonisation, there were over 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages spoken on the Australian continent and islands. In order to assess the current status of Indigenous Australian languages, AIATSIS carried out the third National Indigenous Languages Survey (NILS3) in 2018–2019.
NILS3 found that:
- All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are under threat.
- Of 141 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups surveyed, at least 123 languages are spoken today.
- Of these 123, 12 are traditional languages acquired by children as their first language.
- At least two new languages are being acquired by children (Kriol and Yumplatok).
- Communities are working to reawaken at least 31 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
NILS3 assessed the health and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in Australia. Of the languages still spoken, at least 14 are strong. The remaining 109 languages are endangered. Unless urgent action is taken now, within a few generations, the vast majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages will no longer be spoken.
Fourteen languages are considered strong because children acquire them as a first language. However, these languages are still at risk. Many children don’t have access to education in their first language. Many speakers of strong languages can’t access services in their first language. These factors put languages at risk of endangerment. As such, NILS3 found that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are under threat.
NILS3 also showed the commitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to their languages. Out of the many languages that have not had speakers for some time, more than 31 communities are working to reawaken their languages, to bring them back into use. These reawakening languages need support to thrive. Communities need opportunities to reconstruct, learn, teach, and use these languages.