Castellano Rioplatense in Australia

Abstract

In an era marked by globalisation and migration, heritage languages and their use in particular societies is gaining interest. Yet, research into one of the world’s largest heritage languages, Spanish, has primarily focussed on the United States of America. This article examines an under-researched topic of the Spanish-speaking community in Australia. This heterogenous community is far more recent and has received far less scholarly recognition than that of its closely researched North American counterpart. Moreover, considering the complexity of language usage, heritage language research has concentrated on standardised use rather than on regional dialects. This directly influences the strategic significance of regional dialects as Latin American Australians are framed as a homogenous community to the broader Anglophone public. This article adds to the current body of research from a unique Australian perspective. Survey and interview data from 100 members of the Argentinian community explores their reasons and use of Castellano Rioplatense. It argues that Castellano Rioplatense is perceived to accrue status and is a means where Argentineans maintain a distinct linguistic and cultural differentiation within the broader Latin American community.