Maintenance of community languages in multicultural Australia

Abstract

Abstract It has been argued (See Quinn, 1981b, for example) that the maintenance of community languages is incompatible with the ideal of multicultural interaction. The present paper argues against this position and asserts that in order to participate in and contribute to the development of a cohesive multicultural society, it is not necessary for the members of the minority communities to break the diglossic situation and become monolingual speakers of English. Ethnic groups will not lose their ethnicity merely by giving up their native languages. Since complete assimilation is impossible, the goal of a multicultural society should be not to dissolve the differences but to resolve them by appreciating the value of each cultural group. Members of the minority communities are fully aware of the fact that they must learn English to be able to enjoy equal opportunities in the public domain and to develop meaningful social interaction with the majority community. However, multicultural interaction cannot be meaningful unless it operates on the basis of an equal footing for the parties involved. The acceptance of community languages as valid means of communication, legitimate media of cultural transmission, and a useful national resource will go a long way towards raising the self‐esteem as well as the public image of the ethnic communities, and, consequently, improving the quality of multicultural interaction. The paper also argues that the major responsibility for the maintenance of community languages lies with the minority communities themselves.