Although English is the language of Australia, society accepts that linguistic diversity is what really

defines the Australian identity. Do you agree.

In contemporary Australian society, the diversity of language varieties and features allows one to index
their Australian identity in the public domain. For instance, the multicultural nature of the Australian
public has led to the acceptance of cultural varieties such as Aboriginal English (AE) and ethnolects.
Furthermore, the egalitarian values of Australian society allows minority genders to use genderlects to
assert their identity. Moreover, the anti-authoritarian belief of Australian society is reflected using
profanity in the public domain. However, the acceptance of such language is dependent on the context.
Hence, the rich and varied nature of language assists one in demonstrating their identity in the public,
but context dictates how such language is used.

Given the increasing multiculturalism within Australian society, the use of cultural varieties such as AE
and ethnolect are accepted in the public domain. This can be seen in November 2022 in a parliamentary
resignation speech, where Senator Lidia Thorpe employed the declarative ‘To my mob, your struggle is
mine’, where the AE noun ‘mob’ denotes a group of Indigenous people. Thorpe’s choice to use home-talk
instead of flash-talk despite being in a formal setting such as parliament demonstrates her proud
Indigenous identity. Furthermore, as there is no negative reaction on the use of AE, it demonstrates that
the use of AE is accepted in the Australian public domain. However, this acceptance is not uniform as can
be seen by other cultural varieties such as ethnolects. For example, in April 2023, a Chinese restaurant in
Melbourne used the non-standard declarative ‘you no come for 4 hours’ which is non-standard syntax
for the standard declarative ‘Do not stay for 4 hours’. This elicited a mocking and laughing reaction from
members of the public. As this is a typical feature of Chinese English ethnolect, this highlights the
owner’s unfamiliarity of standard Australian English (SAE). The use of Chinglish ethnolect reinforces the
‘caricature of ethnic stereotype’ and is thus subjected to mockery. This highlights that SAE retains a
degree of overt prestige in the Australian public and is therefore necessary for restaurant owners to
establish credibility to establish their legitimacy as a restaurant. Thus, it is evident that multiculturalism
results in cultural varieties like AE and ethnolects are being accepted in the Australian public, but it is not
fully accepted and is mocked from time to time.

Our egalitarian identity allows minority gender groups such as LGBTI community to use genderlects to
index their gender identity. For instance, in February 2023, the LGBTI community used noun phrase
‘dykes on bikes’ during the Mardi Gras festival, which is used to denote a lesbian in a pejorative manner.
Despite its discriminatory past, the noun phrase is being reclaimed by the LGBTI community and is
employed as an intimacy marker within the community. As David Crystal opines ‘non-standard language
is achieving a new presence and respectability within society, thus such use of language has become a
mainstay in pride parades in the public domain. Although use of such language by the LGBTI community
as an intimacy marker, it is also criticised as being confusing and unclear. This is evident in an anti-
transgender protest in May 2023, where the use of politically correct noun phrase ‘people with a cervix’
was criticised by a nurse for being unclear. Despite the use of the PC noun phrase to build solidarity by
acknowledging the LGBTI community, the use of such language compromises the ability to communicate
plain and simple language in a clear and concise manner to all people regardless of their education level.
This by extension reduces the accessibility of patients to medical treatment by preventing effective
communication between healthcare worker and patients. Therefore, minority gender groups such as the
LGBTI community can use genderlects to express their identity, but in doing so, it may compromise the
ability to communicate in a plain and simple manner.
The anti-authoritarian identity of Australians is reflected by the use of profanity even by influential
political figure in the public domain. For example, in May 2023, Senator Jacquie Lambie employed the
dysphemistic adjective phrase ‘bloody gutful’ and noun phrase ‘stick it up your bum’ during a protest of
AFL stadium being built. The use of such profanity by Lambie allows her to reinforce her vehement
resistance towards the building of such stadium. This demonstrates her anti-authoritarian identity on the
building of such establishment which appeals to Australians who value such identity marker. As Kate
Holden opines ‘Swearing is important for social cohesion’. Therefore, the use of such intense profanity
enables Lambie to rally Australians to her opposition of such projects. However, profane language
employed within a formal setting could cause outrage. For instance, in April 2023, David Pocock in a
parliamentary debate employed the profanity ‘bullshit’ to express his frustration on Australia’s
complacency regarding climate change, thus expressing his anti-authoritarian identity. This resulted in
condemnation from his colleagues, with one calling it ‘unparliamentary’. Given the formal situational
context in parliament as well as Pocock’s occupational identity which has a social expectation to show
sophistication, the use of profanity was inappropriate which resulted in an outraged reaction. This
reduces the potency of his arguments on a global issue impacting Australians. Hence, swearing enables
Australian to demonstrate their anti-authoritarian identity, but using it in an inappropriate context can
result in a negative reaction.

Thus, it is evident that the diversity of language allows one to define themself as an Australian. The
multicultural and egalitarian beliefs of Australian society have resulted in the acceptance of cultural
varieties and genderlects within the public domain. Additionally, taboo profanities are used to express
one’s anti-authoritarian identity. However, context dictates the acceptance of language use in the
Australian public. Therefore, the linguistic variations enables a person to index their Australian identity.