Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mesaa el Kheir wa Ahlan wasahlan lil cul. That means, 'Good afternoon, and welcome to everyone' in my second language, which was actually my parents' first language. As one of the few bilingual members of parliament, it gives me great pleasure to stand here and speak on this motion put forward by the member for Parramatta. As we know, Thursday, 21 February is International Mother Language Day. It has been observed since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, and multilingualism.

Language is inextricably linked to identity and culture, but it also has implications for communication, social cohesion, integration, education and development, and, of course, for international relations. With globalisation, sadly, we've seen that linguistic diversity in this world is under threat. Every two weeks, a language disappears, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. Linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear. Globally, 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand and at least 43 per cent of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken in the world today are endangered—they're in danger of being completely wiped out.

Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and fewer than a hundred are used in the digital world—compare that to 6,000 languages spoken worldwide. So, when we have a world with over 6,000 languages spoken, many of them indigenous languages, that means an increasingly narrow and rapidly declining cultural and linguistic diversity. When languages disappear, so does culture, so does heritage, so does history, and so does identity, but also opportunities and rights. And it's not just about culture and heritage; the brain benefits of bilingualism, but also multilingualism, are well documented. tYoung adults proficient in two languages performed better on attention tests and had better concentration than those who spoke only one language.

The social benefits of language retention are also well-documented. We know, for example that, as people age, they tend to refer to their L1, or their first language, because they no longer need or have opportunities to use their second language. Bilingualism also offers benefits for social mobility, for inclusion and for opportunity. And this year's International Mother Language Day is framed by the International Year of Indigenous Languages, because indigenous languages matter: they matter for development, they matter for peace-building and they matter for reconciliation.

In Australia, of the estimated original 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, only around 120 are still spoken. And, of these, around 90 per cent are endangered and under threat. Historically, political persecution, a lack of preservation and globalisation are primarily to blame for the dwindling of language diversity. And, for much of the 20th century, governments across the world have imposed languages on indigenous people, often through coercion. A half a century after China annexed Tibet, for example, dozens of distinct dialects with unique alphabets are now on the verge of extinction.

Apart from forced suppression, languages disappear because of attrition and globalisation. When people who speak a rare language die, often that language dies with them. But this doesn't have to be the case. With political will and a dedicated effort, we can stop languages from dying. We can have cultural and linguistic retention, and ensure that Indigenous languages in Australia are passed on from generation to generation.

Linguistic and cultural retention should not be seen as a barrier to social integration as it once was. For example, when I was growing up, we were often told, 'Speak English.' As a result, I did not grow up bilingual. In fact, I learned my mother tongue after I was 18 and moved back to Egypt. But, by being exposed to it through my growing years from my parents, it wasn't as hard to learn as it would have been had I not been exposed to it.

So, today, I commend this motion. I wish everyone a happy International Mother Language Day on Thursday, and I remind us all that we all have a responsibility to retain our cultural and linguistic diversity, and to promote Indigenous languages.

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