Should an Asian language be our official language?

The more I travel the more I realise just how short sighted our educators have been in not having compulsory second language training for all students from early school years..

Apart from the benefits of better communication with trading partners etc it's a proven fact that people who have a second language can learn a third or fourth much easier...

We are no longer isolated from the rest of the world & progressive countries realise the enormous benefits of having shared languages ...we may not have common borders but the world has shrunk with faster communications & easier , cheaper travel.

The challenge would be as to which language would be most appropriate ...

Your comment about abandoning English is totally absurd ...Jay , the world is changing & so is our little world down here ....our choice is to get with the programme or be left behind as this little backward hole in the ground clinging on to this dumb hope that the world will pass us by & leave us alone ..It won't happen mate !

Australia already has an official language - English. It would only ever be necessary to introduce a second national language when a significant part of the population spoke another language as their first language. Canada would be a good example of this where there is a sizeable French speaking section of the country. We don't need to change our official language to trade with Asia. Australian schools already offer courses in Asian languages for those who need them. Forcing everyone else to learn a language they will never use is counter productive. As it stands, having only English as the national tongue means a level playing field for everyone who lives here.

Most of his statements are correct when looked at carefully.

We should begin teaching languages at an earlier age, kids learn them much faster. We have a 5 year old staying with us, and his 2nd language, English, is now, within 6 months, good enough for normal conversation.

Asian languages should be our preferred languages for the school education option. Locally we have German and French being taught. Yet we trade mainly with Asia. An Asian 2nd language could be a definite benefit for many children in their future.

Asian as the Australian official language though.... and to abandon English ? He never said that, did he ?

Why teach any Asian languages in Australian schools?

Soon the whole world will be speaking English - it will become the universal language. It has reached that, to some extent now, with it being a requirement to speak English in many non-English speaking countries' police forces; tourist industry; financial circles etc.

By "Asian" language, do you mean something like Indian, or more "Asiany" like Chinese or Japanese? I don't think that we should make an asian language our official language, of course I don't have anything against asian languages, I am asian, but Australia is Australia, not another country. We should keep to our own special culture, that stupid premier has dog crap in his head. He just wants to make everyone chinese so that we're powerful like them (although I think that we already are?) But I don't think that many Australians want to make an asian language be our language, so don't worry.

English is our official language, although sydney is now very multicultural. There are little enclaves where you find a larger proportion of people of european / anglo descent, but that is not the reality of the rest of the country. In my street there are only two households of 'white' people, and I'm one of them. The rest are from Lebanon, China, Malta, Samoa, India, Pakistan, places like that. We all get along OK, but it's easier, and more logical, to maintain English as our common language. We can't suddenly start to speak Australian indigenous languages at this stage. Many of our local shops, however, cater mainly to specific groups and have most of their signage in these languages. I think it would be helpful if more people were encouraged to learn English. It's OK for the children, they learn it at school, but we have many people around here who've lived in Australia most of their lives ( in one case from 9 months old), but who can't speak or read English very well, if at all. My neighbour (a Kuwaiti) recently tried to visit his daughter who had been taken to hospital in an emergency. He couldn't gain access to see her because he couldn't make himself understood. He's been here for about 50 years. His wife was not able to communicate either, and so they had to wait until one of their older children came home to find out what was going on with their daughter. That's the sort of everyday problem we face out here.

Having said all of that, I think it's important that wherever possible, all children should learn a second language, preferably from an early age. Either one of the European languages, or an Asian language is fine by me. As long as there is good quality education about other countries, their cultures, religions and so forth. And as long as all of our migrants, whatever their age are required to make serious attempts to learn English, and to learn about our laws, attitudes and values, and respect them.

Oh sure--I can just see a lot of law makers walking into the nursing homes etc and telling all our elder citizens that from now on they have to speak Chinese or Japanese to suit the minorities.

Wake up .

There is no official language in Australia.

There never has been.

Yeah, sure, that's exactly what he says, that we should abandon English and replace it with Mandarin. Exaggerate often?