In “A multilingual people and a monolingual state”, Craig A. Smith’s introduction to his recently published book Sinophone Australia, the historian, translator and editor says:
“As a multilingual settler colony, Australia has always been a site of multiple languages spoken by Indigenous and immigrant communities. Claims that it is or was a monolingual country should be dismissed and refuted – alongside the White Australia Policy – as a concept that obfuscates and simplifies, as well as one that marginalises and oppresses a substantial part of the country’s population.”
Smith argues that, although Australia is a multilingual society, it is “an Anglo-centric country” and English remains “the undisputed language of government, education, business, and publish discourse”. This contrast “has led to numerous difficulties in writing the history of Australia and its peoples”.
Most unfortunately: “Those who write their stories in another language are inevitably marginalised by mainstream histories due to the continued hegemony of the English language.”
Such marginalisation may not intentional. However, as Lady Sarah Ashley vehemently insists in the renowned 2008 Baz Luhrmann film Australia: “Just because it is, doesn’t mean it should be.”
As a translator myself, I cannot agree more with these words from Smith: “Translators and historians have a moral responsibility to provide access to many of the stories that make up [Australian history]. We must unsilence that which has been silenced by creating access to the sources and narratives that can tell these stories.”
It seems safe to assume that, while writing these words, Smith could not have foreseen the extraordinary proposal by certain individuals in recent weeks that Australia should become a monocultural country. One can almost see them feeling agitated and even threatened whenever they encounter someone speaking another language in the supermarket or on the train.
Particularly in economically tough times, cultural traits such as language, appearance, mannerism and behaviours are often used as weapons by those who insist on turning the fabricated into the real line between “us” and “them”.
These are convenient and popular weapons, conjured out of their own selfish interest and (imagined and often exaggerated) lack of security. But these biases, presumptions, misconceptions and prejudices are not and should never be seen as facts.
Our history, like our life, is both complex and nuanced. Each of us is unique in our own ways, and there are as many ways to tell our stories as there are stories to tell. Choosing only one way to write, share and/or learn our history will only makes us bland and dull.
None of us wants to read, watch or have ourselves reduced to one-dimensional characters, so why should we even consider any proposal to reduce the richness of our culture? Australia may be Anglo-centric and English may be the language that unites us all, but it is multilingualism and multiculturalism that makes us a strong, diverse and proud nation.
Note: This article was published under the title “Multilingual and cultural” by Ranges Trader Star Mail, June 30, 2026, P.25.
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 