Language Use Practices of the Indian Migrant Community in Sydney, Australia: A Pilot Study

Sociolinguistic research on the linguistic skills and repertoire of Indian migrants in Australia is scarce, despite their growing population. Indian migrants are multilingual upon arrival to Australia, but the extent to which they remain bi- or multilingual and the extent to which they transmit those languages to the subsequent generations has not been recorded. This pilot study is part of a PhD study on language maintenance and bilingualism in the Indian migrant community in Sydney, Australia and contributes to addressing the gap in sociolinguistic literature. The study adopted the mixed-methods approach, where the quantitative method using surveys in the form of a written questionnaire was the main method of investigation. This was complemented by the qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews and field observations. This paper presents the results of the quantitative method of investigation, focussing on language use practices of first and second-generation Indian migrants in the home domain. The results show that Indian heritage languages are maintained better by the first than the second generation and with certain interlocutors only. This raises the question of the prospect of the maintenance and transmission of Indian heritage languages to the subsequent generations and would be explored in this paper. The article also focuses on the linguistic and policy implications of the patterns of language use on the Indian migrant community and the linguistic landscape of Australia.