Languages

A man looking at newspapers in multiple languages at a newspaper kiosk on Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

Australia. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Overseas Information Bureau. (1991). Ethnic newspapers are prominent on this kiosk in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, 1991 [transparency]. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136834359

Language in print

Module

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: Languages for years 7–10.

Digital Classroom

Kern Collection

950 books on bibliography, history, law, religion, ethnography, archaeology and fine arts of Indonesia, 629 books relating to the languages of Austronesia and some manuscripts, including transcripts of a collection of Sudanese manuscripts.

Collection guide

Japanese Perth times, 2018, nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1386

Japanese

Topic

Japanese migrants first came to Australia in the late 1800s.

Digital Classroom

LE DIRETTIVE DEL GOVERNO ITALIANO NELLA POLITICA MONDIALE IL DISCORSO DEL DUCE A NAPOLI. (1931, December 3). Stampa Italiana = The Italian Press (Perth, WA: 1931–1932), nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249697143

Italian

Topic

Migration from Italy to Australia can be dated back to the 1800s and, since that time, many groups have followed.

Digital Classroom

Japanese print depicting scenes where Western, Japanese and Chinese people interact at a trading house

Sadahide Utagawa, Yokohama ijin shōkan no zu, 1861, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-151495391

Introduction to the Asian language collection

Learn what is available and how you can find and access items in our Asian language collections in this webinar.

Learning activity for adults

Video

A page from the Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung, 1851.

(1851). Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung (SA: 1851–1862), nla.gov.au/nla.news-title277

German

Topic

German migrants came to Australia as founding pioneers following colonisation, with 10,000 migrating during the gold rushes of the 1850s.

Digital Classroom

LA CLIQUE DARLAN, Le Courrier Australien (Sydney, NSW : 1892 - 2011), 1 January 1943, nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161749598

French

Topic

French settlement in Australia commenced soon after the arrival of the First Fleet.

Digital Classroom

William Habgood & C. Grellett, Scene on Melville Water near Perth, Western Australia, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135263049

First Australians language collections

Explore manuscripts and records that give a glimpse into the approximately 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

First Australians

Research guide

Coedès Collection

Books, pamphlets, reprints and single issues of serials, mainly in French, relating to the ancient history, archaeology and culture of Southeast Asia.

Collection guide

Close up of page of old, rare Latin book with a stylised letter A in the top left

Clifford family, Latin Chertsey Cartulary, England, c, 1301, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-241375708

Clifford Collection

Over 10,000 volumes and 1500 pamphlets in English, Latin, French, Italian, German and Spanish, with particular strength in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Collection guide

A large, old text with Chinese characters is bound with traditional thread stitching, sitting on a shelf, supported by a white fabric strap wrapped around its cover. The edges of the pages are uneven, showing wear with the stitching slightly frayed. Other colourful books with Chinese characters are lined up alongside it on the shelf.

Chinese collections research guide

Get help to find and access material from the Library’s Chinese collection and beyond.

Research guide

The English and Chinese Advertiser (Vic.: 1856–1858), p. 1., 7 August 1858, nla.gov.au/nla.news-page15910530

Chinese

Topic

Stringent colonial restriction laws affected early Chinese migration to Australia.

Digital Classroom

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