Some things seem obvious but in a nation that calls itself ‘multicultural’ the language we speak to each other can’t be taken for granted.
Not the language spoken in the home but between neighbours in the shops in the schools businesses…
We have neighbours who migrated here from oversees and they’ve lived here a lot longer than us somewhere well over 12 years. They’re polite and friendly enough but have never learned enough English to hold the most basic conversation or communicate about the most basic things that neighbours sometimes need to talk to each other about. They’ve learned ‘Hello’ and that is about it.
I never feel ok about it. I feel we have a right to expect to be able to communicate in English with people in Australia.