1267.0 - Australian Standard Classification of Languages (ASCL), 1997  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 31/01/1997   
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Contents >> Chapter 1. Explanatory notes >> Design constraints

The theoretical and conceptual considerations for developing the classification were tempered by other considerations such as the practical usefulness of the classification for collecting data from both statistical and administrative collections, the analytical usefulness of data collected within the framework of the classification, and the size of the categories at each level of the classification in terms of the number of speakers in Australia.

The most notable constraint in developing the classification was the practical requirement to represent the approximately 6,000 languages spoken in the world within a manageable classification structure. The principle adopted to achieve this end, and to serve the statistical and research purposes of the classification, was to separately identify only languages which are spoken by significant numbers of Australians. This principle was operationalised by separately identifying all languages with more than 100 Australian speakers (approximately) on the basis of 1991 Census data.

Consequently, the range of languages separately identified in the classification is suitable and appropriate for the presentation of statistics about languages used in Australia and at the same time provides an overview of the world's languages within a coherent framework. The coverage, balance and robustness of the classification structure is consequently such that it can accommodate future changes to the Australian language profile, and be used to facilitate comparisons with language data from other countries.

Another design constraint with considerable impact on the development process was the requirement that the classification comprehensively represent Australian Indigenous languages. As a result of this requirement, Australian Indigenous languages are represented in a separate Broad Group of the classification, and 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages (covering 90% of Australian Indigenous language speakers according to current data) are separately identified in the classification (30% of the total number of separately identified languages). The requirement to achieve a comprehensive coverage of Australian Indigenous languages was able to be met using the same principle for separate identification (100 speakers) as for other languages. Additionally, 95 Aboriginal languages are itemised in residual categories. Thus, all Australian Indigenous languages identified by the ABS through research and consultation have been listed in substantive or residual categories of the ASCL. Any Australian Indigenous languages not yet identified by the ABS are notionally included in the residual categories.

An important consideration in developing any classification is to ensure that the structure of the classification is statistically balanced. In the case of the ASCL, this basically means that no Broad or Narrow Group should represent an inordinate number of Australian speakers, and that each Broad and Narrow Group should represent significant numbers of Australian speakers. This is necessary to allow the classification to fulfil its function of reducing complexity and creating order in a way that is useful and practical for presenting and analysing statistical data. In the ASCL, application of the classification criteria, for the most part, led naturally to a statistically balanced structure. However, the statistical balance requirement has necessitated creating residual categories of geographically proximate languages within most Broad Groups at the Narrow Group level. More notably, it was necessary to create a residual Broad Group: Other Languages, which contains Narrow Groups of languages which are not geographically proximate, but which represent insufficient Australian speakers to form separate Broad Groups.






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