Perceptions of Australian English have always been traditionally ‘monolingual’, despite the current realities of a population of diverse cultures and the colourful use of many languages other than English. Varieties that develop in Australia are to some extent fuelled by emerging and expanding migrant communities that have developed their own ethnolects that are in turn carried over to the next generation (Burridge, 2010). Furthermore, the second generation, who may to some extent dominantly use English on a daily basis, adds to the fire of variation and developing their own combination of their parents’ ethnolect and the host country variety (Burridge, 2010; Clyne, Eisikovits, & Tollfree, 2001; Kiesling, 2001). With such linguistic diversity, Clyne (2004) challenges the monolingual mindset—a challenge further reiterated recently by Ommundsen (2018) in regards to the dominating monolingualness in written spheres.

With reference to three interviews with prominent second generation migrant authors in Australia—Alice Pung, Randa Abdel-Fattah, and Benjamin Law—this paper examines how English is perceived, used, and claimed in Australia. Furthermore, it examines the point of intersection, where English meets heritage language(s), and how this affects and influences the way these specific authors write. The focus of this paper is on the authors’ relationship with English, more so because they are second generation migrants, and how this shows in their own writing. Through semi-structured interviews the three selected authors and a close reading of the selected texts, this paper is an examination of the writer’s claim to the perceived dominating language and their heritage language(s), and how their linguistic choices are shaped in their writing and by their realities as second generation migrant writers.