Minority language
A
minority language is a
language spoken by a
minority of the
population of a country.
In Europe and in some other parts of the world, like in Canada, minority languages are often defined by
legislation or
constitutional documents and afforded some form of official support. The term, for example, appears in the
Constitution of Canada in the heading above
section 23 of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees minority language educational rights.
Some minority languages are simultaneously also
official languages, including the
Irish language (Gaelic) in the
Republic of Ireland. Likewise, some
national languages are minority languages, insofar as they are the national language of a
stateless nation.
Minority languages are occasionally marginalised within nations for a number of reasons. These include the small number of speakers, the decline in the number of speakers, and their occasional consideration as uncultured, primitive, or simple dialects when compared to the dominant language. They are also occasionally viewed as a threat, for example the rise of Celtic languages in the UK (
Irish and
Scottish Gaelic,
Welsh and
Cornish), and even
Scots, are viewed by some to be support for separatism, thus as a threat to the political establishment. Immigrant minority languages are often also seen as a threat and as indicative of the non-integration of these communities. Both of these perceived threats are based on the notion of the exclusion of the majority language speakers. Often this is added to by political systems by not providing support (such as education and policing) in these languages.
Signed languages are often not recognized as true natural languages even though they are supported by extensive research. In the United States, for example, American Sign Language is the most used indigenous language yet almost the only indigenous language which lacks official government recognition.
*
Regional language*
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages*
German as a minority language*
Language policy*
Language revival*
Sign Language
