Official language
An
official language is a
language that is given a privileged legal status in a
state, or other
legally-defined territory.
Most typically, the official language will be in line with the language used by the principal
nation or
ethnic group within the state. The law in many states requires that government documents be produced in other languages as well.
Officially recognized
minority languages are often mistaken for official languages. However, a language officially recognized by a state, taught in schools, and used in official communication is not necessarily an official language. For example,
Ladin and
Ambreian in
Italy and
Mirandese in
Portugal are only officially-recognized minority languages, not official languages in the strict sense.
Official languages are sometimes not the same as the
medium of instruction and so, the two are not interchangeable.
Almost every sovereign state in the world has at least one official language, as declared in national constitutions, government websites, embassies, or other official sources. Some have only one official language, such as
Albania,
France, or
Lithuania, despite the fact that in all these countries there are other
indigenous languages spoken as well. Some have more than one official language, such as
Afghanistan,
Belarus,
Belgium,
Bolivia,
Canada,
Eritrea,
Finland,
India,
Israel,
Pakistan,
Paraguay,
South Africa,
Singapore, and
Switzerland.
In some states, such as
Italy,
Palau,
Philippines,
Russia and
Spain, there is an official language for the state, but minority languages are used in some important regions. Some states, such as
Sweden,
Tuvalu, the
United Kingdom, and the
United States have no official language, although in most such cases there is a single
de facto main language, as well as a range of government regulations and practices on which languages are expected to be used in various circumstances.
The official languages of some former colonies, typically
French or
English, are neither the national languages nor the most widely spoken language.
In contrast,
Irish is the national language of the
Republic of Ireland and its first official language, although it is spoken by less than a third of its people. English, which is spoken by nearly everyone, is described as the 'second official' language by Article 8 of the
Constitution of Ireland. Irish is an official (treaty) language of the
European Union and will become a full working language on
1 January 2007.
New Zealand became the first country in the world to introduce a
Sign language as an official language, with the
New Zealand Sign Language Bill adding
New Zealand Sign Language as the second official language of the country, alongside
Māori.
English is the country's dominant language, but does not have legal official language status.
In some states, the issue of which language is to be used and in which context is a major political issue; see
List of countries where language is a political issue*
Language policy*
Language planning*
List of official languages*
List of official languages by state*
Literary language*
Official script*
Standard language*
Working language*
Language Movement *
National language *
List of countries where English is an official language
