Encyclopedia:
Official language,
Talk:Official language,
Official Language Act (Quebec),
User:IceKarma/t/Language draft 2/Language-official,
Talk:Official Language Act (Quebec),
Languages of South Africa,
Image:Latin was official language in Bihać.jpg,
PALOP,
List of countries where English is an official language,
Talk:List of countries where English is an official language
official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the
countries,
states, and other territories. It is typically the language used in a nation's
legislative bodies, though the law in many nations 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
Sardinian 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 other indigenous languages are spoken as well. Some nations have more than one official language, such as Afghanistan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Finland, India, Israel, Malta, Pakistan, Paraguay, South Africa, Singapore, and Switzerland.
A few states, such as Eritrea 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.
In some countries, such as
Iraq,
Italy,
Philippines,
Russia and
Spain, there is an official language for the country, but other languages are co-official in some important regions.
The official languages of some former colonies, typically
French or
English, are not the national languages or 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 fluently by less than a tenth 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.
In some countries, the issue of which language is to be used in what context is a major political issue; see
List of countries where language is a political issue.
See also
*
Language policy*
Language planning*
List of official languages*
List of official languages by country*
List of countries where language is a political issue*
Literary language*
Official script*
Standard language*
Language Movement *
National language Category:Language varieties and stylesCategory:Politicsaf:Amptelike taalals:Amtsspracheang:Ambihtlicu sprǣcar:لغة رسميةan:Idioma ofizialast:Idioma oficialzh-min-nan:Koaⁿ-hong gí-giânbe:Афіцыйная моваbs:Službeni jezikbr:Yezh ofisielbg:Официален езикca:Llengua oficialcs:Úřední jazykcy:Iaith swyddogolda:Officielt sprogde:Amtsspracheet:Riigikeelel:Επίσημη γλώσσαes:Idioma oficialeo:Oficiala lingvofa:زبان رسمیfr:Langue officiellegd:Cànan Oifigeilko:공용어hr:Službeni jezikid:Bahasa resmiis:Opinbert tungumálit:Lingua ufficialehe:שפה רשמיתka:სახელმწიფო ენაla:Lingua publicalv:Valsts valodalb:Offiziell Sproochlt:Valstybinė kalbali:Offesjeel taolln:Lokótá ya Lɛ́tahu:Hivatalos nyelvmk:Официјален јазикms:Bahasa rasminl:Officiële taalja:公用語no:Offisielt språknrm:Langue officielleoc:Lenga oficialands:Amtsspraakpl:Język urzędowypt:Língua oficialro:Limbă oficialărmy:Prinjardi chhibru:Официальный языкru-sib:Державной говорsimple:Official languagesk:Úradný jazyksl:Uradni jeziksr:Службени језикsh:Službeni jezikfi:Virallinen kielisv:Officiellt språktl:Opisyal na wikata:ஆட்சி மொழிtt:Räsmi telth:ภาษาราชการtr:Resmî diludm:Официальной кылuk:Державна моваbat-smg:Valstībėnė kalbazh:官方语言
