Official language

An official language is the language that a country's government accepts and uses in schools, courts, and other important places. Sometimes, a country might decide that only the official language can be used in these places, which means other languages might not be allowed there. This can be decided in writing by the government or through long-term use.

About 178 countries around the world have an official language, and in 101 of these countries, more than one language is recognized as official. For example, Italy made Italian their official language in 1999. Some countries, like Mexico and Australia, have never officially declared a national language. In other places, the official language might not be one that comes from the local people but from another part of the world.

Many countries mention their official or national languages in their rules and laws. Sometimes, making a language official helps groups of people who live in a country speak their own language when dealing with the government. When a country does not choose an official language, one language usually becomes the most common one to use anyway. English is the most common official language, used in 52 countries. Other common official languages include Arabic, French, and Spanish.

When an official language is one that comes from the people of that country, it is called endoglossic. If it is not from the local people, it is exoglossic. For example, Nigeria has three official languages that come from its own people, but it also uses English as a common language for everyone to understand. In general, languages that come from local people are more often used as official languages in Europe and Asia, while languages from other parts of the world are used more in other areas.

History

Long ago, around 500 BC, Darius the Great, who ruled a huge empire called the Achaemenid Empire, picked a special form of the Aramaic language for official writing. This helped people in different parts of the empire, from Egypt to faraway places like Bactria and Sogdiana, to share messages even though they spoke many different languages.

In China, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor, made one written language for the whole country in 221 BC. This written language, called Literary Chinese, stayed the same for over 2000 years. Speaking the same language wasn’t as important at first, so Mandarin grew naturally from many local dialects until it was officially set as the standard language in the early twentieth century.

Statistics

See also: List of official languages § List of languages by number of countries in which they are the official language

Some languages are used as official languages in two or more countries. For example, English is an official language in many places, as is French, Arabic, and Spanish.

• English: 58 UN states and 31 dependencies
• French: 26 UN states and 10 dependencies
• Arabic: 23 UN states and Palestine, 2 non-UN states on the same territory, and 1 dependency
• Spanish: 20 UN states and 1 dependency
• Portuguese: 9 UN states and 1 dependency
• German: 6 UN states
• Russian: 5 UN and 3 unrecognized states
• Serbo-Croatian: 4 UN states and 1 partially recognized state on the same territory
• Malay: 4 UN states and 1 dependency
• Swahili: 4 UN states (5 counting Comorian)
• Italian: 3 UN states and Vatican City
• Persian: 3 UN states and 1 dependency
• Dutch: 3 UN states (4 counting Afrikaans)
• Somali: 3 UN states and 1 unrecognized state on the same territory
• Sotho: 3 UN states
• Standard Chinese (Mandarin): 2 UN states and Taiwan
• Tamil: 2 UN states and 2 States in India
• Hindustani: 2 UN states (counting Fijian Hindi) and 10 states in India
• Bengali: 2 UN states (counting Bangladesh) and 1 state in India
• Greek: 2 UN states
• Turkish: 2 UN states and 1 partially recognized state

Some countries, like Australia and the United Kingdom, do not have an official language at the national level. On the other hand, Bolivia recognizes 37 languages as official, the most of any country. India has 22 official languages, Zimbabwe has 16, Mali has 13, and South Africa has 12 official languages, all with equal status. In Bolivia, Spanish is given special importance, and in India, both English and Hindi are primary.

Political alternatives

See also: List of multilingual countries and regions

Choosing one official language can sometimes cause disagreement. One way to solve this is through "official multilingualism," where a country recognizes more than one official language. In such countries, all government services are offered in every official language, and people can choose which language they prefer to use.

Many countries, like India, Taiwan, Canada, the Philippines, Belgium, Switzerland, and the European Union, use this system. Some people think it's important for respecting different groups, while others see it as an advantage for how the country appears to others. However, it can also be controversial, and in some places, the idea has been turned down.

Official languages by country and territory

Main article: List of official languages by country and territory

Afghanistan

Main article: Languages of Afghanistan

The Afghan government gives equal status to Pashto and Dari as official languages.

Azerbaijan

Main article: Languages of Azerbaijan

The official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani Language.

Bangladesh

After Bangladesh became independent in 1971, the first President of Bangladesh chose Bengali as the sole official language. The government made sure Bengali was used in all official matters.

Belarus

Main article: Belarusian since 1991

Belarusian and Russian are both official languages in the Republic of Belarus.

Belgium

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German.

Bulgaria

Bulgarian is the sole official language in Bulgaria.

Canada

Main article: Official bilingualism in Canada

The Government of Canada gives equal status to English and French as official languages. The Province of New Brunswick is also officially bilingual. Nunavut has four official languages: English, French, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun. The Northwest Territories has eleven official languages. All provinces offer services in both English and French.

Ethiopia

Main article: Languages of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has five official languages, but Amharic is mainly used by the government.

Finland

According to the Finnish constitution, Finnish and Swedish are the national languages, giving people the right to use either language with the government. Sámi languages also have special rights in their native area.

Germany

Main article: Languages of Germany

Germany recognizes several minority languages, including Sorbian, Romani, Danish and North Frisian.

Hong Kong

Main article: Languages of Hong Kong

Both Chinese and English are official languages of Hong Kong with equal status. Cantonese is the most commonly used Chinese language.

India

Further information: Languages of India and Languages with official recognition in India

The official language of the Government of India is Hindi. The Constitution allows for the use of English in official matters. The Eighth Schedule lists 22 recognized languages.

Indonesia

Main article: Indonesian language

The official language of Indonesia is the Indonesian language.

Israel

Main article: Languages of Israel

Hebrew is the State's language, and Arabic has a special status. Before 2018, both languages were used equally in official government matters.

Latvia

Main article: Languages of Latvia

The Official Language Law recognizes Latvian as the sole official language.

Malaysia

Main article: Malay language

The official language of Malaysia is the Malay language.

Netherlands

Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands. In the province of Friesland, Frisian is also an official language.

New Zealand

Main article: Languages of New Zealand

New Zealand has three official languages: English, the Māori language and New Zealand Sign Language.

Nigeria

Main article: Languages of Nigeria

The official language of Nigeria is English.

Norway

Main articles: Languages of Norway and Norwegian language conflict

Pakistan

Main article: Languages of Pakistan

Urdu and English are both official languages in Pakistan.

Philippines

Main article: Languages of the Philippines

Filipino and English are both official languages of the Philippines.

Poland

Main article: Languages of Poland

Polish is the official language of Poland.

Russia

Main article: Languages of Russia

Russian is the official language of the Russian Federation. Some areas have additional official languages.

South Africa

Main article: Languages of South Africa

South Africa has twelve official languages. Government business is mostly conducted in English.

Switzerland

Main article: Languages of Switzerland

The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romansh.

Taiwan

Mandarin is the most common language used in government. Other languages can also be used in political activities.

Timor-Leste

According to the constitution of Timor-Leste, Tetum and Portuguese are the official languages.

Ukraine

The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian.

United Kingdom

The de facto official language of the United Kingdom is English. In Wales, the Welsh language is also an official language.

United States

See also: Languages of the United States

English is the predominant language of the United States. Some states and territories have recognized English as their official language. There is ongoing discussion about whether Spanish should also be recognized.

Yugoslavia

Before breaking up in the early 1990s, SFR Yugoslavia had several official languages in its republics. After independence, each new country defined its own official language.

Zimbabwe

Since the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages.