Official language

Official Languages

An official language is the language that a country's government uses in schools, courts, and other important places. Sometimes, a country decides that only the official language can be used in these places.

Many countries have more than one official language. For example, Italy made Italian their official language in 1999. Some countries, like Mexico and Australia, have never officially declared a national language.

English is the most common official language, used in 52 countries. Other common official languages include Arabic, French, and Spanish.

When an official language comes from the people of that country, it is called endoglossic. If it does not come from the local people, it is exoglossic. For example, Nigeria uses English as a common language for everyone to understand.

Long ago, around 500 BC, Darius the Great ruled a big empire called the Achaemenid Empire. He chose a special form of the Aramaic language for official writing. This helped people from places like Egypt to faraway lands such as Bactria and Sogdiana share messages.

In China, Qin Shi Huang became the first emperor. In 221 BC, he made one written language for the whole country. This written language, called Literary Chinese, stayed the same for over 2000 years.

Some countries, like Australia and the United Kingdom, do not have an official language at the national level. Bolivia recognizes 37 languages as official, the most of any country. India has 22 official languages, and South Africa has 12 official languages, all with equal status.