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	Not every official language is a dominant indigenous language, however. The official languages of some former colonies - typically languages such as ], ] or ] - were historically spoken elsewhere and imported and imposed on local populations by the colonial power. This situation is not always a negative, however; it can sometimes offer a political advantage. In some large multi-ethnic nations such as ], English has been adopted as a "neutral" language not tied to any one local ethnicity, such as the dominant northern language ], whose use has been strongly resisted by southern ] ethnicities. And in many African nations, the colonial language often serves as a unifying element when none of the scores of indigenous languages has enough of a majority to be practically imposed on the entire nation.		Not every official language is a dominant indigenous language, however. The official languages of some former colonies - typically languages such as ], ] or ] - were historically spoken elsewhere and imported and imposed on local populations by the colonial power. This situation is not always a negative, however; it can sometimes offer a political advantage. In some large multi-ethnic nations such as ], English has been adopted as a "neutral" language not tied to any one local ethnicity, such as the dominant northern language ], whose use has been strongly resisted by southern ] ethnicities. And in many African nations, the colonial language often serves as a unifying element when none of the scores of indigenous languages has enough of a majority to be practically imposed on the entire nation.

	Occasionally, an ~~offiical~~ language is not even the majority indigenous language, but may instead reflect historical and nationalistic values. ], for example, is the national language of the ] and its first official language, although it is spoken by less than a third of its people. In contrast, English, which is spoken by nearly every Irish citizen, is described as the 'second official' language by Article 8 of the ].		Occasionally, an offical language is not even the majority indigenous language, but may instead reflect historical and nationalistic values. ], for example, is the national language of the ] and its first official language, although it is spoken by less than a third of its people. In contrast, English, which is spoken by nearly every Irish citizen, is described as the 'second official' language by Article 8 of the ].

	] became the first country in the world to introduce a ] as an official language, with the adding ] as the second official language of the country, alongside ]. ] is the country's dominant language, but does not have legal official language status.		] became the first country in the world to introduce a ] as an official language, with the adding ] as the second official language of the country, alongside ]. ] is the country's dominant language, but does not have legal official language status.

Revision as of 06:13, 30 September 2006

An official language is a language that is designated as "official" by a state, or other legally-defined territory, usually by legislation, and required in all official government communications - spoken and written. Its required uses can extend to national traffic signs, product labels, storefront signage, voting materials, driving license exams, and other official and legal forms. Many nations have more than one official language, such as Canada, where both English and French are "official".

Overview

Most typically, a nation's official language will correlate 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.

In addition, "official" languages are sometimes not the same as the medium of instruction and so, the two terms are not interchangeable.

Official language of different countries

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, 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. Frequent legislative efforts have been made in the US Congress, however, to have English adopted as the nation's "official language", so far without success.

In some states, such as Italy, Palau, Philippines, Russia and Spain, there is one official language for the state, but minority languages/dialects are used in some important semi-autonomous regions, at times even in official local government communications.

Not every official language is a dominant indigenous language, however. The official languages of some former colonies - typically languages such as French, English or Portuguese - were historically spoken elsewhere and imported and imposed on local populations by the colonial power. This situation is not always a negative, however; it can sometimes offer a political advantage. In some large multi-ethnic nations such as India, English has been adopted as a "neutral" language not tied to any one local ethnicity, such as the dominant northern language Hindi, whose use has been strongly resisted by southern Dravidian ethnicities. And in many African nations, the colonial language often serves as a unifying element when none of the scores of indigenous languages has enough of a majority to be practically imposed on the entire nation.

Occasionally, an offical language is not even the majority indigenous language, but may instead reflect historical and nationalistic values. Irish, for example, 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. In contrast, English, which is spoken by nearly every Irish citizen, is described as the 'second official' language by Article 8 of the Constitution of Ireland.

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

Official languages of the United Nations

At present, the United Nations recognizes six official languages into which all General Assembly business, intergovernmental meetings and documents are translated: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. All except Arabic were declared "official" at the founding of the institution in 1945. The UN Secretariat uses two working languages: English and French. UN documents are translated into the six official languages and issued simultaneously when versions are ready in all the languages.

Official languages of the European Union

As stipulated in the original (now amended) EEC Council: Regulation No 1, the 20 official languages of the European Union are Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, and Swedish. Irish is an official (treaty) language of the European Union and is to become a full working language on 1 January 2007.

External links

What are the official languages of the United Nations? - off the official UN website
Languages in the EU - off the official European Union website

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