Professional Documents
Culture Documents
C.M.B. Brann, with particular reference to Africa, suggests that there are "four
quite distinctive meanings" for national language in a polity:[2]
Contents [hide]
2.1 Albania
2.2 Algeria
2.3 Andorra
2.4 Australia
2.5 Bangladesh
2.6 Bulgaria
2.7 Canada
2.8 China
2.9 Finland
2.10 Germany
2.11 Haiti
2.12 India
2.13 Indonesia
2.14 Iran
2.15 Ireland
2.16 Israel
2.17 Italy
2.18 Kenya
2.19 Lebanon
2.20 Malta
2.21 Namibia
2.22 Nepal
2.24 Nigeria
2.25 Pakistan
2.26 Philippines
2.27 Poland
2.28 Romania
2.29 Russia
2.30 Serbia
2.31 Singapore
2.32 Slovenia
2.33 South Africa
2.34 Switzerland
2.35 Taiwan
2.36 Tunisia
2.37 Turkey
2.38.1Northern Ireland
2.38.2Scotland
2.38.3Wales
2.39 Uganda
2.40 Ukraine
2.42 Vietnam
3 See also
Albania[edit]
Algeria[edit]
Andorra[edit]
Azerbaijan
Australia[edit]
Australia has no official language, but is largely monolingual with English
being the de facto national language. A considerable proportion of first and
second generation migrants are bilingual. According to Ethnologue, 81% of
people spoke English at home, including L2 speakers. Other languages
spoken at home included Chinese 2.9%, Italian 1.2%, Arabic 1.1%, Greek 1%,
Vietnamese 0.9% and Spanish 0.4%.[7]
Bangladesh[edit]
Bulgaria[edit]
Canada[edit]
Canada's official languages since the Official Languages Act of 1969 are
English (Canadian English) and French (Canadian French). Depending on
one's views of what constitute a "nation" these two languages may be
considered two equal national languages of a nation called "Canada", or the
national languages of two nations within one state, English Canada and
French Canada.
Besides these there many Indigenous languages of Canada which are the
national languages of one or more of Canada's First Nations groups, Inuit and
Mtis (mixed First Nations-European peoples); a number of First Nations
legislate at the Indigenous government levels their language as an official
language of the Nation, such is the case with the Nisgg aa language in Nisggaa.
Notably the Cree language is spoken (with variations) from Alberta to
Labrador,[citation needed] Anishinaabemowin is spoken across central
Canada and Inuktitut is spoken across the arctic.
China[edit]
There are many languages spoken across China, with most people speaking
one of several varieties of Chinese. During successive imperial dynasties, the
spoken language of the capital city served as the official spoken language
and was used across the country by government officials who traveled to
communicate with one another. Dialects used for this purpose in different
eras included those of Xi'an, Luoyang, Nanjing, Beijing, and other historical
capital cities.
Still, elements from other dialects do exist in the standard language, which is
now defined as reflecting the pronunciation of Beijing, the grammatical
patterns of Mandarin dialects spoken in the northern parts of China, and the
vocabulary of modern vernacular Chinese literature. The People's Republic of
China renamed the national language (Pinyin: Ptnghu, literally
"common speech"), without otherwise changing the definition of the standard
national language.[8]
Finland[edit]
Finland has two national languages: namely the Finnish language and the
Swedish language. The Constitution of Finland guarantees the right to use
Finnish and Swedish in courts and other state institutions.[9][10] Despite the
large difference in the numbers of users, Swedish is not officially classified as
a minority language but equal to Finnish. Both national languages are
compulsory subjects in school (except for children with a third language as
mother tongue) and a language test is a prerequisite for governmental offices
where a university degree is required. The constitution also grants the Sami
and the Roma peoples the right to maintain and develop their languages: The
Sami have partial right to use Sami languages in official situations according
to other laws.[11]
Germany[edit]
The official and national language of Germany is Standard German, with over
95% of the country speaking Standard German or German dialects as their
first language.[12]
Haiti[edit]
Haiti's official languages are Haitian Creole and French. While French is the
language used in the media, government and education, 9095% of the
country speak Haitian Creole as the home language while French is learned in
school.
India[edit]
Main articles: Languages with official status in India and Languages of India
Dr.Ambedkar, the architect of Indian constitution wanted Sanskrit as the
national language of India. However, India didn't choose any national
language.[13][14] The official languages of the Union Government of the
Republic of India are 21 languages and English as mentioned in article 343/1
of the Constitution of India.[15] Currently there are 22 scheduled languages
in India Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,
Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi,
Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. States of India were free to
adopt one or more local languages for all or any of the official purposes of
that state.[15] Pursuant to agitations particularly in South India in the 60s,
today all 22 languages carry official status and Government documents can
be in any of the 22 recognized official languages. This has been clarified by
court rulings as well, as for example in 2010 Gujarat High Court affirmed
equal role to all 22 languages.[14][16] India has a common law legal system
therefore, unless overturned by the legislature or a higher court explicitly,
the ruling in 2010 takes precedence and all 22 official languages are meant
to be taken on equal footing. Currency notes in India typically carry the
denomination in all 17 languages.
Indonesia[edit]
The official language of Indonesia is Indonesian. Indonesia has more than 700
living languages, making it the second most linguistically diverse country
after Papua New Guinea. These 700+ languages, however, are without official
status, and some are in danger of extinction. The largest local language is
Javanese.
Iran[edit]
Ireland[edit]
Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages of Israel, though English is also
used extensively (e.g. on road signs).
Italy[edit]
The Italian language is the de jure and de facto official language of Italy.[18]
[19] Italian is also referred to as national language for historical and cultural
reasons, because since the 15th century, Italian became the language used
in the courts of nearly every state in Italy and in general among educated
Italians (scholars, writers, poets, philosophers, scientists, composers and
artists) who contributed to what is nowadays the culture of Italy.[20]
Furthermore, Italian was often an official language of the various Italian
states before unification, slowly replacing Latin, even when ruled by foreign
powers (such as the Spaniards in the Kingdom of Naples, or the Austrians in
the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia).[21]
Kenya[edit]
While English and Swahili are official languages, Swahili also has a special
status as national language. None of the country's biggest languages
(Gikuyu, Luo, Kamba, Kalenjin, etc.) have any explicit legal status on the
national level, however the 2010 constitution enjoins the state to "promote
and protect the diversity of language of the people of Kenya."[22]
Lebanon[edit]
Malta[edit]
The Maltese language is the national language of Malta. It is also the official
language of the island, together with English. Maltese only is recognised as
"national" in Chapter 1 of the Laws of Malta.
Namibia[edit]
Although English is the only nationwide official language in Namibia, there are
also 20 National languages[citation needed], which are each spoken by more
or less sizeable portions of the population and are considered Namibia's
cultural heritage. All national languages have the rights of a minority
language and may even serve as a lingua franca in certain regions. Among
Namibia's national languages are German, Afrikaans, Oshiwambo, Otjiherero,
Portuguese, as well as the languages of the Himba, Nama, San, Kavango and
Damara.[citation needed]
Nepal[edit]
Nepali is the official language of Nepal. Over 123 languages are spoken in
Nepal. Some of the language spoken in Nepal are Tamang Sherpa Rai Magar
Gurung Maithili Purbeli English Limbu Mongolian etc.
New Zealand[edit]
Nigeria[edit]
Pakistan[edit]
Main article: Languages of Pakistan
Philippines[edit]
More than 170 languages are spoken in the Philippines and almost all of them
belong to the BorneoPhilippines languages group of the Austronesian
language family. In 2007, a six-part series titled The Case of Ilokano as a
National Language authored by Dr. Aurelio Solver Agcaoili of the University of
Hawaii appeared in the Culture, Essays, Lifestyle of Tawid News Magazine.
[27] In September 2012, La Union became the first province in Philippine
history to pass an ordinance proclaiming a local language and a vernacular,
Ilokano, as an official language. This move aims to protect and revitalize the
use of Ilokano in various government and civil affairs within the province.[28]
Poland[edit]
Russia[edit]
The Russian language is the only official language of Russia, but 27 other
languages are considered official in different regions of Russia.[citation
needed]
Serbia[edit]
The Serbian language is the national language of Serbia, written in the Cyrillic
script. There are 15 minority languages.[citation needed]
Singapore[edit]
South Africa[edit]
Arabic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Khoi, Nama, Portuguese, San,
Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Sign Language are all constitutionally
recognised in South Africa.
Switzerland[edit]
The logo of the Swiss Federal administration, in the four national languages of
Switzerland.
All are official languages at the national level within the Federal
administration of Switzerland.[31]
Taiwan[edit]
Tunisia[edit]
The official language of the Tunisian state is Arabic.[32] But, that language is
not the mother tongue of the population or used to communicate between
Tunisian people, instead Tunisian Arabic plays these roles and is the national
language of Tunisia.[33] Also, even without an official status, French is also
used extensively in its written and spoken form in the administration,
education and business environment and known by 63.6% of the population.
[34] Also Berber minorities in the south-west and on Djerba Island use the
Tunisian Chelha language to communicate between themselves.
Turkey[edit]
United Kingdom[edit]
The English language (British English) is the de facto official language of the
United Kingdom and is the sole language of an estimated 95% of the British
population.[citation needed] The three Home Nations outside England have
national languages of their own with varying degrees of recognition, which
coexist with the dominant English language. Britain also has several Crown
dependencies and Overseas Territories which are to some extent self-
governing, but which are not recognized as independent states. Many of
these have their own regional languages.
Northern Ireland[edit]
In Northern Ireland, both the Gaelic Irish language and the West Germanic
Ulster Scots dialects are recognized by the Good Friday Agreement as "part of
the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland" and are promoted by the Foras na
Gaeilge (Irish Institute) and Tha Boord o Ulstr-Scotch (the Ulster-Scots
Agency) respectively.
Scotland[edit]
Wales[edit]
The Welsh language has official status within Wales, and as of the 2011
census, is spoken by 562,000 people, or 19% of the population.[37] The
Welsh Language Board (Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg) is legally tasked with
ensuring that, "in the conduct of public business and the administration of
justice, the English and Welsh languages should be treated on a basis of
equality".[38]
Uganda[edit]
Ganda or Luganda is not the official language, but it is the de facto national
language of Uganda, spoken by about 4 million people.[citation needed]
Ukraine[edit]
Ukrainian is the only official language of Ukraine, but Russian is also widely
spoken in eastern Ukraine.
United States[edit]
In the United States, English (American English) is the national language only
in an informal sense, by numbers and by historical and contemporary
association. The United States Constitution does not explicitly declare any
official language, although the constitution is written in English, as is all
federal legislation.
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Vietnam[edit]