This is a list of official languages by country and territory. It includes all languages that have official language status either statewide or in a part of the state, or that have status as a national language, regional language, or minority language.
Definitions
edit- Official language
- A language designated as having a unique legal status in the state: typically, the language used in a nation's legislative bodies, and often, official government business.
- Regional language
- A language designated as having official status limited to a specific area, administrative division, or territory of the state. (See Chapter On this page a regional language has parentheses next to it that contain a region, province, etc. where the language has regional status.)
- National language
- A language that uniquely represents the national identity of a state, nation, and/or country and is so designated by a country's government; some are technically minority languages. (On this page a national language is followed by parentheses that identify it as a national language status.) Some countries have more than one language with this status.
List
edit
Number of countries with the same official language
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2017) |
This is a ranking of languages by number of sovereign countries in which they are de jure or de facto official, although there are no precise inclusion criteria or definition of a language. An '*' (asterisk) indicates a country whose independence is disputed.
Partially recognized or de facto independent countries are denoted by an asterisk (*)
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Independence disputed.
- ^ a b c d e f The third official language – in addition to Pashto and Dari – in areas where the majority speaks them
- ^ a b Slovak language is defined as official language together with Czech language by several laws – e.g. law 500/2004, 337/1992. Source: http://portal.gov.cz. Cited: "Například Správní řád (zákon č. 500/2004 Sb.) stanovuje: "V řízení se jedná a písemnosti se vyhotovují v českém jazyce. Účastníci řízení mohou jednat a písemnosti mohou být předkládány i v jazyce slovenském..." (§16, odstavec 1). Zákon o správě daní a poplatků (337/1992 Sb.) "Úřední jazyk: Před správcem daně se jedná v jazyce českém nebo slovenském. Veškerá písemná podání se předkládají v češtině nebo slovenštině..." (§ 3, odstavec 1). http://portal.gov.cz
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Citizens belonging to minorities, which traditionally and on long-term basis live within the territory of the Czech Republic, enjoy the right to use their language in communication with authorities and in front of the courts of law (for the list of recognized minorities see National Minorities Policy of the Government of the Czech Republic). The article 25 of the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms ensures right of the national and ethnic minorities for education and communication with authorities in their own language. Act No. 500/2004 Coll. (The Administrative Rule) in its paragraph 16 (4) (Procedural Language) ensures, that a citizen of the Czech Republic, who belongs to a national or an ethnic minority, which traditionally and on long-term basis lives within the territory of the Czech Republic, have right to address an administrative agency and proceed before it in the language of the minority. In case that the administrative agency doesn't have an employee with knowledge of the language, the agency is bound to obtain a translator at the agency's own expense. According to Act No. 273/2001 (About The Rights of Members of Minorities) paragraph 9 (The right to use language of a national minority in dealing with authorities and in front of the courts of law) the same applies for the members of national minorities also in front of the courts of law.
- ^ a b c Official language for intercultural relations
- ^ Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia designated Malay as the national language. Section 2 of that article allowed English to be used officially until otherwise provided by Parliament. In 1967, the Parliament of Malaysia passed the National Language Act, making Malay the official language of Malaysia. The act does, however, allow the use of English for some official purposes. On 11 July 1990, following the amendment of the National Language Act 1963/67 (Act 32) (Revised in 1971), Malay replaced English as the official language of the courts in West Malaysia. The amending Act provided English to be used in the Courts in West Malaysia where it deems necessary in the interest of Justice. East Malaysia continued using English as the official language in their courts.[64] Since 2007, the official policy is to refer to the national language as the Malaysian language (Bahasa Malaysia), although legislation still refers to the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu).
- ^ a b As per the 1987 Constitution which states "Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis".[73]
- ^ a b Not designated but meets legal definition
- ^ Refers to the Tjwao dialect
- ^ See Zimbabwean sign languages
- ^ In the United States of America, English is the language of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and The Federalist Papers and remains the working language of the federal administration. At the state level, some states with large Hispanic populations—such as Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas—provide bilingual legislated notices and official documents in both Spanish and English. Attempts have been made to legislate English as the official language of the federal government of the United States, often imbued with nationalist sentiment such as the proposed English Language Unity Act of 2005 with its controversial ties to immigration policy, but these initiatives have not passed into law, despite an English-only movement whose long history includes: Pennsylvania of the 1750s concerning German; the decade of the 1800s in Louisiana concerning French; the 1890s concerning the use of the Hawaiian language in Hawaii; and from 1880 onward—now formally organized—more than a century of American Indian boarding schools suppressing the use of Native American indigenous language.
See also
edit- List of official languages
- Linguistic demography
- Lists of countries and territories by official language
- Lists of endangered languages
- Lists of languages
- List of countries by the number of recognized official languages
- List of languages by number of native speakers
- List of languages by total number of speakers
- Number of languages by country
- World language
- Languages used on the Internet
References
edit- ^ Constitution of Afghanistan Archived 28 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine (Chapter 1, Article 16)
- ^ Constitution of Albania Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine (Article 14)
- ^ Constitution of Algeria (Article 3)
- ^ Constitution of Andorra (Article 2)
- ^ "Angola". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- ^ Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda, 1981 (Article 29)
- ^ a b "Provincial Law Nº5598" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d "La Cámara de Diputados de la Provincia del Chaco. Sanciona con fuerza de Ley Nro.6604" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ^ Constitution of Armenia
- ^ "Article 8". Constitution of Austria. 1920.
- ^ Bundesgesetz über die Rechtsstellung der Volksgruppen in Österreich (Volksgruppengesetz – VoGrG)
- ^ Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution of Azerbaijan (English translation) (Article 21)
- ^ a b c Constitution of Belgium, in Dutch, French and German Archived 13 April 2003 at the Wayback Machine (Article 4)
- ^ "Bolivia: Decreto Supremo Nº 25894, 11 de septiembre de 2000". 11 September 2000. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ Footitt, Hilary; Kelly, Michael (2012). Languages at War: Policies and Practices of Language Contacts in Conflict. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 111–120. ISBN 978-0230368774.
- ^ According to the Brazilian Constitution, article 13: A língua portuguesa é o idioma oficial da República Federativa do Brasil. "The Portuguese language is the official language of the Federative Republic of Brazil".[1]
- ^ Pomerode institui língua alemã como co-oficial no Município. Archived 30 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Pomerano!?, Retrieved 21 August 2011
- ^ No Brasil, pomeranos buscam uma cultura que se perde Archived 28 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 21 August 2011
- ^ Lei dispõe sobre a cooficialização da língua pomerana no município de Santa maria de Jetibá, Estado do Espírito Santo Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Pommern in Brasilien - LernCafe – Online-Journal zur allgemeinen Weiterbildung". 31 March 2019. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d Artigo da UFRJ sobre a cooficialização de línguas no Brasil
- ^ Município de Itarana participa de ações do Inventário da Língua Pomerana, Prefeitura Municipal de Itarana
- ^ "Lei Municipal nº 1.195/2016 de Itarana/ES". itarana.es.gov.br
- ^ Cooficialização da língua alemã em Antônio Carlos Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "A sala de aula de alemão para falantes de dialeto: realidades e mitos". Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ Brasil: dialeto do baixo-alemão torna-se segunda língua oficial de cidade gaúcha
- ^ Apresentando... Santa Maria do Herval
- ^ "Dialetos Hunsrik e Talian na ofensiva no Sul - Em Santa Maria do Herval, regiăo de Novo Hamburgo, RS, surge forte a mobilizaçăo em favor do Hunsrik - a faceta brasileira/latino-americana do Hunsrückisch. Em Serafina Correa, RS, floresce o talian" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ "Aprovada em primeira votação projeto que torna o Talian segunda língua oficial de Bento Gonçalves". Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ "Co-oficialização do Talian é oficializada pela câmara de Bento Golçalves". Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ "Câmara Bento – Projeto do Executivo é aprovado e Talian se torna a língua co-oficial". Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
- ^ Lei confirma o Talian como segunda língua oficial de Caxias do Sul
- ^ "Talian pode ser língua cooficial de Flores da Cunha". Archived from the original on 15 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ Talian é língua cooficial de Flores da Cunha
- ^ "Flores da Cunha (RS) - Projeto pretende instituir o "Talian" como língua co oficial no Município". Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ Lei Nº 1310 de 16 de outubro de 2015 - Dispõe sobre a cooficialização da língua do "talian", à língua portuguesa, no município de Nova Roma do Sul"
- ^ O Talian agora é a língua co-oficial de Nova Roma do Sul, município de Nova Roma do Sul
- ^ Vereadores aprovam o talian como língua co-oficial do município Archived 30 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 21 August 2011
- ^ Lei municipal oficializa línguas indígenas em São Gabriel da Cachoeira Archived 18 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 24 August 2011
- ^ Na Babel brasileira, português é 2ª língua – FLÁVIA MARTIN e VITOR MORENO, enviados especiais a São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM) Archived 4 June 2012 at archive.today, Retrieved 24 August 2011
- ^ Município do MS adota o guarani como língua oficial Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 24 August 2011
- ^ "Article 5" (PDF). Constitution of Burundi. 2005.
- ^ Les approches bi-plurilingues d'enseignement-apprentissage: autour du programme Écoles et langues nationales en Afrique (ELAN-Afrique): Actes du colloque du 26-27 mars 2015. Archives contemporaines. October 2016. ISBN 9782813001955.
- ^ Indigenal Act, art. 28
- ^ Constitution of Colombia, 1991 (Article 10)
- ^ "Costa Rica 1949 (rev. 2011)". Constitute. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Asamblea Legislativa Costa Rica. "APRUEBAN EL RECONOCIMIENTO DE LA LENGUA CRIOLLA LIMONENSE". Youtube. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ a b The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus (PDF). 1960. art. 3, § 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ a b "Implementation of the Charter in Cyprus", Database for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research, retrieved 11 August 2013
- ^ a b Constitution of Timor-Leste, section 13
- ^ Constitution of Ecuador 2008 Archived 17 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, (Article 2)
- ^ Constitution of France (Article 2)
- ^ Though not explicitly specified in the constitution, this is regulated in §23 Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz (Administrative Procedures Act)
- ^ Publication by Ministry of the Interior (in German) Archived 3 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Constitution of Hungary, Article H - http://www.kormany.hu/download/4/c3/30000/THE%20FUNDAMENTAL%20LAW%20OF%20HUNGARY.pdf
- ^ a b c d e f Recognized by Hungary as minority language by the Ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the Hungarian Parliament - Resolution 35/1995, 7 April 1995 - http://www.complex.hu/kzldat/o95h0035.htm/o95h0035_0.htm Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Deaf History - Europe - 2011: Iceland, Legal Recognition of Icelandic Sign Language". deafhistory.eu. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ "Regional Regulation of Yogyakarta Special Region Number 2 Year about Preservation and Development of Javanese Language, Literature, and Script".
- ^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 4(1st)
- ^ Constitution of Ireland Archived 17 July 2009 at the Portuguese Web Archive (Article 8)
- ^ Priedīte, Aija (2005). "Surveying Language Attitudes and Practices in Latvia". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 26 (5): 409–424. doi:10.1080/01434630508668413. S2CID 145660793.
In 1992, following further amendments to this directive, Latvian was established as the only official language. It took Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development seven more years before the State language law was adopted in 1999, with further amendments in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002.
- ^ Jarinovska, Kristine. "Popular Initiatives as Means of Altering the Core of the Republic of Latvia", Juridica International. Vol. 20, 2013. p. 152 ISSN 1406-5509
- ^ Malaysia's Legal System, Eurasia International Legal Network, Malaysia.
- ^ Constitution of Monaco Archived 15 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine (Article 8)
- ^ "Article 3 – Language". The Constitution of The Republic of Namibia. orusovo.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
- ^ The Constitution of Nepal, article 7 (1)
- ^ The Constitution of Nepal, article 6
- ^ "Archived copy". www.info.gov.nf. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Article 1 (2) of the закон за употреба на јазиците (law on the use of languages), in force since 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Norsk - Språkmøter" Archived 9 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. NDLA. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Elias, Jun (19 September 2012). "Iloko La Union's official language". Philippine Star. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "DO 46, s. 1987 – Amendment to DECS Order No. 33, s. 1987 (Spanish as Optional Subject) | Department of Education". Department of Education. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Hakka Basic Act". law.moj.gov.tw. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ "Indigenous Languages Development Act". law.moj.gov.tw. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ Second official according to the Constitution
- ^ "Draft constitution riles San people". NewsDay. AMH. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ "Field Listing - Languages". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ^ "Spanish-Speaking Countries". Berges Institute. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and it is an official language, either de facto (in practice) or de jure (by law) in 20 countries. Spanish is also an official language in Puerto Rico, Gibraltar, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Organization of American States.
External links
edit- Languages - CIA listing of languages spoken in each country