An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. ^[1] However, official status can also be used to give a language (often indigenous) a legal status, even if that language is not widely spoken. For example, in New Zealand the Māori language has official status under the Māori Language Act even though it is spoken by less than five percent of the New Zealand population. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Māori Language Act 1987 was a piece of Legislation passed by the New Zealand Parliament. ^[2] Non-national or supra-national organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union may also have official languages. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in

True official languages are those designated as such by a regulation or law, such as the Māori Language Act or the Welsh Language Act 1967. The Welsh Language Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c However many languages are considered to be de facto official languages, meaning that although a language may have no official status in a particular country, it is the most commonly used language in that country and the one usually used in official settings. One example of this is the English language in the United States. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The US has no official language (although 30 US states do^[3]), but because English is used for most official matters and the most commonly spoken language, it can be considered the official language in practice if not in law. The United States does not have an Official language; however the majority of the population speaks English as a native language (about 82%

An official language is not to be confused with a national language, although the national language may be official if given legal recognition by the government. A national language is a Language (or language variant, ie Dialect) which has some connection - de facto or de jure - with ^[4]

The practical effects of a language's 'official' designation vary, and often depend on how widely the language is spoken. In some cases only the official language(s) may be used in court, the education system or other settings, whereas in other cases official status merely allows for that language to be used. For example, the Māori Language Act allows Māori to be used in legal settings, but the vast majority of New Zealand legal proceedings are still carried out in English despite English having only de facto official status. In other countries in which the official language is more generally but not universally spoken, such as the Republic of Ireland and Wales, state publications and signage must be available in the official language as well as the dominant language. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Official language status usually increases the likelihood that a language will be widely taught in schools, and in many cases (for example Ireland) the official language is a compulsory subject.

Official language status is often connected with wider political issues of sovereignty, cultural nationalism, and the rights of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical For example, the campaign to make English the de jure official language of the United States is often seen as a way of marginalizing non English-speaking minorities, particularly Latinos, whereas in the Republic of Ireland the decision to make the Irish language an official language was part of a wider program of cultural revitalization and Gaelic nationalism. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Irish nationalism (Náisiúnachas Éireannach refers to political and sociological movements and sentiment that embodies a love for Irish ancestry, culture and language and Various indigenous rights movements have sought greater recognition of their languages, often through official language status.

See also

• List of official languages (by language)
• List of official languages by state
• List of official languages by institution
• National language
• Working language

References

• Akira Nakanishi (1990) "Writing Systems of the World: Alphabets, Syllabaries, Pictograms", ISBN 0804816549 — the book lists official languages of the countries of the world, among other information, although it contains errors; e. g. , it names English as the official language of the United States.