An
official language is a
language that is given a special legal status in a particular
country,
state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. 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. Non-national or supra-national organizations such as the
United Nations and the
European Union may also have official languages.
Politics
Official language status is often connected with wider political issues of
sovereignty, cultural nationalism, and the rights of
indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, including immigrant communities. 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
Hispanic and Latino Americans, 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. Various indigenous rights movements have sought greater recognition of their languages, often through official language status.
See also
