official language
Government-designated speech
An official language is one designated by a government or institution for use in laws, courts, education, and public administration.
A country may have one official language or several: Canada recognizes both English and French.
Official status doesn't always reflect what most people speak at home—a nation's official language may be a colonial inheritance while local languages dominate daily life.
- lingua francaShared tongue between peoples
- de jureBy right of law
- de factoReal though not official
- governmentAuthority over a state
- diglossiaCoexisting language varieties, distinct roles
constitution · linguistic purism · bilingualism · minority languages · officialese · indigenous languages · English · French · bureaucracy · minority · Mandarin · United Nations · European Union · sovereignty · colonial · translation · passport · diplomatic
- Standard LanguagesMandarin Chinese, High German, BBC English, Oxford English, Queen's English
- South AsiaIndia, Indian states, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hindustan
- sociolinguisticssociolinguistics, diglossia, bilingualism, dialects, code-switching
- language policybilingual education, immersion programs, English-only, citizenship tests
- Language Standardsprescriptivism, proper grammar, proper usage, correctness, codification
- World EnglishesIndian English, Singlish, Hinglish, Chinglish, Japanglish
official languagehome language
Language acquired from birth
private language · mother tongue · native language · regional language · first language
office, language, officer, official, unofficial, officially, officiate, unofficially, officialdom