National language
Language that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation.
- National language256 related topics
Regional language
Language spoken in an area of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.
Language spoken in an area of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.
For example, Catalan (a regional language of Spain, Italy and France, albeit the national language of Andorra) has more speakers than Finnish or Danish.
Languages of Africa
[[File:Map of African language families.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|A simplistic view of language families spoken in Africa:
[[File:Map of African language families.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|A simplistic view of language families spoken in Africa:
Although many mid-sized languages are used on the radio, in newspapers and in primary-school education, and some of the larger ones are considered national languages, only a few are official at the national level.
Bengali language
Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia.
Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia.
Bengali is the official and national language of Bangladesh, with 98% of Bangladeshis using Bengali as their first language.
Monolingualism
Condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism.
Condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism.
In a different context, "unilingualism" may refer to a language policy which enforces an official or national language over others.
Berber languages
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages (Berber name: Tamaziɣt, Tamazight, Thamazight;, , ), are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages (Berber name: Tamaziɣt, Tamazight, Thamazight;, , ), are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
In 2001, Berber became a constitutional national language of Algeria, and in 2011 Berber became a constitutionally official language of Morocco.
Official language
Language given a special status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction.
Language given a special status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction.
Many of the world's constitutions mention one or more official or national languages.
De facto
De facto (de facto, "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms.
De facto (de facto, "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms.
Several countries, including Australia, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States, have a de facto national language but no official, de jure national language.
Indigenous language
Language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples.
Language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples.
Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be; for example, Aymara is an official language of Bolivia.
Mandarin Chinese
Group of Sinitic languages and dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China.
Group of Sinitic languages and dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China.
By the early 20th century, a standard form based on the Beijing dialect, with elements from other Mandarin dialects, was adopted as the national language.
German language
West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Central Europe.
West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Central Europe.
It is also a co-official language of Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as a national language in Namibia.