official language
Let an agent explain official language status and its varieties, relay examples and legal frameworks from language policy sources with attribution, describe the difference between official, national and state languages, and distinguish official status from majority use and from de facto official languages.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain official language status and its varieties, relay examples and legal frameworks from language policy sources with attribution, describe the difference between official, national and state languages, and distinguish official status from majority use and from de facto official languages.
A language given special legal status in a country, state or organisation, used in government, courts, education and official documents, whether as the sole official language, one of several co-official languages, an additional official language for particular regions or purposes, or the working languages of international bodies such as the six official languages of the United Nations and the 24 of the European Union; many countries, such as India with its scheduled languages or Kyrgyzstan with Kyrgyz as state language and Russian as official, distinguish between state, official and national languages.
What it is for: Not applicable; a legal status.
It can be explain the status; relay examples and frameworks; describe distinctions; distinguish from de facto use.
Distinguishing features
Legal designation
Government use
Sole or co-official
Varies by level
What it looks like
Not a visible object; a legal designation.
Physical character
UN official languages: 6 count
EU official languages: 24 count
countries with no de jure official language: several count - such as the United States federally
How it is recognised
Language with legal status in government
Sole and co-official languages, additional official languages, state languages, EU and UN official languages, languages with official status in India
A national language may be symbolic; a de facto official language has no law; a majority language may lack status
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms, as a status
is set by - and constitutions
is exemplified by - six languages
is contrasted with - a symbolic or cultural designation
In practice
Families and kinds
sole official languages
co-official languages and linguistic co-officiality
additional and regional official languages
state languages as in Kyrgyzstan
official languages of international organisations such as the UN and EU
scheduled and official languages in India
Standards and regulation
Constitutions and language laws
EU regulation 1 of 1958 on languages
UN rules of procedure on official and working languages
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
Failure modes and hazards
Confusing official, national and state languages
Assuming majority languages are official
Political framing of language disputes
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand What an official language is.
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is an official language, and how does it differ from national, state and de facto official languages? definition
- Is the question about the status in general or a specific country or organisation? boundary
Kinds
Kinds.
Kinds
Kinds.
- What are sole, co-official, additional and regional official languages? definition
- Which entry fits the specific kind? action
Examples Examples.
Sources.
Countries
Countries.
Countries
Countries.
- How do India, Kyrgyzstan, Switzerland, Canada and other countries define official languages? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Organisations
International organisations.
Organisations
Organisations.
- What are the official and working languages of the UN and EU, and how are they used? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Policy Policy and rights.
Attribution.
Rights
Language rights.
Rights
Rights.
- What rights does official status confer for citizens, courts and education? provenance
- Which entry fits linguistic rights? action
Debates
Debates.
Debates
Debates.
- What debates surround official language choices and minority languages, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Context History and data.
Context.
History
History.
History
History.
- How did the idea of official languages develop with nation states? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of language policy? action
Data
Data.
Data
Data.
- Where are lists of official languages by country maintained? provenance
- Which entry fits list of official languages by country? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should the EU and UN official languages be separate primary entries?
- How should language policy sources be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific countries and organisations; should they be split off?