Official Language
An official language or language is one established as in current use in official documents, in the Constitution or other legal instruments of a Country and, by extension, in its territories or direct administrative areas. It is the language of official use in government acts or in the acts and services of the public administration , in justice and the private sector. It can also be, without legal obligation, the language of official instruction and teaching in the public and even private educational system.
History
It is strongly linked to the definition of the nation-state. For many, a State is defined in exclusive linguistic terms compared to other communities. This gave rise to two phenomena in the nationalism of the last half of the 19th century :
- The disintegration of a multilingual State such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire , where each national group that made up it believed it was necessary to establish national states based on said community distinction; either
- An integrating element, as was the process of unification of speakers of the same language dispersed in a multiplicity of States. It was the situation in Germany before the 1871 creation of the German Empire and the basis of the nationalist policy of Adolf Hitler ‘s Third Reich . Likewise in Italy , shortly after its unification, it was the public school that unified a series of regional dialects into a standard Italian and thus created the notion of a National State.
Difference between National language and official language
The national language of a country is related to the socio-political and cultural functions of the country, while the official language is related to government affairs, such as the functioning of the parliament or the national court.
Official and national languages occupy a special position in the representation of a country’s identity. The main function of both languages is to represent the nation .
| National language | Official language |
| The national language of a country is related to the socio-political and cultural functions of the country. | An official language of a country is related to government affairs such as the functioning of parliament or national courts. |
| It is related to the sociopolitical and cultural functions of a nation. | It is used for government affairs such as the legal system or parliament. |
| A national language of a country can become its official language by default. | For a language to become the official language of a country, it must be legally approved. |
| It is mainly a sociocultural manifestation. | It embodies a political-geographical manifestation. |
Similarities between National language and official language
- Official and national languages occupy a special position in the representation of a country’s identity.
- Both official and national languages usually have verbal and written linguistic systems.
- A national language can be considered an official language of the same State or nation.
- The main function of a national language and the official language is to represent the nation.
