What is the Difference Between National Language and Official Language

The main difference between national language and official language is that a national language of a country is related to the country’s socio-political and cultural functions, while an official language of a county is connected to government affairs such as the functioning of the parliament or the national court.

Official and national languages hold a special position in representing a country’s identity. The core function of both languages is to represent the nation.

Key Areas Covered 

1. What is a National Language  
     – Definition, Features
2. What is an Official Language
     – Definition, Features
3. Similarities Between National Language and Official Language
     – Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between National Language and Official Language
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

National Language, Official Language

What is a National Language

A national language acts as a symbol or identity for any country or nation. A language rises up to the status of the national language as that particular language is used by the country’s majority as their first language of written and verbal communication. Almost all the countries in the world have a national language apart from a few exceptions, such as Australia and India. More than 150 countries in the world have included national languages in their constitutions. However, it’s also important to note that a country can have a national language that can also be an official language of that particular country: for example, Bengali in Bangladesh.

Elaborating further, a country with a significant ethnic diversity can have more than one first language. Such a situation may cause a particular country or a nation to have more than one official language.

What is an Official Language

An official language is a language that has a special legal status in a particular state, country, or other jurisdiction. This means that an official language of a country or a nation is the language people use for the nation’s parliamentary, administrative, and legal affairs.

Many nations in the world use one standard official language for government affairs. However, when it comes to multi-ethnic nations, they usually have more than one official language in practice due to varying politically, historically, or linguistically driven reasons. For instance, India is a multi-ethnic state with 22 official languages in practice. Canada is another example as it has two official languages: French and English.

Similarities Between National Language and Official Language

• Official and national languages hold a special position in representing a country’s identity.
• Furthermore, 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 the nation.
• Moreover, the core function of a national language and the official language is to represent the nation.

Difference Between National Language and Official Language

Definition

A national language of a country is related to the country’s socio-political and cultural functions, while an official language of a county is connected to government affairs such as the functioning of the parliament or the national court.

Primary Function

A national language is interconnected with the socio-political and cultural functions of a nation, while official language/languages is/are used for government affairs such as the legal system or the parliament.

Origin

A national language of a country can become the official language of the same country by default. However, if a language is to become the official language of a country, it must be approved legally.

Nature

A national language is primarily a socio-cultural manifestation, whereas an official language embodies a politico-geographical manifestation.

Communication

Generally, if the national language and official language of a country are different, people usually use the national language for general communication (majority people) and the official language for official communication purposes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the main difference between national language and official language of a country lies in their function. A nation language serves a symbolic function towards the nation represented by it while the function of an official language is mainly utilitarian. Furthermore, a national language is primarily a socio-cultural manifestation, whereas an official language embodies a politico-geographical manifestation.

Reference:

1. “Languages Spoken in Each Country of the World.” Infoplease.
2. “Languages of the World : Asian Languages by Countries.” Nations Online Project.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Multilingual-languages-speak-talk” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “Official language(s) by country in the world” By Aogiri – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia