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Encyclopedia > List of countries where language is a political issue
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This is a list of countries where language is a political issue. It is not a list of countries with more than one official language, or more than one language community.


Many countries in the world have more than one official language. This may simply reflect the existence of well defined groups speaking different languages, often including minority groups near borders, and in many such cases the use of multiple languages is unproblematic. However in some cases the issue of which language is to be used in what contexts is a major political issue, with the rights of particular language groups a constant source of political friction. Only these latter cases are listed here. An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ...


More than a question about language per se, such frictions generally illustrate the uneasy cohabitation of different cultural communities, sometimes with different ethnic origins. This is especially the case if one community dominates, or used to dominate, the other (better economical situation, control of government, etc.).


Assessments of gravity

The list attempts to give an idea of the gravity of the problem, but this is inevitably a subjective judgement and liable to change. The ratings are:

  • Serious - language is a major organizing principle of the country's politics, and language disputes persistently threaten the unity of the country and/or involve violent protest or terrorist action
  • Moderate - language disputes regularly arise, but are currently contained
  • Minor - language issues are the concern of a small minority of the population (though those people may take them very seriously.)

List of countries

Note that only the languages in dispute are listed here; several of these countries have additional language communities.

Jump to: navigation, search Arabic (Arabic: العربية; transliterated: al-carabiyyah, less formally, عربي transliterated: carabÄ«) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Afro-Asiatic - Berber The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ... Jump to: navigation, search National motto: Walon todi ! (Walloon forever!) Official languages French, German Capital Namur Minister-President Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe Area  - Total 16,844 km² Population  - Total (2002)  - Density 3,358,560 inhabitants 199. ... Walloon (Walon) is a regional Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Belgium. ... The German-Speaking Community of Belgium (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgien in German, short DGB) is one of the three federal communities in Belgium. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Beginning in 1963, a terrorist group that became known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, robberies and attacks on government offices and at least two murders by FLQ gunfire and three violent deaths by bombings. ... Aboriginal peoples in Canada are indigenous peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 as the Indians (First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. ... For treatment of the various forms of spoken Chinese, see Chinese spoken languages. ... Jump to: navigation, search Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Cornish language (in Cornish: Kernowek, Kernewek, Curnoack) is one of the Brythonic group of Celtic languages that includes Welsh, Breton, the extinct Cumbric and perhaps the hypothetical Ivernic. ... Swedish is a mandatory school subject in Finnish-language schools in Finland (likewise Finnish is a mandatory subject in Swedish-language schools in Finland). ... Jump to: navigation, search The Basque Country (Euskal Herria in Basque) straddles the western Pyrenees mountains that define the border between France and Spain, extending down to the coast of the Bay of Biscay. ... Capital Ajaccio Land area¹ 8,680 km² President of the Executive Council Ange Santini (UMP) (since 2004) Population   - Jan. ... Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hindi (हिन्दी) is an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the official language of Indonesia and a remarkable language in several ways. ... Jump to: navigation, search Arabic (Arabic: العربية; transliterated: al-carabiyyah, less formally, عربي transliterated: carabÄ«) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Kurdish languages or Kurdish dialects, belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, are spoken in the region loosely called Kurdistan including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran (Persia), Iraq, Syria and Turkey. ... Jump to: navigation, search Persian (فارسی / پارسی), (local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, western Pakistan... Jump to: navigation, search Persian (فارسی / پارسی), (local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, western Pakistan... Jump to: navigation, search The Kurdish languages or Kurdish dialects, belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, are spoken in the region loosely called Kurdistan including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran (Persia), Iraq, Syria and Turkey. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Kazak, also Kazakh and Qazaq (Қазақ тілі, Qazaq tilî) is a Turkic language with ISO 639 codes of kaz and kk. ... Frisian is a Germanic language, or group of closely related languages, spoken by around half a million members of an ethnic group living on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Māori (or Maori) is a language spoken by the native peoples of New Zealand and the Cook Islands. ... Jump to: navigation, search A sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication instead of sound to convey meaning - simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speakers thoughts. ... Jump to: navigation, search Royal motto: Quis separabit (Latin: Who will separate?) Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685,267... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Ulster Scots (also known more recently as Ullans) are recent terms for the varieties of Lowland Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Ireland. ... Jump to: navigation, search Irish (Gaeilge), a Goidelic language spoken in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the USA, is constitutionally recognised as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland. ... The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. ... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 by the British and Irish Governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. ... Jump to: navigation, search Norwegian is a Germanic language spoken in Norway. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Jump to: navigation, search Punjabi (also Panjabi, PaṃjābÄ«, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ in GurmukhÄ«, پنجابی in Shahmukhi) is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. ... Sindhi (سنڌي، سندھی, सिन्धी) is the language of the Sindh region of South Asia, which is now a province of Pakistan. ... Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Cebuano, also known as Sugbuanon, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 18,000,000 people and is a subgroup or member of Bisaya, Visayan and Binisayâ. The name came from the Philippine island of Cebu, with the Spanish suffix -ano meaning native, of a place, added... There are over 170 languages of the Philippines; almost all of them belong to the Austronesian language family. ... Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Scottish sundial — the ancient renaissance sundials of Scotland. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig; IPA: ) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ... Jump to: navigation, search Scots (or Lallans, meaning Lowlands), often Lowland Scots to distinguish it from the Gaelic of the Highlands, is a language used in Scotland, as well as parts of Northern Ireland and border areas of the Republic of Ireland, where it is known in official circles as... Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Central–South Slavic diasystem, formerly (and still frequently) called Serbo-Croatian and based on the Å tokavian dialect. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Central–South Slavic diasystem, formerly (and still frequently) called Serbo-Croatian and based on the Å tokavian dialect. ... The Slovak language (slovenčina, slovenský jazyk) is an Indo-European language, more precisely a West Slavic language (together with mainly the Czech, Polish, and Sorbian languages). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ... The term African languages refers to the approximately 1800 languages spoken in Africa. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Jump to: navigation, search Catalan (Català) or Valencian (Valencià) is a Romance language understood by as many as 12 million people in portions of Spain, France, Andorra and Italy, although the majority of active Catalan speakers are in Spain. ... Galician (Galego) is a language variety of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia (in the Galician language, Galicia or Galiza), an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. ... There is consensus amongst linguists that Valencian is the name for the Catalan language which is spoken in the Valencian Country, Spain. ... The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. ... Jump to: navigation, search Mandarin listen [â–¶](Traditional: 北方話, Simplified: 北方话, Hanyu Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà, lit. ... Taiwanese (Chinese: 台語, 台灣話 or 福佬話; Taiwanese Pe̍h-oÄ“-jÄ«: Tâi-oân-oÄ“ or Hō-ló-oÄ“; Hanyu Pinyin: TáiyÇ” or Táiwānhuà) is the primary spoken language of 70% of the Taiwanese population. ... Hakka (Simplified Chinese: 客家话, Traditional Chinese: 客家話, Hakka: Hak-ka-fa/-va, pinyin: Kèjiāhuà) is a Chinese dialect/language spoken predominantly in southern China by the Hakka ethnic group and descendants in diaspora throughout East and Southeast Asia and around the world. ... The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor, is an island nation in Southeast Asia, consisting of the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, a political exclave of East Timor situated on the western side of... An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Kurdish languages or Kurdish dialects, belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, are spoken in the region loosely called Kurdistan including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran (Persia), Iraq, Syria and Turkey. ... The Laz language (Lazuri in Laz, ლაზური (Lazuri) or ჭანური (Chanuri) in Georgian) is spoken by an ethnic group of the same name on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hawaiian is the ancestral language of the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiians, a Polynesian people. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle (R) Senators Daniel Inouye (D) Daniel Akaka (D) Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) Senators Mary Landrieu (D) David Vitter (R) Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455... Native American languages are the indigenous languages of the Americas, spoken by Native Americans from the southern tip of South America to Alaska and Greenland. ... In the United States an Indian reservation is land which is managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interiors Bureau of Indian Affairs. ... Spanish is the second most common language in the United States, after English, being spoken natively by about 30 million people 5 years and over (or 12% of the population) in 2005 excluding 4. ... Jump to: navigation, search National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area  - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Jump to: navigation, search National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area  - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085...

See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Article about "List of countries where language is a political issue" in the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (449 words)
However in some cases the issue of which language is to be used in what contexts is a major political issue, with the rights of particular language groups a constant source of political friction.
The list attempts to give an idea of the gravity of the problem, but this is inevitably a subjective judgement and liable to change.
Serious - language is a major organizing principle of the country's politics, and language disputes persistently threaten the unity of the country and/or involve violent protest or terrorist action
  More results at FactBites »


 

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