National language

A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the territory of a country may be referred to informally or designated in legislation as national languages of the country. National languages are mentioned in over 150 world constitutions.[1]

Part of a series on
Nationalism
Nation forming Nationalism in the Middle Ages Anthem Church Colours Emblem Father Flag Epic God Identity Language Myth Sport State Symbol Treasure
Core values Allegiance Independence Patriotism Self-determination Solidarity
Types African Anarchist Blind Bourgeois Business Welfare Civic American Indian Irish Communist Constitutional patriotism Corporate Cultural Cyber- Ecological Economic Ethnic Ethnopluralism European Expansionist Integral Left-wing (populism) Moderate Musical Mystic Neo- Pan- Pluralistic Post- Racial Arab Black Japanese Shōwa Korean White Zionism Religious Christian Catholic Clerical Hindu Hindutva Muslim Sikh Resource Revolutionary National syndicalist National Bolshevik Fascism Legionarism Nazism Rexism Ethnocacerism Romantic Technological Territorial Trans- Ultra-
Organizations List of nationalist organizations
Related concepts Anationalism Anti-nationalism Anti-globalization movement Anti-imperialism Banal nationalism Civil religion Communitarianism Cosmopolitanism Diaspora politics Ethnocentrism Gender and nationalism Globalism Historiography and nationalism Imagined community Imperialism Internationalism Irredentism Jingoism Localism National indifference Nationalism studies Nativism Plurinationalism Racism Revanchism Right-wing populism Seasonal or cultural festival Subsidiarity in Catholicism Trumpism Francoism Xenophobia
Politics portal
v t e

C.M.B. Brann, with particular reference to India, suggests that there are "four quite distinctive meanings" for national language in a polity:[2]

• "Territorial language" (chthonolect, sometimes known as chtonolect[3]) of a particular people
• "Regional language" (choralect)
• "Language-in-common or community language" (demolect) used throughout a country
• "Central language" (politolect) used by government and perhaps having a symbolic value.

The last is usually given the title of official language. In some cases (e.g., the Philippines), several languages are designated as official and a national language is separately designated.