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A regional language is a language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a federal
Federalism

Federalism is a political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together with a governing representative head. The term federalism is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units ....
 state
State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
 or province
Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state....
, or some wider area.

>
  1. traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the State's population; and
  2. different from the official language(s) of that State


Influence of number of speakers
There are many cases when a regional language can claim greater numbers of speakers than certain languages which happen to be official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
s of sovereign states.






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A regional language is a language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a federal
Federalism

Federalism is a political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together with a governing representative head. The term federalism is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units ....
 state
State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
 or province
Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state....
, or some wider area.

Definition in international law


For the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European treaty adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional language and minority languages in Europe....
:

"regional or minority languages" means languages that are:
  1. traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the State's population; and
  2. different from the official language(s) of that State


Influence of number of speakers


There are many cases when a regional language can claim greater numbers of speakers than certain languages which happen to be official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
s of sovereign states. For example, Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 (a regional language of Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 and France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, albeit official in Andorra
Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France....
) has more speakers than Finnish
Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by Finnish people outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden....
 or Danish
Danish language

Danish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the status of minority language....
. In China, Wu, spoken in southern Jiangsu
Jiangsu

is a Province of China of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou....
 and northern Zhejiang
Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of China of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital....
 by more than 90 million speakers, can claim more native speakers than French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
, and Cantonese, a regional language of Guangdong
Guangdong

Guangdong is a political divisions of China on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province is also known by an alternative English language name, the Canton Province....
 and nearby areas in China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 with more than 60 million local and overseas speakers (North America, parts of Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
), outnumbers Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 in number of speakers. Subgroups and dialects of the Min group have over 70 million speakers, mainly in Fujian
Fujian

is one of the Province of China on the southeast coast of People's Republic of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south....
 and in nearby Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, but also in the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
 and Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
.

Relationship with official languages


In some cases, a regional language may be closely related to the state's main language or official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
. For example:
  • Walloon
    Walloon language

    Walloon is a Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Wallonia, Belgium. It belongs to the langue d'o?l language family, whose most prominent member is the French language, but should not be considered a French dialect: a French speaking person can only understand Walloon with difficulty, especially in its eastern forms....
    , a regional language of France and Belgium
    Belgium

    * A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
    , belongs to the same family of Oďl languages as French
    French language

    French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
    .
  • Limburgish, a regional language in Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    , The Netherlands and Belgium
    Belgium

    * A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
     has over 250,000 speakers and is closely related to Luxembourgish, Rhinelandic
    Rhinelandic

    Rhinelandic is a term occasionally used for linguistic varieties in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, including the Limburgish language, Zuid-Gelders, Moselle Franconian and Ripuarian ....
     and Ripuarian
    Ripuarian

    Ripuarian is a West Germanic languages dialect group spoken in the Rhineland, eastern Belgium and southern Limburg from northwest of D?sseldorf and Cologne to Aachen in the west, and Waldbr?l in the east, and also the name of the people who spoke it....
    .
  • Low Saxon
    Low Saxon

    Low Saxon may refer to:*Of or relating to Lower Saxony*Any West Low German speech variety*The Northern Low Saxon speech varieties*Especially in the Netherlands, any Low German speech variety ? see also Dutch Low Saxon...
     (also referred to as Low German
    Low German

    Low German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands....
    ), an officially recognized regional language in Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
     and The Netherlands, the direct descendant of Old Saxon
    Old Saxon

    Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German , is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 9th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German....
    , in some people’s opinion two languages divided by today’s Netherlands
    Netherlands

    The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
    -German
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
     border on account of Dutch influences in the west and German influences in the east; closely related to Frisian
    Frisian language

    The Frisian languages are a closely related group of Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 members of Frisians ethnic groups, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany....
    , more distantly to German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
    .
  • Scots
    Scots language

    Scots or Lowland Scots refers to the Germanic Variety derived from Middle English spoken in parts of Lowland Scotland, Northern Ireland and the border areas of the Republic of Ireland....
    , a regional language of Scotland
    Scotland

    conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
     and Ireland
    Ireland

    Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
    , belongs to the same family of West Germanic languages
    West Germanic languages

    The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic languages family of languages and include languages such as English language, Dutch language and Afrikaans, German language, the Frisian languages, as well as Yiddish language....
     as English
    English language

    English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
    .
  • Regional languages of Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
    : Aranese, Catalan/Valencian
    Catalan language

    Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
    , Basque
    Basque language

    Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
     and Galician
    Galician

    Galician can refer to:* Galician language, of Galicia * Galician people, an ethnic group of Galicia, Spain* Galician wine, wine produced in Galicia, Spain...
     all have co-official status.
  • Leonese
    Leonese language

    The Leonese language was developed from Vulgar Latin with contributions from the pre-Roman languages which were spoken in the territory of the Spanish provinces of Le?n , Zamora, and Salamanca and in some villages in the District of Bragan?a, Portugal....
    , a regional language of Leonese Kingdom, recognized in Castile and León (Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
    ), and in Miranda (Portugal) as Mirandese, close to Spanish and Portuguese.
  • The Frisian languages, regional languages of The Netherlands and Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    , belong to the Germanic
    Germanic languages

    The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European languages language family. The common ancestor of all the languages in this branch is Proto-Germanic, spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Pre-Roman Iron Age....
     family.
  • Romansch, a regional Romance language with a different set of vocabulary, but related to Italian
    Italian language

    Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
     spoken in the Swiss
    Switzerland

    Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
     canton of Graubünden
    Graubünden

    Graub?nden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost cantons of Switzerland of Switzerland. The name Graub?nden translates as "Grey Leagues," referring to the canton's origin in three local alliances, the League of God's House, the Grey League, and the League of Ten Jurisdictions....
    .
  • Vőro
    Voro language

    The Voro language can refer to two different languages:# Voro language ? an Adamawa languages language of Nigeria.# V?ro language ? a Finno-Ugric languages language of Estonia....
    , a regional language of Estonia
    Estonia

    Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Finland across the Gulf of Finland, to the west by Sweden across the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russia ....
    , belongs to the same family of Finno-Ugric languages
    Finno-Ugric languages

    Finno-Ugric is a group of languages in the Uralic languages family, comprising Finnish language, Estonian language, Hungarian language and related languages....
     as Estonian
    Estonian language

    Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various ?migr? communities....
    .
  • Livonian
    Livonian language

    Livonian belongs to the Baltic-Finnic languages branch of the Uralic languages. It is a moribund language now spoken by some 35 people, of whom only 10 are fluent....
     is a regional language of the Finno-Ugric languages
    Finno-Ugric languages

    Finno-Ugric is a group of languages in the Uralic languages family, comprising Finnish language, Estonian language, Hungarian language and related languages....
     family spoken in the Livonian islands of Estonia
    Estonia

    Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Finland across the Gulf of Finland, to the west by Sweden across the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russia ....
     and Latvia
    Latvia

    Latvia The Latvians are a Baltic peoples culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian language, but not with the Estonian language....
    .


  • All Chinese languages belong to the same family as Standard Mandarin
    Standard Mandarin

    Standard Mandarin, or Standard Chinese, is the official modern Spoken Chinese used in People's Republic of China and Republic of China, and is one of the four official languages of Languages of Singapore....
     (Putonghua), the national standard of the PRC. Mandarin is not mutually intelligible with them. Speakers of all of them, nevertheless, use the same standard written language
    Chinese written language

    Written Chinese comprises the written symbols used to represent spoken Chinese and the rules about how they are arranged and punctuated. These symbols are commonly known as Chinese characters ....
     (although this written language is largely based on the Mandarin dialects group)


    • Wu, a regional language of Shanghai
      Shanghai

      Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
      , southern Jiangsu
      Jiangsu

      is a Province of China of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou....
       and northern Zhejiang
      Zhejiang

      Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of China of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital....
    • Cantonese, a regional language of Guangdong
      Guangdong

      Guangdong is a political divisions of China on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province is also known by an alternative English language name, the Canton Province....
    • Hakka, a regional language in southern China
      China

      China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
      , including Guangdong
      Guangdong

      Guangdong is a political divisions of China on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province is also known by an alternative English language name, the Canton Province....
      , Fujian
      Fujian

      is one of the Province of China on the southeast coast of People's Republic of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south....
      , and Taiwan
      Taiwan

      Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
    • Min, a regional language in southeastern China
      China

      China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
      , including Fujian
      Fujian

      is one of the Province of China on the southeast coast of People's Republic of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south....
       and Taiwan
      Taiwan

      Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
    • Xiang, a regional language China
      China

      China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
      ’s Hunan
      Hunan

      is a province of China of People's Republic of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting . Hunan is sometimes called wikt:? for short, after the Xiang River which runs through the province....
       province and some surrounding areas
    • Gan, a regional language in non-coastal central China
      China

      China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
      , in and around Jiangxi
      Jiangxi

      is a southern province of China of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
       Province


In other cases, a regional language may be very different from the state’s main language or official language. For example:
  • Welsh
    Welsh language

    Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
    , a Celtic
    Celtic languages

    The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic", a branch of the greater Indo-European languages language family. The term "Celtic" was used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, having much earlier been used by Greek and Roman writers to describe tribes in central Gaul....
     language spoken in Wales
    Wales

    native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
    , part of the United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
    .
  • Breton
    Breton language

    The Breton language is a Celtic languages spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany in France....
    , a Celtic
    Celtic languages

    The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic", a branch of the greater Indo-European languages language family. The term "Celtic" was used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, having much earlier been used by Greek and Roman writers to describe tribes in central Gaul....
     language spoken in France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
    .
  • Basque
    Basque language

    Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
    , a regional language in Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
     and France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
    . It is a language isolate
    Language isolate

    A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other living languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common to any other language....
  • Sorbian, a regional language of Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    . Sorbian is a Slavic language
    Slavic languages

    File:Slavic europe.svgThe Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia....
    .
  • Gagauz
    Gagauz language

    The Gagauz language is a Turkic language, spoken by the Gagauz people, and the official language of Gagauzia, Republic of Moldova. It is spoken by approximately 150,000 people....
    , a Turkic language
    Turkic languages

    The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea to Siberia and Western China, and are sometimes considered to be part of the proposed Altaic languages....
     used in Moldova
    Moldova

    Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....
    .


Official languages as regional languages

An official language of a country may also be spoken as a regional language in a region of a neighbouring country. For example:
  • Russian
    Russian language

    Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
    , the official language of the Russian Federation, is a regional language of Ukraine
    Ukraine

    Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
     (such as the autonomous republic of the Crimea
    Crimea

    Crimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous republic of Ukraine located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name....
    ), Abkhazia
    Abkhazia

    Abkhazia is a disputed region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian?Abkhaz conflict, it is governed by the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Republic of Abkhazia....
    , South Ossetia
    South Ossetia

    South Ossetia is a disputed region in the South Caucasus. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, it is governed by the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Republic of South Ossetia, which claims the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within t...
     and other entities.
  • Catalan
    Catalan language

    Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
    , the official language of Andorra
    Andorra

    Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France....
    , is a regional language in Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
     and France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
    .
  • German
    German language

    German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
    , an official language of Austria
    Austria

    Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
    , Belgium
    Belgium

    * A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
    , Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    , Liechtenstein
    Liechtenstein

    The Principality of Liechtenstein is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked country alpine country microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and by Austria to the east....
    , Luxembourg
    Luxembourg

    Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany....
     and Switzerland
    Switzerland

    Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
    , is a regional language of Italy
    Italy

    Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
     and Denmark
    Denmark

    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
    .
  • Hungarian
    Hungarian language

    Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
    , a Finno-Ugric language
    Finno-Ugric languages

    Finno-Ugric is a group of languages in the Uralic languages family, comprising Finnish language, Estonian language, Hungarian language and related languages....
     and official in Hungary
    Hungary

    Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
    , is a regional language of Romania
    Romania

    Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
     whose official language, Romanian
    Romanian language

    Romanian or Daco-Romanian ; self-designation: limba rom?na, ) is a Romance languages spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova....
     is a Romance language.
  • Cantonese, one of the official languages in Hong Kong
    Hong Kong

    Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
     and Macau
    Macau

    The Macau Special Administrative Region, , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong....
     (both special administrative region
    Special administrative region (People's Republic of China)

    A Special Administrative Region is a highly autonomous and largely self-governing subnational entity of the People's Republic of China. Each SAR has a gubernatorial chief executive as head of the region and head of government....
    s of the People's Republic of China
    People's Republic of China

    The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
    ), is used as a regional language of the province of Guangdong, People's Republic of China
    People's Republic of China

    The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
    .
  • Afrikaans
    Afrikaans

    Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from Dutch language and thus classified as Low Franconian languages West Germanic languages. It is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller numbers of speakers living in Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, United States of America, Taiwa...
    , an official language of South Africa
    South Africa

    The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
    , is a regional language of Namibia
    Namibia

    Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
    .


See also

  • Minority language
    Minority language

    A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. Such people are termed linguistic minorities. With a total number of 193 sovereign states recognized internationally and an estimated number of roughly 5,000 to 7,000 List of languages by name spoken worldwide, it follows that the vast majority of la...
  • National language
    National language

    A national language is a language which has some connection - de facto or de jure - with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy....
  • Languages of France
  • Languages of the European Union
    Languages of the European Union

    The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others....
  • British-Irish Council
    British-Irish Council

    The British-Irish Council is a body created by the Belfast Agreement in 1998, and formally established on 2 December 1999 on the entry into force of the consequent legislation....
  • Languages in the United Kingdom
    Languages in the United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom does not have a constitutionally defined official language. English language is the main language and is thus the de facto official language....
  • List of languages of Italy
    List of Languages of Italy

    The official language of Italy is Italian language, a descendant of the Tuscan dialect and a direct descendant of Latin , but several regional languages are also spoken to varying degrees....