Landessprachen

Landessprachen, commonly translated as official or state languages, are languages designated by a government as having formal status within a country or region. They are used in legislation, administration, education, the judiciary, and public communications. Landessprachen may be national, applying countrywide, or regional, limited to particular states, cantons, or territories. They are distinct from minority languages, which may be protected but lack broad official status, and from lingua franca used for intercommunal communication.

Policy measures often include declaring one or more languages official, providing government services and documents in those languages, and allowing or requiring instruction in official or regional languages. Signage, courts, and public broadcasting may be conducted in landessprachen, and translation or interpretation is commonly provided where necessary.

Examples of multinational landessprachen include: Switzerland with German, French, Italian, and Romansh; Canada with English and French; Belgium with Dutch, French, and German; Ireland with Irish and English; India with multiple official languages, including Hindi and English at the central level and many states appointing their own; South Africa with eleven official languages. These arrangements reflect historical development, population distribution, and constitutional protection of language rights, and they can pose challenges for education, administration, and social cohesion.