Login
Login

regional language

{{Short description|Language spoken in parts but not all of a country}}

{{Redirect|Local language|the concept in formal language theory|Local language (formal language)}}

{{Distinguish|National language|Nation language}}

{{EngvarB|date=January 2019}}

{{multiple issues|

{{More citations needed|date=February 2010}}

{{one source|date=May 2023}}

{{original research|date=May 2023}}

{{Expert needed|linguistics|date=April 2025}}

}}

A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.

Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, "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{{cite web|title=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|url=http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/Treaties/Html/148.htm|website=Council of Europe|access-date=11 March 2015|archive-date=26 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226052008/http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/HTML/148.htm|url-status=live}}

Recognition of regional or minority languages must not be confused with recognition as an official language.

Relationship with official languages

In some cases, a regional language may be closely related to the state's main language or official language. For example:

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

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:

  • Afrikaans, an official language of South Africa, is a regional language of Namibia.
  • Arabic, official in Zanzibar, a region of Tanzania.
  • Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh, and is the regional language of West Bengal in India.
  • Bulgarian is the official language of Bulgaria, and is the regional language of Albania, Czech Republic,{{cite web|url=http://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/rnm/dokumenty/mezinarodni-dokumenty/duvodova_zprava_vlada_2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223714/http://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/rnm/dokumenty/mezinarodni-dokumenty/duvodova_zprava_vlada_2005.pdf |archive-date=2014-07-14 |url-status=live |title=Národnostní menšiny v České republice a jejich jazyky|trans-title=National Minorities in Czech Republic and Their Language|publisher=Government of Czech Republic|page=2|quote=Podle čl. 3 odst. 2 Statutu Rady je jejich počet 12 a jsou uživateli těchto menšinových jazyků: ..., srbština a ukrajinština|language=cs}} Hungary,{{cite web|url=http://languagecharter.eokik.hu/sites/StatesParties/Hungary.htm |title=Implementation of the Charter in Hungary|work=Database for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|publisher=Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research|access-date=16 June 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227004902/http://languagecharter.eokik.hu/sites/StatesParties/Hungary.htm|archive-date=27 February 2014}} Moldova, Romania,{{Cite book|last=Frawley|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl_dDVctycgC|title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-513977-8|pages=83|language=en}} Serbia, Turkey,{{Cite book |last=Bayır |first=Derya |title=Minorities and nationalism in Turkish law |date=2013 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-1-4094-7254-4 |series=Cultural Diversity and Law |location=Farnham|url=https://www.academia.edu/37557239| pages=88, 203–204}}{{Cite journal |last1=Toktaş |first1=Şule |last2=Araş |first2=Bulent |date=2009 |title=The EU and Minority Rights in Turkey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25655744 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=124 |issue=4 |pages=697–720 |doi=10.1002/j.1538-165X.2009.tb00664.x |jstor=25655744 |issn=0032-3195|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Köksal |first=Yonca |date=2006 |title=Minority Policies in Bulgaria and Turkey: The Struggle to Define a Nation |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14683850601016390 |journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=501–521 |doi=10.1080/14683850601016390 |s2cid=153761516 |issn=1468-3857|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |first=Kader |last=Özlem |date=2019 |title=An Evaluation on Istanbul's Bulgarians as the "Invisible Minority" of Turkey |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=802933 |journal=Turan-Sam |language=English |volume=11 |issue=43 |pages=387–393 |issn=1308-8041}} and Ukraine.
  • Cantonese, one of the official standard varieties in Hong Kong and Macau (both special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China), is used as a regional language of the province of Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
  • Catalan, the official language of Andorra, is a regional language in Spain (Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Valencian Community), France (Pyrénées Orientales) and Italy (Alghero, Sardinia).
  • German, an official language of Austria, Belgium, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland, is a regional language in Italy (South Tyrol), Poland (Silesia), France (Alsace and Lorraine), Denmark (Southern), Namibia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela.
  • Hakka, one of the national languages of Taiwan, is spoken as a regional language in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian, People's Republic of China.
  • Hokkien, one of the national languages of Taiwan, is spoken as a regional language in the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.
  • Hungarian, a Uralic language and official in Hungary, is a regional language of Romania (Northern Transylvania).
  • Irish, the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, is a regional language in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom.
  • Japanese, one of the national language in Japan, is a regional language in Palau (Angaur Island).
  • Korean, the official language of Korea, is a regional language in People's Republic of China (Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture).
  • Malay, the official language of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, is a regional language in Indonesia (Riau Province).
  • Portuguese, the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe, is a regional language in South Africa and Uruguay and in Goa in India and Olivenza in Spain; it is also both the official and regional language in Macau.
  • Romanian, the official language of Romania, Moldova,{{cite news|url=https://protv.md/actualitate/modificat-si-in-constitutie-limba-de-stat-a-republicii-moldova-este-limba-romana-foto---2648619.html|title=Modificat și în Constituție: "Limba de stat a Republicii Moldova este limba română" – FOTO|publisher=ProTV Chișinău|date=30 March 2023|language=ro|access-date=2 April 2023|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331075620/https://protv.md/actualitate/modificat-si-in-constitutie-limba-de-stat-a-republicii-moldova-este-limba-romana-foto---2648619.html|url-status=live}} Transnistria,{{cite news|url=https://newsmaker.md/ro/cat-exista-transnistria-va-exista-limba-moldoveneasca-krasnoselski-despre-posibile-divergente-cu-chisinaul/|title="Cât există Transnistria, va exista "limba moldovenească". Krasnoselski, despre posibile divergențe cu Chișinăul|first=Stela|last=Untila|newspaper=NewsMaker|date=14 July 2021|language=ro|access-date=2 April 2023|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402182649/https://newsmaker.md/ro/cat-exista-transnistria-va-exista-limba-moldoveneasca-krasnoselski-despre-posibile-divergente-cu-chisinaul/|url-status=live}} Serbia (Vojvodina),{{cite web | url = http://www.puma.vojvodina.gov.rs/etext.php?ID_mat=207 | title = Official use of languages and scripts in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina | publisher = Provincial Secretariat for Regulations, Administration and National Minorities | accessdate = 18 October 2010 | archive-date = 25 October 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201025083851/http://www.puma.vojvodina.gov.rs/etext.php?ID_mat=207 | url-status = live }} is a regional language in Bulgaria, Hungary (Gyula),{{Cite web |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-charter-regional-or-minority-languages/home/-/asset_publisher/VzXuex45jmKt/content/hungary-needs-to-strengthen-use-of-and-access-to-minority-languages?_101_INSTANCE_VzXuex45jmKt_viewMode=view/ |title=Hungary needs to strengthen use of and access to minority languages |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=16 January 2019 |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827104838/https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-charter-regional-or-minority-languages/home/-/asset_publisher/VzXuex45jmKt/content/hungary-needs-to-strengthen-use-of-and-access-to-minority-languages?_101_INSTANCE_VzXuex45jmKt_viewMode=view/ |url-status=live }} Serbia [Timok Valley (both known as Romanian and "Vlach")],{{cite web|url=http://www.npld.eu/news/latest-news/60/latest-council-of-europe-report-on-regional-or-minority-languages-in-serbia-published-/|title=Latest Council of Europe report on regional or minority Languages in Serbia published|publisher=The Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity|access-date=25 June 2015|archive-date=26 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626134700/http://www.npld.eu/news/latest-news/60/latest-council-of-europe-report-on-regional-or-minority-languages-in-serbia-published-/|url-status=dead}} Ukraine (Chernivtsi and Odesa oblasts)
  • Russian, the official language of the Russian Federation and Belarus, is a regional language of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and other entities.
  • Tamil, one of the official languages of Singapore and Sri Lanka, is a regional language in India (Tamil Nadu)
  • Tigrinya, an official language of Eritrea, is a regional language in Ethiopia (Tigray Region).
  • Turkish, the official language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus, is a regional language of Kosovo.

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://ppooii.com Regional language accessibility web tool ]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regional Language}}

Category:Linguistic rights

Category:Linguistic minorities

Category:Concepts in language policy

eu:Hizkuntza gutxitu

csb:Òbéndowi jãzëk