An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a country's official language refers to the language used within its government - its courts, parliament, administration, etc. - to run its operations and conduct its business. Since "the means of expression of a people cannot be changed by any law", the term "official language" does not typically refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government.
Famous quotes containing the words official and/or language:
“In a country where offices are created solely for the benefit of the people no one man has any more intrinsic right to official station than another.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“Was there a little time between the invention of language and the coming of true and false?”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)