Dear MEL Topic Readers,
New Zealand has a new official language — English
While a national language is a symbol of a nation’s history, culture,
and identity, an official language is defined by law for use in parliament, courts,
public administration, and official documents. Of the 178 countries that
recognize an official language, about 100 recognize more than one language. For
example, Bolivia has 37, South Africa has 12, Switzerland has four, India has
two, and Brazil has one official language. The UK, Japan, and Mexico have no
official language, but English, Japanese, and Spanish have de facto status
respectively. In addition to Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, English has
recently become New Zealand’s official language. As English is spoken by over
95% of the population and used in courts and parliament, it has had de facto status.
So why has New Zealand officialized English while its English-speaking neighbor,
Australia, hasn’t? Whatever the status is, English is a lingua franca, a shared
language used for communication between different native tongues in global
business and in the South Pacific region.
Read the article and learn what an official language status means to
New Zealanders.
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