Topics Official or national languages

Constitute topics are built from the variables in the Comparative Constitutions Project’s dataset, which captures the content of world constitutions. The particular variables relevant to this topic are listed below, in the form of survey questions.

More information about the CCP’s research design is available here, including background information on how the team designed the inventory of constitutional topics as well as the full coding survey

Description

Establishes the official languages of the state. Official languages are those used for interactions with state agencies. National languages are often local languages, while the official languages of the state sometimes include the language of a former colonial power.

Categories

Culture and Identity

Survey Questions

  • Does the constitution specify either an official or national language?
  • What languages does the constitution list as official?
  • What languages does the constitution list as national?