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Languagestatus

WesummarizethestatusofeachlanguageineachcountrywhereitisusedintheStatuselementofalanguageentrybyreportingtwotypesofinformation.ThefirstisanestimateoftheoveralldevelopmentversusendangermentofthelanguageusingtheEGIDSscale(LewisandSimons2010).ThesecondisacategorizationoftheOfficialRecognitiongiventoalanguagewithinthecountry.

TheEGIDSconsistsof13levelswitheachhighernumberonthescalerepresentingagreaterlevelofdisruptiontotheintergenerationaltransmissionofthelanguage.Table1providessummarydefinitionsofthe13levelsoftheEGIDS.

Table1.ExpandedGradedIntergenerationalDisruptionScale

Level Label Description

0 International Thelanguageiswidelyusedbetweennationsintrade,knowledgeexchange,andinternationalpolicy.

1 National Thelanguageisusedineducation,work,massmedia,andgovernmentatthenationallevel.

2 Provincial Thelanguageisusedineducation,work,massmedia,andgovernmentwithinmajoradministrativesubdivisionsofanation.

3 WiderCommunication

Thelanguageisusedinworkandmassmediawithoutofficialstatustotranscendlanguagedifferencesacrossaregion.

4 Educational Thelanguageisinvigoroususe,withstandardizationandliteraturebeingsustainedthroughawidespreadsystemofinstitutionallysupportededucation.

5 Developing Thelanguageisinvigoroususe,withliteratureinastandardizedformbeingusedbysomethoughthisisnotyetwidespreadorsustainable.

6a Vigorous Thelanguageisusedforfacetofacecommunicationbyallgenerationsandthesituationissustainable.

6b Threatened Thelanguageisusedforfacetofacecommunicationwithinallgenerations,butitislosingusers.

7 Shifting Thechildbearinggenerationcanusethelanguageamongthemselves,butitisnotbeingtransmittedtochildren.

8a Moribund Theonlyremainingactiveusersofthelanguagearemembersofthegrandparentgenerationandolder.

8b NearlyExtinct Theonlyremainingusersofthelanguagearemembersofthegrandparentgenerationorolderwhohavelittleopportunitytousethelanguage.

9 Dormant Thelanguageservesasareminderofheritageidentityforanethniccommunity,butnoonehasmorethansymbolicproficiency.

10 Extinct Thelanguageisnolongerusedandnooneretainsasenseofethnicidentityassociatedwiththelanguage.

TheEGIDSlevelsaredesignedtolargelycoincidewithFishmansGradedIntergenerationalDisruptionScale,orGIDS(Fishman1991).WereferuserstoFishmansworkforanorientationtothisapproachtoevaluatingendangermentandtotheoriginalworkonEGIDS(LewisandSimons2010)fortherationalebehindthedevelopmentoftheexpandedframework.ThedescriptionsofthelevelsusedinthisedtionoftheEthnologuehavebeenadjustedtotakeintoaccountsignificantfeedbackonthescalethathasbeenreceivedsinceitsinitialdevelopment.Mostnotably,theEGIDSleveldescriptionshavebeenrewordedtotakeintoaccountsignedlanguages.LiketheGIDS,theEGIDSatitscoremeasuresthelevelofdisruptionofintergenerationaltransmission.Therefore,stronger,morevitallanguageshavelowernumbersonthescaleandweaker,moreendangeredlanguageshavehighernumbers.

IncomparisontoGIDS,theEGIDSincludessomeadditionalfactorsatboththestrongerandweakerlevelsofthescaleandthusaddssomelevelsnotincludedintheoriginalscale.Asaresult,theEGIDScanbeappliedtoallofthelanguagesoftheworld.Inaddition,twoofthelevelsintheGIDS(6and8)havebeensplit(6a,6b,8a,8b)intheEGIDSinordertoallowforafinergraineddescriptionofthestateofintergenerationaltransmissioninthepresenceoflanguageshift(orrevitalization).WehaveusedletterstodistinguishthesedividedlevelsinordertomaintainnumberingalignmentwithFishmansbetterknownGIDS.EachnumberontheEGIDShasalsobeenassignedaoneortwowordlabelthatsummarizesthestateofdevelopmentorvitalityofthelanguage.Thelabelsareintendedtoprovidemnemonicsforthosewhoprefertousewordsratherthannumbers.Inafewcases,alternativelabelsareassignedtoalevelinordertodistinguishsignificantlydifferent

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situationsthatareassociatedwiththesamelevelonthescale.Table2liststhealternativelabelsthatareused.

Table2.Alternativelabelsforotherspecialsituations

Level Label Description

5 Dispersed Thelanguageisfullydevelopedinitshomecountry,sothatthecommunityoflanguageusersinadifferentcountryhasaccesstoastandardizedformandliterature,butthesearenotpromotedinthecountryinfocusviainstitutionallysupportededucation.

9 Reawakening TheethniccommunityassociatedwithadormantlanguageisworkingtoestablishmoreusesandmoreusersforthelanguagewiththeresultsthatnewL2speakersareemerging.

9 Secondlanguageonly

Thelanguagewasoriginallyvehicular,butitisnottheheritagelanguageofanethniccommunityanditnolongerhasenoughuserstohavesignificantvehicularfunction.

HowtheEGIDSWorksTheEGIDSisamultidimensionalscalewhichfocusesondifferentaspectsofvitalityatdifferentlevels.LikeFishmansGIDS,theEGIDS,atitscore,measuresdisruptioninuse.Attheweakestlevelsofvitality,EGIDS9(Dormant)andEGIDS10(Extinct)theprimaryfactorinfocusisthefunctionofthelanguageasamarkerofidentity.Ifnoonestillassociatesthelanguagewiththeiridentity,thelanguagecanbeconsideredtobeExtinct.Ifthereisanethnicgroupthatassociatesitsidentitywiththelanguagebutusesthelanguageonlyforsymbolicpurposestoremindthemselvesofthatidentity,thelanguagecanbecategorizedasDormant(EGIDS9).

AtEGIDSlevels6a(Vigorous),6b(Threatened),7(Shifting),8a(Moribund),and8b(Nearlyextinct)theprimaryfactorinfocusisthestateofdailyfacetofaceuseandintergenerationaltransmissionofthelanguage.Eachsuccessivelyweakerlevelonthescalerepresentsthelossofuse,generationbygeneration.

EGIDS4(Educational)andEGIDS5(Developing)bringintofocusthedegreetowhichtheongoinguseofthelanguageissupportedandreinforcedbytheuseofthelanguageineducation.Thislargelyfocusesaroundissuesofstandardizationandliteracyacquisitionandthedegreetowhichthoseareinstitutionallysupportedandhavebeenadoptedbythecommunityoflanguageusers.

EGIDS3(WiderCommunication)focusesprimarilyonthenotionofvehicularity.Ifalanguage(whetherwrittenornot)iswidelyusedbyothersasasecondlanguageandasameansofintergroupcommunication,ithasgreatervitalitythanalanguagewithasmallernumberofusersandwhichisseenasbeinglessusefulbyoutsiders.Wherewehavedata,wereporttheuseofeachlanguagebyspeakersofotherlanguages.

EGIDS2(Provincial)andEGIDS1(National)focusonthelevelofrecognitionandusegiventothelanguagebygovernment.Beyondpurelyofficialuse,however,thefocusincludesthewidespreaduseofthelanguageinmediaandtheworkplaceateithertheprovincial(subnational)ornationallevels.EGIDS0(International)isacategoryreservedforthosefewlanguagesthatareusedasthemeansofcommunicationinmanycountriesforthepurposesofdiplomacyandinternationalcommerce.BecausetheEthnologueorganizesthelanguageentriesbycountry,EGIDS1(National)isthestrongestvitalitylevelthatwereport.

TheEGIDSlevelsarehierarchicalinnature.Withonlyoneexception,thescaleassumesthateachstrongerlevelofvitalityentailsthecharacteristicsofthelevelsbelowit.Thus,forexample,alanguagecannotbecharacterizedasEGIDS5(Developing)ifitcannotalsobecharacterizedasbeingatEGIDS6a(Vigorous).AlanguagewithwrittenmaterialswhichisnotusedfordaytodaycommunicationbyallgenerationsandwhichisnotbeingpassedontoallchildrencannotbecategorizedasEGIDS5(Developing).TheoneexceptiontothisprincipleisEGIDS3(WiderCommunication)wherethevehicularityoflanguagesofwidercommunicationiscountedasbeingweightierthantheexistenceofanorthographyandtheuseofthelanguageineducation.Somelanguagesthatarewidelyusedforintergroupcommunicationarenotusedinformaleducationandhavenowrittenmaterials.Weretheselanguagestolosethatvehicularity,theywoulddropdirectlytoEGIDS6a(Vigorous).

MethodologyTheEGIDSlevelsreportedinthiseditionoftheEthnologuewereinitiallyarrivedatbyinspectingourdatabaseandanalyzingthefactorsthatwecategorizedasindicatorsofvitality.Inmanycases,wehadsufficientdatatoallowaninitialEGIDSevaluation.Wherethedatawerenotsufficient,wesettheEGIDSdefaultvalueatEGIDS6a.Theinitialestimateswerethendistributedtoalargenumberofcorrespondentswhowereaskedtoreviewthedataandmakecorrectionsbasedontheirknowledgeofspecificcountries,regions,languagefamiliesandindividuallanguages.Thisreviewprocessresultedinalargenumberofcorrectionsandrevisions.Anyremainingunreviewedoruncertainestimatesweremorecloselyscrutinizedbytheeditorsand,aftersolicitingadditionalcommentaryfromknowledgeablesources,decisionsmadeastohowbesttoevaluatetheEGIDSlevelineachcase.TheEGIDSestimates,thoughbasedonthebestinformationavailabletous,arepreliminaryandthereviewprocessisongoing.WeencourageusersoftheEthnologuetoprovideuswithcommentsandcorrectionsthatwillleadtoamoreaccurateassessmentforinclusioninfutureeditions.

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Inafewcases,thereisrealdoubtastowhetherthelanguageactuallyexistsasadistinctvariety.AlthoughanISO6393codehasbeenassigned,dataontheexistenceofthelanguageisnotconvincing.Insuchcases,wedonotreportanEGIDSlevelbutidentifythelanguagestatusasUnattested.

TheexistenceofanEGIDSestimateforeveryknownlanguageineverycountryprovidesausefulnewresourcefortheassessmentoflanguagevitalityglobally,regionally,andcountrybycountry.Forinstance,thissiteincludeshistogramsthatusethisinformationtoplotsummaryprofilesofthelanguagesituationineachofthemajorgeographicareas,UNregions,andcountriesoftheworld.Theexistenceofsuchdataopensupthepossibilityforotherkindsofanalysis,suchastheevaluationofthevitalityoflanguagefamilies(see,forexample,WhalenandSimons2012).

OfficialrecognitionIfalanguagehasanofficialfunctionwithinacountryorisspecificallyrecognizedinlegislation,theentryforthelanguageincludesadescriptionofthenatureofitsrecognition.Whenthatrecognitionisbystatute,thespecificlawisalsocited.Table3listsanddefines(withexamples)thefourteenlanguagerecognitioncategoriesthatareused.

Indevelopingtheserecognitioncategories,wehaveadaptedthegeneralframeworkdescribedbyCooper(1989:99103).FollowingStewarts(1968)identificationoftheofficialfunctionoflanguagesinacountry,Cooperfurtherdistinguishesbetweenstatutory,working,andsymbolicofficiallanguages.Tothatwehaveaddedafurtherdistinctionbetweenthosesamefunctionsateitherthenationalortheprovinciallevel.Thisdescriptiveframeworkidentifiesthelegalfoundation(ifany)fortherecognition,thenatureoftheofficialuseofthelanguage,andthegeopoliticalscopeofthatuseandrecognition.Thecombinationofthesethreeparameters(legalstatus,natureofuse,andscopeofapplication)resultsinthefirsttwelvefunctioncategoriesthatarelistedintable3.Thefinaltwocategoriesrepresentanyotherkindofstatutoryrecognitionforalanguage.

Thedistinctionbetweenstatutoryanddefactofunctionsisrelativelystraightforward.Whenalanguagefunctionisdescribedasstatutory,itmeansthatthereisalegaldocumentsuchastheconstitutionofthecountry,languageordiversitypolicylegislation,orthelike,thatspecifiesthefunctionsforwhichthelanguagewillbeused.Wheneveralanguageisassignedafunctionthatisstatutory,weprovidethenameoftherelevantstatute.Weareunableatthistimetodistinguishinallcasesbetweenlegislationthatisinforceandlegislationwhichmaynotbeenforcedthoughitisstilllegallyviable.Asfordefactostatus,inmanycountrieslanguagesarecommonlyusedforgovernancefunctionsbutthereisnoformallegislativemandateforthatuse.Inthosecases,weidentifythefunctionasdefacto.

Table3.Officialrecognitioncategoriesanddefinitions

Function Definition Example

Statutorynationallanguage

Thisisthelanguageinwhichthebusinessofthenationalgovernmentisconductedandthisismandatedbylaw.Itisalsothelanguageofnationalidentityforthecitizensofthecountry.

Bengali[ben]inBangladeshIndonesian[ind]inIndonesiaSpanish[spa]inSpain

Statutorynationalworkinglanguage

Thisisalanguageinwhichthebusinessofthenationalgovernmentisconductedandthisismandatedbylaw.Howeveritisnotthelanguageofnationalidentityforthecitizensofthecountry.

Amharic[amh]inEthiopiaBislama[bis]inVanuatuEnglish[eng]inIndia

Statutorylanguageofnationalidentity

Thisisthelanguageofnationalidentityandthisismandatedbylaw.However,itisnotdevelopedenoughtofunctionasthelanguageofgovernmentbusiness.

Kituba[mkw]inCongoMaori[mri]inNewZealandRarotongan[rar]inCookIslands

Defactonationallanguage

Thisisthelanguageinwhichthebusinessofthenationalgovernmentisconductedbutthisisnotmandatedbylaw.Itisalsothelanguageofnationalidentityforthecitizensofthecountry.

StandardGerman[deu]inGermanyJapanese[jpn]inJapanTswana[tsn]inBotswana

Defactonationalworkinglanguage

Thisisalanguageinwhichthebusinessofthenationalgovernmentisconducted,butthisisnotmandatedbylaw.Neitherisitthelanguageofnationalidentityforthecitizensofthecountry.

Brunei[kxd]inBruneiTagalog[tgl]inPhilippinesShona[sna]inZimbabwe

Defactolanguageofnational

Thisisthelanguageofnationalidentitybutthisisnotmandatedbylaw.Neitherisitdevelopedenoughorknownenoughtofunctionasthelanguageofgovernmentbusiness.

AlgerianArabic[arq]inAlgeriaJamaicanCreole

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identity English[jam]inJamaicaTokelauan[tkl]inTokelau

Statutoryprovinciallanguage

Thisisthelanguageinwhichthebusinessofprovincialgovernmentisconductedandthisismandatedbylaw.Itisalsothelanguageofidentityforthecitizensoftheprovince.

Assamese[asm]inIndiaSlovene[slv]inItalyUyghur[uig]inChina

Statutoryprovincialworkinglanguage

Thisisalanguageinwhichthebusinessoftheprovincialgovernmentisconductedandthisismandatedbylaw.However,itisnotthelanguageofidentityforthecitizensoftheprovince.

Afar[aar]inEthiopiaCorsican[cos]inFranceL[khb]inChina

Statutorylanguageofprovincialidentity

Thisisthelanguageofidentityforthecitizensoftheprovinceandthisismandatedbylaw.However,itisnotdevelopedenoughorknownenoughtofunctionasthelanguageofgovernmentbusiness.

Maithili[mai]inIndiaRotokas[roo]inPapuaNewGuineaWalloon[wln]inBelgium

Defactoprovinciallanguage

Thisisthelanguageinwhichthebusinessoftheprovincialgovernmentisconducted,butthisisnotmandatedbylaw.Itisalsothelanguageofidentityforthecitizensoftheprovince.

Chinese,Yue[yue]inChinaFaroese[fao]inDenmarkHausa[hau]inNigeria

Defactoprovincialworkinglanguage

Thisisalanguageinwhichthebusinessofprovincialgovernmentisconducted,butthisisnotmandatedbylaw.Neitherisitthelanguageofidentityforthecitizensoftheprovince.

Greek[ell]inAlbaniaKurdish,Central[ckb]inIran

Defactolanguageofprovincialidentity

Thisisthelanguageofidentityforcitizensoftheprovince,butthisisnotmandatedbylaw.Neitherisitdevelopedenoughorknownenoughtofunctionasthelanguageofgovernmentbusiness.

Fulfulde,Adamawa[fub]inNigeriaKhinalugh[kjj]inAzerbaijanThai,Northeastern[tts]inThailand

Recognizedlanguage

Thereisalawthatnamesthislanguageandrecognizesitsrighttobeusedanddevelopedforsomepurposes.

NewZealandSignLanguage[nzs]inNewZealandSnoufo,Mamara[myk]inMaliCandoshiShapra[cbu]inPeru

Languageofrecognizednationality

Thereisalawthatnamestheethnicgroupthatusesthislanguageandrecognizestheirrighttouseanddeveloptheiridentity.

Lisu[lis]inChinaPuma[pum]inNepal

Thenatureoftheuseofalanguageingovernmentoperationsisspecifiedusingthetermworkingoridentityortheabsenceoftheseterms.Whenalanguageisidentifiedasaworkinglanguage,itmeansthattheoperationsofthegovernment(debateinparliament,thelanguageofthelaws,thelanguageusedingovernmentoffices,onofficialforms,)maybecarriedoutinthelanguage,butthelanguageisnotthelanguageofidentityofthemajorityofthecitizens.Therearemanycountrieswhere,forverypracticalreasons,aninternationallanguageorthelanguageofacolonialpowerisusedfordaytodayoperationsofthegovernment,butnational(orprovincial)identityislinkedtoadifferentlanguage.Ontheotherhand,whenalanguageisidentifiedasalanguageofidentity,thereverseistrue.Themajorityofcitizensidentifythatlanguageasbeingcloselyassociatedwiththeiridentitybutforpracticalreasonsthelanguageisnotgenerallyusedforgovernmentaloperations.Inthesecases,thelanguageoftenhasaverystrongsymbolicusetoreinforceacommonidentityandtobuildnationalorprovincialunity.Inthefinalcase,inwhichthelanguagefunctionsbothastheworkinglanguageofthegovernmentandasthelanguageofidentityforthemajorityofthecitizens,thelabelforthecategoryissimplynationallanguageorprovinciallanguage,implyingboththeworkingfunctionandtheidentifyfunction.

Intermsofgeopoliticalscope,wedistinguishbetweenthenationalandprovinciallevelsofrecognitionanduse.Whenalanguageisidentifiedasperformingaparticularfunctionattheprovinciallevel,wedescribethegeopoliticalregionsinvolved.Iftherearemany,thatdescriptionmaybereducedtoasummarystatement.

Somelanguagesarenotusedorrecognizedforallofthefunctionsofgovernanceasdescribedabove,butmayinsteadbegrantedonlypartialorlimitedrecognitionsbylaw.Thoselanguageshavebeenidentifiedmoregenericallyasarecognizedlanguage.Thoughourdataisadmittedlyincomplete,weattempttodescribethenatureoftherecognitionanditsgeopoliticalscopeinasmanycasesaspossible.Inaddition,insomecountries,ethnicgroupsornationalitiesaregiven

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officialrecognitionratherthantheirlanguages.Insomecasestheserecognizednationalitiesspeakmultiplelanguages.Weattempttoidentifythelanguagesofsuchofficiallyrecognizednationalitiesusingthelabellanguageofrecognizednationality.

Therecognitioncategoryforeachlanguageisbasedonthebestresearchavailabletous.AswithallEthnologueinformation,wewelcomecorrectionsandupdatesfrominformedusers.

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ThiswebeditionoftheEthnologuemaybecitedas:Lewis,M.Paul,GaryF.Simons,andCharlesD.Fennig(eds.).2015.Ethnologue:LanguagesoftheWorld,Eighteenthedition.Dallas,Texas:SILInternational.Onlineversion:http://www.ethnologue.com.

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