official language
noun1
Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences, Social science, Sociolinguistics, Sociology A language afforded an elevated status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction, typically for government use.
- A lot of multilingual countries promote an official language, but the United States has never done so with English. In fact, the US has no official language.2018 June 15, Harmeet Kaur, “FYI: English isn’t the official language of the United States”, in CNN:
- President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order naming English the official language of the United States.2025 March 17, Sahana Mukherjee and Mark Hugo Lopez, “How Americans feel about making English the official language of the U.S.”, in Pew Research Center: