Embracing Linguistic Diversity: Turkish and Ethnic Languages in Turkey
Turkish is the most widely spoken and the official language of Turkey, as per the Constitution of Turkey. Aside from Turkish, more than 30 ethnic languages exist in Turkey, however, only small numbers of people speak the ethnic languages. Thus, due to the dominance of the Turkish language, the ethnic languages are seen as minority languages. Kurmanji, Arabic, and Zazaki: Common Ethnic Languages of Turkey The common ethnic languages of Turkey include Turkish, Kurmanji, Arabic and Zazaki. Turkish is spoken by more than 70% of the population. Its widespread use as the official language and the educational language has contributed to its own growth, but it has negatively affected other ethnic languages by reducing their usage in daily communication. Kurmanji or Northern Kurdish is the most widely spoken ethnic minority language which consists of five major dialects: southern, northwestern Anatolian, Serhed, and southwestern Kurmanji. Arabic is popular among the Arabic community of Turkey, who use Arabic as their mother tongue, particularly the Mesopotamian Arabic dialect. The Zazaki language is spoken by the Zaza ethnic community, which has over 1 million speakers and a close relationship with the Kurdish language. Zazaki has three major dialects which have been influenced by the...
Discovering Linguistic Diversity: Dutch and Regional Languages in the Netherlands
Dutch is the most spoken and the official language of the Netherlands. Nearly 23 million people speak Dutch as their first language, with about 5 million people speaking it as their second language. Almost the entire population of the Netherlands speaks Dutch, which is the world’s third most widely spoken Germanic language. Frisian, English, and Papiamento: Official Regional Languages of the Netherlands Aside from Dutch, there are other officially recognized regional languages in the Netherlands, which include Frisian, English and Papiamento. Frisian is a West Germanic language spoken by over 450,000 people in the country, most of which live in the Friesland province of the Netherlands. Frisian serves as the co-official language of the Friesland province, along with Dutch. English is the official language of the BES Islands of the Netherlands, with most schools in the region using it as the primary instruction medium. Papiamento is an official regional language in the Bonaire Municipality and is also widely spoken in come Caribbean Islands. The Papiamento language is derived from the Portuguese and African languages. Preserving Cultural Heritage: Dutch Low Saxon and Limburgish Dutch Low Saxon and Limburgish are among the non-officially recognized regional languages in the Netherlands. Dutch Low Saxon...
Linguistic Diversity in Saudi Arabia: Arabic and Beyond
Arabic is the official language of Saudi Arabia, used in business and for other communication purposes. Its population of an estimated 27 million mainly speaks Modern Standard Arabic, which is the most widely spoken version used in media, schools and published works. The classical version of Arabic, Classical Arabian, is considered an exclusive language rather than a spoken one, as it is rarely used in regular, day-to-day communication. Instead, Classical Arabian is mainly encountered in the holy book of Quran and other classical works, as well as in poetry and by religious scholars. In the country, there are three standard dialects of spoken Arabic, which include Najdi Arabic, Hejazi, and Gulf (Khaliji) Arabic. Regional Dialects of Spoken Arabic in Saudi Arabia Najdi Arabic is used by about 8 million speakers in the central region of Saudi Arabia where it is spoken as the first language. It has four major sub-dialects: Northern Najdi – spoken in the regions of Qaseem, Jabal Shamaar, and Zufi in Saudi Najd, Central Najdi – an urban dialect spoken in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Southern Najdi – spoken in south-central Saudi in the city of Kharj as well as the towns and villages around it,...
Linguistic Diversity in Switzerland: Embracing Four National Languages
Switzerland recognizes four languages as the national languages, and these are largely confined to specific regions, although speakers of all four languages can be found all over the country. These languages include: German – divided into Swiss German and Standard German (Hochdeutsch), Swiss French, Swiss Italian, and Romansh. Swiss German: A Dominant and Diverse Language Swiss German is the most widely spoken language in Switzerland, spoken by over 60% of the country’s population. Its speakers are mainly concentrated in the central, northern and eastern parts of the country. Swiss German is also called Schwyzerdütsch by the locals, and it represents a collection of Alemannic dialects which are no longer spoken in Germany and Austria. Thus, Swiss German is vastly different than Standard German, or Hochdeutsch, which is learned by the Swiss from a very early age in school. As a result, Standard German speakers can communicate with Germans, Austrians and other German speakers with no issue. As there is no universal written form of the various Swiss German dialects, Standard German is used to write all laws, books, newspapers and other forms of written communication. As a result, Standard German is often referred to as Schriftdeutsch, which literally translates to...
Argentina
Argentina’s official and most spoken language is Spanish, which is spoken by nearly 42 million people as their first language. An additional million people speak it as second language. Some distinctions between Argentine Spanish and Spanish spoken in Mexico or Spain do exist, and these include variations in grammar, pronunciation and slang. Despite the inherent predominance of Spanish in Argentina, the country is home to a number of immigrant languages. This comes as no surprise, given that Argentina is considered to be a nation of immigrants, owing to the fact that over 4 million people came to Argentina from overseas between 1881 and 1914, most of them from Europe. Italian is the most spoken immigrant language and the second most spoken language after Spanish. About 1.5 million people in Argentina speak Italian as their first language, with at least 25 million Argentines said to have some Italian ancestry. This is a result of the immigration wave which occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and which saw most of the Italian immigrants coming to Argentina and making it their home. Next is Levantine Arabic, a broad dialect of Arabic spoken along the eastern Mediterranean coast (in Lebanon, Syria,...
Sweden
The Swedish language is recognized as Sweden’s official language. Apart from the several dialects which can be heard in various parts of the country, there is a handful of formally recognized minority languages spoken in Sweden. These include: Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Sami, and Romani. Nearly the entire population of Sweden speaks Swedish as a first language, and the rest as a second language. The Swedish language is a North Germanic language that resembles Norwegian and Danish, and it evolved around the 14th and 15th century from Old Norse. There are several dialects of Swedish spoken in different regions of the country, such as: Westrobothnian, spoken in the coastal areas of Westrobothnia and Norrbotten, Dalecarlian, spoken in the Älvdalen Municipality and northern parts of the Dalarna province, Modern Gutnish, spoken in Gotland and Fårö, Scanian, spoken in the province of Scania, and Jamtlandic, spoken mainly in Jämtland. There are five minority languages which have been formally recognized in Sweden, including Finnish, Meänkieli, Sami, Romani and Yiddish. Finnish is spoken by about 470,000 speakers, majority of whom reside in Norrbotten. The Finnish language has been spoken by many generations of ethnic Finns in Sweden, due to Finland having been part of the...
Poland
Poland has a long history of multiculturalism, with diverse ethnic group that continue to exist to this day. However, despite this diversity, Poland has the highest rate of linguistic homogeneity in Europe. Its official and principal language, spoken by more than 38 million people, is Polish. This translates to approximately 97% of the population who speaks it as a first language. The Polish language is considered a West Slavic language which belongs to the Indo-European language family, with origins that date back to the 10th century AD, when the tribes of Oder and Vistula were united under Mieszko I. Given that these indigenous peoples shared similar languages, a new standardized version of the language began to fom with the help of the Latin alphabet. Between 1500 and 1700, Polish was a common language (lingua franca) across large regions or Eastern Europe, which has led to its establishment as the oldest, continuously used, non-Christian related Slavic language. As such, it has been used for both literature and governmental purposes since at least the 1500s. Apart from Polish, there are some minority languages spoken in Poland as well. These include: Kashubian, German, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Romany, Rusyn, Lithuanian, Armenian, Hungarian, Slovak, and Czech....
Belgium
French, German and Dutch are the three languages typically spoken in public affairs. They are not explicitly named as official in the Constitution, but it is stated that Belgium has four linguistic areas: the French-speaking, the German-speaking, the Dutch-speaking, and the bilingual capital of Brussels, where French and Flemish are spoken. Over the years, Belgium has had ongoing debates regarding which languages should be used officially. During the 1800s, courts and governmental affairs were conducted in French, which, at the time, was the language of the upper class. The Flemish movement began in an attempt to make Dutch the official language, which was somewhat successful in Flanders in 1873. In 1878, it was declared that the public announcements in Brussels must be made in either Dutch or both Dutch and French, and bilingual education was introduced in 1883. From 1921 until 1962, Belgium operated under the territoriality principle, which meant that the language spoken by government officials would be based on the region. This principle essentially meant that Belgians who could not speak the language of the region would be unable to communicate with public officials. Due to this, the legislation was further clarified in 1962 as to define the...
Thailand
Thailand has a population of approximately 66 million, and is home to many diverse ethnic groups. The majority of these individuals, however, speak Thai, which is recognized as the country’s official language. The Thai language is sometimes referred to as the Siamese language, and it belongs to the Tai-Kadai language family. It originated from several languages, including Sanskrit, Pali, and Old Khmer. Approximately 30% of Thailand’s population speak Thai as a native language. The Thai language is divided into several different languages, all of which are considered to be regional by native Thai speakers. These languages include: Phu Thai, Shan, Isan, Song, Nyaw, Phuan, Lu, Southern Thai and Northern Thai. Some of these diverse Thai languages are also considered minority languages of Thailand. Other minority languages spoken in Thailand include Yawi, Lao, and Teochew. The Lao language, also known as Laotian, is the most widely spoken one of these, and is actually considered a dialect of the Isan language. The majority of Malay Muslims in Thailand speak Yawi, a dialect of Malay used as the language of business and commerce in rural southern areas of the country. Despite being considered a dialect, it has been isolated from other Malay languages...
Iran
Iran has a population of nearly 80 million, made up of diverse ethnicities and linguistic backgrounds. However, despite the wide range of differences within the population, there is only one official language in Iran, the Persian language. Persian is the country’s lingua franca, as established by the Constitution of Iran, which outlines it as the national language. As the official national language, Persian is used for formal government communications and in public school systems, and is spoken by around 53% of the population. Furthermore, it is recognized as the language of the Islam religion. Persian is also known as Farsi, and it belongs to the Indo-European language family, particularly the Indo-Iranian subgroup. The Persian language originated from the Old Persian language of the Achaemenid Empire and the Middle Persian of the Sasanian Empire. The use of minority languages in Iran is permitted to some degree and in some forms of public information, Persian has been largely promoted as the only language of public administration, parliamentary sessions and bureaucratic paperwork, in an attempt to promote nationalism by the Persian government. Despite the inherent dominance of the Persian language, Iran has a multicultural and multilinguistic landscape. Other widely spoken languages in Iran...
Austria
Austria is a nation with around 8.6 million residents. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806, after which it became part of the German Confederation until the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. Austrian German is the official language of Austria, with Alemannic and Austro-Bavarian as the major unofficial languages. After World War I, the Austrian Monarchy broke p and the region became part of the German Republic. The unification of Germany and Austria, however, was forbidden by the treaty of Saint Germain en Laye. Over the years, Austria has tried to build its national identity. While the majority of people currently identify themselves as Austrians, a minority still feels German. Over 91% of the population are known as ethnic Austrians. Serbs are one of the largest ethnic groups in Austria, due to the large number of Serb immigrants who came to Austria during the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and after the Second World War. Other important minority groups in Austria include Croats, Hungarians, Slovenes and Turks, all of which have shaped and influenced the diverse linguistic landscape of Austria. Austrian German is spoken by most Austrians and used in educational facilities all over the country. The media...
Norway
Norwegian is the most spoken and official language of Norway. Belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, it is closely related to Danish and Swedish. Norwegian is spoken by nearly 95% of the population of Norway as a first language. The two written standards of Norwegian are Nynorsk and Bokmål. Nynorsk (previously known as Landsmål), was voted by parliament in 1885 as one of the official languages of Norway. It is the official language of four of the country’s counties that make up the Western Norway region, but is currently spoken as the main form of Norwegian by less than 8% of the Norwegian population due to the decline in its usage over the years. Nynorsk is taught to around 15% of the children at schools as a written language. A more conservative form of Nynorsk is called Høgnorsk. Bokmål, as opposed to Nynorsk, is used as the written language by 80 to 90% of the country’s population. It is based on a more conservative standard also known as the Riksmål, however the name Bokmål has been used since 1929. Sami is a Uralic language spoken by the indigenous Sami people of Northern Scandinavia. The Sami group...
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, with one of the most diverse populations in the world, is home to numerous languages spoken by immigrants from all over the world. Standard Arabic is the official language used in the country, but as a result of high immigration into the country, there are many other foreign languages spoken in the UAE, such as: English, Hindi, Farsi, Urdu and Malayalam. There are numerous variations of the Arabic language which are spoken in the UAE, but Modern Standard Arabic is the language used in official documents and among the government departments, as well as in books, magazines and newspapers. Modern Standard Arabic is essentially a more simplified version of Classic Arabic, which is more complex. Gulf Arabic is the other version of Arabic spoken in the UAE. Another variant of Arabic, Shihhi Arabic, is a less popular version of Arabic spoken in the country. The laws established by the UAE require foreigners to be fluent in Arabic if they wish to attain the country’s citizenship. Apart from the various versions of Arabic which are predominant in the United Arab Emirates, English is also a popular language most commonly heard among the large community of western expatriates...
Nigeria
English is the official language of Nigeria, however, the country has an extremely diverse linguistic landscape with over 520 regional languages and dialects spoken all over the country. Nigeria used to be a British colony until 1960, which is why English influence in this most populous country on the western coast of Africa is particularly strong. As with many other countries whose borders were drawn by European colonizers, Nigeria’s borders are considered to be artificial. Thus, many ethnic groups exist within its limits, with many of them having territories that cross several different countries. For this reason, many ethnic languages which are spoken in Nigeria are also expressed in neighboring countries such as Niger, Chad, Benin and Cameroon. As aforementioned, over 520 languages are spoken in Nigeria today. Many of these languages are from the Afroasiatic language family, the Niger-Congo language family or the Nilo-Saharan language family. However, as a result of the British colonial rule, English is the official language of the country. English is used by the government for all official messages and communication purposes, although the dialect spoken is a distinct variant of English called Nigerian English. Nigerian English is also used in schools as the instruction...
Israel
There are 35 languages and dialects spoken in Israel, the most common of which is Hebrew with over 5 million speakers. Arabic is a distant second, and the increased effects of globalization has also caused the rise of the use of foreign languages, most notably English and Russian. Hebrew and Arabic are the two official languages used in Israel. Modern Hebrew is a dialect of ancient Hebrew and is also known as New Hebrew. It is the most popular language spoken in Israel with over 5 million native speakers and over 9 million overall speakers. Modern Hebrew was officially adopted in Israel in 1922, as one of the provisions of the Palestine Order in Council. Hebrew actually vanished between 200 BCE and 400 BCE but was brought back and revived in the late 19th century, making it one of the best examples of a revival of an extinct language. The widespread use of Hebrew in Israel traces back to 1200 BCE, with many linguists believing that it was used during the period of Babylonian captivity. Hebrew only existed as a literary language and a sacred language in Judaism after its decline in the 2nd century CE. The modern version of...