Language status

We summarize the status of each language in each country where it is used in the Status element of a language entry by reporting two

types of information. The first is an estimate of the overall development versus endangerment of the language using the EGIDS scale(Lewis and Simons 2010). The second is a categorization of the Official Recognition given to a language within the country.

The EGIDS consists of 13 levels with each higher number on the scale representing a greater level of disruption to the intergenerational

transmission of the language. Table 1 provides summary definitions of the 13 levels of the EGIDS.

Table 1. Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale

Level Label Description

0 International The language is widely used between nations in trade, knowledge exchange, and internationalpolicy.

1 National The language is used in education, work, mass media, and government at the national level.

2 Provincial The language is used in education, work, mass media, and government within major administrativesubdivisions of a nation.

3 WiderCommunication

The language is used in work and mass media without official status to transcend languagedifferences across a region.

4 Educational The language is in vigorous use, with standardization and literature being sustained through awidespread system of institutionally supported education.

5 Developing The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some thoughthis is not yet widespread or sustainable.

6a Vigorous The language is used for face-to-face communication by all generations and the situation issustainable.

6b Threatened The language is used for face-to-face communication within all generations, but it is losing users.

7 Shifting The child-bearing generation can use the language among themselves, but it is not beingtransmitted to children.

8a Moribund The only remaining active users of the language are members of the grandparent generation andolder.

8b Nearly Extinct The only remaining users of the language are members of the grandparent generation or older whohave little opportunity to use the language.

9 Dormant The language serves as a reminder of heritage identity for an ethnic community, but no one hasmore than symbolic proficiency.

10 Extinct The language is no longer used and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with thelanguage.

The EGIDS levels are designed to largely coincide with Fishmans Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale, or GIDS (Fishman 1991).We refer users to Fishmans work for an orientation to this approach to evaluating endangerment and to the original work on EGIDS

(Lewis and Simons 2010) for the rationale behind the development of the expanded framework. The descriptions of the levels used inthis edtion of the Ethnologue have been adjusted to take into account significant feedback on the scale that has been received since itsinitial development. Most notably, the EGIDS level descriptions have been reworded to take into account signed languages. Like the

GIDS, the EGIDS at its core measures the level of disruption of intergenerational transmission. Therefore, stronger, more vitallanguages have lower numbers on the scale and weaker, more endangered languages have higher numbers.

In comparison to GIDS, the EGIDS includes some additional factors at both the stronger and weaker levels of the scale and thus addssome levels not included in the original scale. As a result, the EGIDS can be applied to all of the languages of the world. In addition, two

of the levels in the GIDS (6 and 8) have been split (6a, 6b, 8a, 8b) in the EGIDS in order to allow for a finer-grained description of thestate of intergenerational transmission in the presence of language shift (or revitalization). We have used letters to distinguish thesedivided levels in order to maintain numbering alignment with Fishmans better-known GIDS. Each number on the EGIDS has also been

assigned a one or two word label that summarizes the state of development or vitality of the language. The labels are intended toprovide mnemonics for those who prefer to use words rather than numbers. In a few cases, alternative labels are assigned to a level inorder to distinguish significantly different situations that are associated with the same level on the scale. Table 2 lists the alternative

labels that are used.

Table 2. Alternative labels for other special situations

Level Label Description

5 Dispersed The language is fully developed in its home country, so that the community of language users in adifferent country has access to a standardized form and literature, but these are not promoted in thecountry in focus via institutionally supported education.

Level Label Description

9 Reawakening The ethnic community associated with a dormant language is working to establish more uses andmore users for the language with the results that new L2 speakers are emerging.

9 Secondlanguage only

The language was originally vehicular, but it is not the heritage language of an ethnic community and itno longer has enough users to have significant vehicular function.

How the EGIDS Works

The EGIDS is a multi-dimensional scale which focuses on different aspects of vitality at different levels. Like Fishmans GIDS, theEGIDS, at its core, measures disruption in use. At the weakest levels of vitality, EGIDS 9 (Dormant) and EGIDS 10 (Extinct) the primary

factor in focus is the function of the language as a marker of identity. If no one still associates the language with their identity, the

language can be considered to be Extinct. If there is an ethnic group that associates its identity with the language but uses the languageonly for symbolic purposes to remind themselves of that identity, the language can be categorized as Dormant (EGIDS 9).

At EGIDS levels 6a (Vigorous), 6b (Threatened), 7 (Shifting), 8a (Moribund), and 8b (Nearly extinct) the primary factor in focus is the

state of daily face-to-face use and intergenerational transmission of the language. Each successively weaker level on the scalerepresents the loss of use, generation by generation.

EGIDS 4 (Educational) and EGIDS 5 (Developing) bring into focus the degree to which the ongoing use of the language is supportedand reinforced by the use of the language in education. This largely focuses around issues of standardization and literacy acquisition

and the degree to which those are institutionally supported and have been adopted by the community of language users.

EGIDS 3 (Wider Communication) focuses primarily on the notion of vehicularity. If a language (whether written or not) is widely used by

others as a second language and as a means of intergroup communication, it has greater vitality than a language with a smaller numberof users and which is seen as being less useful by outsiders. Where we have data, we report the use of each language by speakers ofother languages.

EGIDS 2 (Provincial) and EGIDS 1 (National) focus on the level of recognition and use given to the language by government. Beyondpurely official use, however, the focus includes the widespread use of the language in media and the workplace at either the provincial

(sub-national) or national levels. EGIDS 0 (International) is a category reserved for those few languages that are used as the means ofcommunication in many countries for the purposes of diplomacy and international commerce. Because the Ethnologue organizes the

language entries by country, EGIDS 1 (National) is the strongest vitality level that we report.

The EGIDS levels are hierarchical in nature. With only one exception, the scale assumes that each stronger level of vitality entails thecharacteristics of the levels below it. Thus, for example, a language cannot be characterized as EGIDS 5 (Developing) if it cannot also

be characterized as being at EGIDS 6a (Vigorous). A language with written materials which is not used for day-to-day communication by

all generations and which is not being passed on to all children cannot be categorized as EGIDS 5 (Developing). The one exception to

this principle is EGIDS 3 (Wider Communication) where the vehicularity of languages of wider communication is counted as beingweightier than the existence of an orthography and the use of the language in education. Some languages that are widely used for

intergroup communication are not used in formal education and have no written materials. Were these languages to lose that

vehicularity, they would drop directly to EGIDS 6a (Vigorous).

Methodology

The EGIDS levels reported in this edition of the Ethnologue were initially arrived at by inspecting our database and analyzing the factors

that we categorized as indicators of vitality. In many cases, we had sufficient data to allow an initial EGIDS evaluation. Where the datawere not sufficient, we set the EGIDS default value at EGIDS 6a. The initial estimates were then distributed to a large number of

correspondents who were asked to review the data and make corrections based on their knowledge of specific countries, regions,

language families and individual languages. This review process resulted in a large number of corrections and revisions. Any remaining

unreviewed or uncertain estimates were more closely scrutinized by the editors and, after soliciting additional commentary from

knowledgeable sources, decisions made as to how best to evaluate the EGIDS level in each case. The EGIDS estimates, though based

on the best information available to us, are preliminary and the review process is ongoing. We encourage users of the Ethnologue to

provide us with comments and corrections that will lead to a more accurate assessment for inclusion in future editions.

In a few cases, there is real doubt as to whether the language actually exists as a distinct variety. Although an ISO 639-3 code has been

assigned, data on the existence of the language is not convincing. In such cases, we do not report an EGIDS level but identify thelanguage status as Unattested.

The existence of an EGIDS estimate for every known language in every country provides a useful new resource for the assessment oflanguage vitality globally, regionally, and country-by-country. For instance, this site includes histograms that use this information to plot

summary profiles of the language situation in each of the major geographic areas, UN regions, and countries of the world. The existenceof such data opens up the possibility for other kinds of analysis, such as the evaluation of the vitality of language families (see, for

example, Whalen and Simons 2012).

Official recognition

If a language has an official function within a country or is specifically recognized in legislation, the entry for the language includes adescription of the nature of its recognition. When that recognition is by statute, the specific law is also cited. Table 3 lists and defines

(with examples) the fourteen language recognition categories that are used.

In developing these recognition categories, we have adapted the general framework described by Cooper (1989:99-103). Following

Stewarts (1968) identification of the official function of languages in a country, Cooper further distinguishes between statutory, working,

and symbolic official languages. To that we have added a further distinction between those same functions at either the national or the

provincial level. This descriptive framework identifies the legal foundation (if any) for the recognition, the nature of the official use of the

language, and the geopolitical scope of that use and recognition. The combination of these three parameters (legal status, nature of use,and scope of application) results in the first twelve function categories that are listed in table 3. The final two categories represent anyother kind of statutory recognition for a language.

The distinction between statutory and de facto functions is relatively straightforward. When a language function is described as statutory,it means that there is a legal document such as the constitution of the country, language or diversity policy legislation, or the like, that

specifies the functions for which the language will be used. Whenever a language is assigned a function that is statutory, we provide thename of the relevant statute. We are unable at this time to distinguish in all cases between legislation that is in force and legislationwhich may not be enforced though it is still legally viable. As for de facto status, in many countries languages are commonly used for

governance functions but there is no formal legislative mandate for that use. In those cases, we identify the function as de facto.

Table 3. Official recognition categories and definitions

Function Definition Example

Statutory nationallanguage

This is the language in which the business of the national government isconducted and this is mandated by law. It is also the language of nationalidentity for the citizens of the country.

Bengali [ben] inBangladeshIndonesian [ind] inIndonesiaSpanish [spa] in Spain

Statutory nationalworking language

This is a language in which the business of the national government isconducted and this is mandated by law. However it is not the language ofnational identity for the citizens of the country.

Amharic [amh] in EthiopiaBislama [bis] in VanuatuEnglish [eng] in India

Statutory language ofnational identity

This is the language of national identity and this is mandated by law.However, it is not developed enough to function as the language ofgovernment business.

Kituba [mkw] in CongoMaori [mri] in NewZealandRarotongan [rar] in CookIslands

De facto nationallanguage

This is the language in which the business of the national government isconducted but this is not mandated by law. It is also the language of nationalidentity for the citizens of the country.

Standard German [deu] inGermanyJapanese [jpn] in JapanTswana [tsn] in Botswana

De facto nationalworking language

This is a language in which the business of the national government isconducted, but this is not mandated by law. Neither is it the language ofnational identity for the citizens of the country.

Brunei [kxd] in BruneiTagalog [tgl] in PhilippinesShona [sna] in Zimbabwe

De facto language ofnational identity

This is the language of national identity but this is not mandated by law.Neither is it developed enough or known enough to function as the languageof government business.

Algerian Arabic [arq] inAlgeriaJamaican Creole English[jam] in JamaicaTokelauan [tkl] in Tokelau

Statutory provinciallanguage

This is the language in which the business of provincial government isconducted and this is mandated by law. It is also the language of identity forthe citizens of the province.

Assamese [asm] in IndiaSlovene [slv] in ItalyUyghur [uig] in China

Statutory provincialworking language

This is a language in which the business of the provincial government isconducted and this is mandated by law. However, it is not the language ofidentity for the citizens of the province.

Afar [aar] in EthiopiaCorsican [cos] in FranceL [khb] in China

Statutory language ofprovincial identity

This is the language of identity for the citizens of the province and this ismandated by law. However, it is not developed enough or known enough tofunction as the language of government business.

Maithili [mai] in IndiaRotokas [roo] in PapuaNew GuineaWalloon [wln] in Belgium

De facto provinciallanguage

This is the language in which the business of the provincial government isconducted, but this is not mandated by law. It is also the language of identityfor the citizens of the province.

Chinese, Yue [yue] inChinaFaroese [fao] in DenmarkHausa [hau] in Nigeria

De facto provincialworking language

This is a language in which the business of provincial government isconducted, but this is not mandated by law. Neither is it the language ofidentity for the citizens of the province.

Greek [ell] in AlbaniaKurdish, Central [ckb] inIran

De facto language ofprovincial identity

This is the language of identity for citizens of the province, but this is notmandated by law. Neither is it developed enough or known enough tofunction as the language of government business.

Fulfulde, Adamawa [fub]in NigeriaKhinalugh [kjj] inAzerbaijanThai, Northeastern [tts] inThailand

Recognizedlanguage

There is a law that names this language and recognizes its right to be usedand developed for some purposes.

New Zealand SignLanguage [nzs] in NewZealandSnoufo, Mamara [myk]in MaliCandoshi-Shapra [cbu] inPeru

Language ofrecognizednationality

There is a law that names the ethnic group that uses this language andrecognizes their right to use and develop their identity.

Lisu [lis] in ChinaPuma [pum] in Nepal

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The nature of the use of a language in government operations is specified using the term working or identity or the absence of these

terms. When a language is identified as a working language, it means that the operations of the government (debate in parliament, thelanguage of the laws, the language used in government offices, on official forms,) may be carried out in the language, but the languageis not the language of identity of the majority of the citizens. There are many countries where, for very practical reasons, an international

language or the language of a colonial power is used for day-to-day operations of the government, but national (or provincial) identity islinked to a different language. On the other hand, when a language is identified as a language of identity, the reverse is true. Themajority of citizens identify that language as being closely associated with their identity but for practical reasons the language is not

generally used for governmental operations. In these cases, the language often has a very strong symbolic use to reinforce a commonidentity and to build national or provincial unity. In the final case, in which the language functions both as the working language of the

government and as the language of identity for the majority of the citizens, the label for the category is simply national language orprovincial language, implying both the working function and the identify function.

In terms of geopolitical scope, we distinguish between the national and provincial levels of recognition and use. When a language isidentified as performing a particular function at the provincial level, we describe the geopolitical regions involved. If there are many, thatdescription may be reduced to a summary statement.

Some languages are not used or recognized for all of the functions of governance as described above, but may instead be granted onlypartial or limited recognitions by law. Those languages have been identified more generically as a recognized language. Though our

data is admittedly incomplete, we attempt to describe the nature of the recognition and its geopolitical scope in as many cases aspossible. In addition, in some countries, ethnic groups or nationalities are given official recognition rather than their languages. In somecases these recognized nationalities speak multiple languages. We attempt to identify the languages of such officially recognized

nationalities using the label language of recognized nationality.

The recognition category for each language is based on the best research available to us. As with all Ethnologue information, we

welcome corrections and updates from informed users.

Further Information:

About the Ethnologue

History of the Ethnologue

Language Identification

Language Status

Plan of the Site

Country Information

Language Information

Language Maps

Acknowledgements

Updates & Corrections

Contact Us

This web edition of the Ethnologue may be cited as: Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2015.

Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Eighteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version:

http://www.ethnologue.com.

Copyright 2015 SIL International

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