Official language

Ancient Tamil inscription at the Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur

An official language is a language that has special status in a country. Usually the government does its business in the official language. They are sometimes named in a country's constitution. Some countries, like Canada, have more than one. Other countries may not have an official language. Also the languages do not have to been a written language to be an official language. They can be a pidgin language (like in Papua New Guinea). They can also be a sign language (like in New Zealand).