A natural language is the language of the political, cultural, social unit and it is used as a symbol of national unity. The official language by contrast is simply a language which may be used for government business. It's function is utalitarian rather than symbolic. In mono-lingual countries the same language serves both purposes. In multilingual countries there can be a distinction between a natural language and an official language. In Paraguay Guarani is considered to be national language and Spanish is an official language. In Tanzania the reverse is found. There is one national language, it is Swahili but two official languages: Swahili and English. In Zair there are 4 African languages as national languages and 1 official language: French. Because of its colonial history English is an official language in many countries, but interestingly English is not legally an official language of England, USA and Zeland. In New Zeland English is the official language of government and education but Maori is the only language that has been declared as an official language legally. In Wales the Welsh administration recognizes Welsh as a language of government and education but it has no official status in Britain.
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