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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Dear Hal, Thank you for this background. It seems that
more than a few countries define the language(s) of governance, legislature, or
courts in more or less similar ways (without an “official language”
law or article in their constitution). Actually it all begs the question of when
and where the notion of “official language” originated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>By the way, Wikipedia offers the statement that “The
United Kingdom does not have a constitutionally defined official language.”
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_Kingdom">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_Kingdom</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Don<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
owner-lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
[mailto:owner-lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Harold
Schiffman<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Sunday, April 01, 2007 3:04 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: "Official English" in the UK?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>Don (et al.):<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>I did some googling and came up with a kind of
"checkered" history on this.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>In an article entitled "Oyez, Oyez, "O yes"
American Legal Language and the Influence of the French" by L. Susan
Carter, she says:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p>"Though Law French as a language of the court ceased to be used
officially in the first third of the 18th century (370 years after Parliament
barred the use of French in that body in <strong>1362</strong>) many of the
words that were a part of the language remain in current Anglo-American
law." <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>and: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><br>
"Indeed, so successful was the domination of the law courts by French that
it remained in use until after Charles II in the middle of the 17th century (Baker
9). It was not officially withdrawn as the court language until 1731."
(Kibbee [1991]). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Kibbee, Douglas A. (1991). For to Speke Frenche Trewely.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><a
href="http://www.michbar.org/journal/article.cfm?articleID=756&volumeID=59">http://www.michbar.org/journal/article.cfm?articleID=756&volumeID=59</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>So English became sort of gradually officialized in these
two domains, but as for officializing in other domains, such as schooling, etc.
it's maybe not technically there. Note also the switchover to English in the
religious domain, ie. in its use in the Book of Common Prayer, the King James
Bible, etc. <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>Hal<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmailquote>On 4/1/07, <b>Don Osborn</b> <<a
href="mailto:dzo@bisharat.net">dzo@bisharat.net</a>> wrote:</span> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Quick question: Is the English
language "official" by any statute in England<br>
or the UK, or does it have this role by tradition and common law? In a quick <br>
search of Jacques Leclerc's pages on the UK (and especially England) at<br>
<a href="http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/europe/royaumeuni.htm">http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/europe/royaumeuni.htm</a>
I didn't find anything <br>
definitive.<br>
<br>
TIA for any info... Don<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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