This is a list of bodies that consider themselves to be authorities on standard languages, often called language academies. Language academies are motivated by, or closely associated with,

linguistic purism Linguistic purism or linguistic protectionism is a concept with two common meanings: one with respect to foreign languages and the other with respect to the internal variants of a language (dialects). The first meaning is the historical trend ...

and prestige, and typically publish prescriptive

dictionaries A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...

,Thomas, George (1991
''Linguistic purism''
p.108, quotation: which purport to officiate and prescribe the meaning of words and pronunciations. A language regulator may also have a more descriptive approach, however, while maintaining and promoting (but not imposing) a standard spelling. Many language academies are private institutions, although some are governmental bodies in different states, or enjoy some form of government-sanctioned status in one or more countries. There may also be multiple language academies attempting to regulate and codify the same language, sometimes based in different countries and sometimes influenced by political factors. Many world languages have one or more language academies or official language bodies. However, the degree of control that the academies exert over these languages does not render the latter controlled natural languages in the sense that the various kinds of " simple English" (e.g., Basic English, Simplified Technical English) or

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's fictional Newspeak are. They instead remain natural languages to a considerable extent and are thus not formal languages such as Attempto Controlled English. They have a degree of

standardization Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

that allows them to function as

standard language A standard language (or standard variety, standard dialect, standardized dialect or simply standard) is any language variety that has undergone substantial codification in its grammar, lexicon, writing system, or other features and that stands ...

s (e.g., standard French). The English language has never had a formal regulator in any country.

Natural languages

Constructed languages

Apart from the Akademio de Esperanto, most constructed languages (also called ''conlangs'') have no true linguistic regulators or language academies.Johan Derks, Prilingvaj institutoj de 18 naciaj lingvoj
Language Institutes of eighteen states
, Interlingvistikaj Studoj, UAM, 2014/17, Esperanta Interlingvistiko 1

Auxiliary languages

Esperanto

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

and Ido have been ''constructed'' (or planned) by a person or small group, before being adopted and further developed by communities of users through natural language evolution. Bodies such as the Akademio de Esperanto look at questions of usage in the light of the original goals and principles of the language.

Interlingua

Interlingua has no regulating body, as its vocabulary, grammar, and orthography are viewed as a product of ongoing social forces. In theory, Interlingua therefore evolves independent from any human regulator. Interlingua's vocabulary is verified and recorded by dynamically applying certain general principles to an existing set of natural languages and their etymologies. The International Auxiliary Language Association ceased to exist in 1954, and according to the secretary of Union Mundial de Interlingua "Interlingua doesn't need its Academy".

Other constructed languages

Other bodies

These bodies do not attempt to regulate any language in a prescriptive manner and are primarily concerned with aiding and advising the government on policies regarding language usage. *
Official Language Division Civil Service Bureau Government of Hong Kong
– concerned with matters concerning government language policy *

–concerned with matters concerning government language policy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Language Regulators * Lists of organizations Regulators