This is a list of bodies that regulate standard languages, often called language academies. Language academies are motivated by, or closely associated with, linguistic purism and prestige, and typically publish prescriptive dictionaries, 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 (see also: pluricentric language).
Many world languages have one or more language academies. 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’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 that allows them to function as standard languages (e.g. standard French). The English language has never had a formal regulator anywhere, outside of private productions such as the Oxford Dictionary.
Natural languages
| Language | Territory | Regulator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Amis |  Republic of China |
Council of Indigenous Peoples |
| Afrikaans |  South Africa Namibia |
Die Taalkommissie (The Language Commission) |
| Akan |  Ghana |
Akan Orthography Committee (AOC) |
| Albanian |  Albania Kosovo |
Academy of Sciences of Albania, Tirana |
| Arabic |  Arab League |
Academy of the Arabic Language (مجمع اللغة العربية) Arabic Language International Council |
 Algeria |
Supreme Council of the Arabic language in Algeria | |
 Egypt |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo | |
 Iraq |
Iraqi Academy of Sciences | |
 Jordan |
Jordan Academy of Arabic | |
 Libya |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Jamahiriya | |
 Morocco |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Morocco | |
 Saudi Arabia |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Riyadh | |
 Somalia |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Mogadishu | |
 Sudan |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Khartum | |
 Syria |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Damascus | |
 Tunisia |
Beit Al-Hikma Foundation | |
 Israel Palestine |
Academy of the Arabic Language in Israel (مجمع اللغة العربية) | |
| Aragonese |  Aragon |
Academia de l’Aragonés (Academy of the Aragonese) |
| Armenian |  Armenia |
Armenian National Academy of Sciences (Հայաստան) |
| Assamese |  Assam |
Asam Sahitya Sabha (অসম সাহিত্য সভা) |
| Asturian |  Asturias |
Academy of the Asturian Language (Academia de la Llingua Asturiana) |
| Azerbaijani |  Azerbaijan Iran |
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (Azərbaycan Milli Elmlər Akademiyası) |
| Basque |  Basque Country Navarre French Basque Country |
Euskaltzaindia, often translated as Royal Academy of the Basque language |
| Belarusian |  Belarus |
The Jakub Kolas and Janka Kupala Institute of Language and Literature at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus |
| Bengali (Bangla) |  Bangladesh |
Bangla Academy (বাংলা একাডেমি) |
| India |
Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi (পশ্চিমবঙ্গ বাংলা আকাদেমি) | |
| Berber | Morocco |
Royal Institute of Amazight Culture |
| Algeria |
Haut-Conseil à l’amazighité | |
| Algerian Academy of Amazigh Language | ||
| Central Bikol |  Philippines |
Academia Bicolana defunct |
| Bosnian |  Bosnia and Herzegovina Sandžak |
University of Sarajevo |
| Bulgarian |  Bulgaria |
Institute for Bulgarian Language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences |
| Burmese |  Myanmar |
Myanmar Language Commission |
| Catalan |  Catalonia |
Institute for Catalan Studies (Institut d’Estudis Catalans) |
 Valencian Community |
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (Valencian Language Academy) | |
| Cebuano | Philippines |
Visayan Academy of Arts and Letters (Akademyang Bisaya) |
| Cherokee |  Cherokee Nation |
Council of the Cherokee Nation (ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ) |
| Standard Chinese |  China |
State Language Work Committee (国家语言文字工作委员会) |
| Republic of China |
National Languages Committee (國語推行委員會) | |
 Singapore |
Promote Mandarin Council (讲华语运动理事会) | |
 Malaysia |
Chinese Language Standardisation Council of Malaysia (马来西亚华语规范理事会) | |
| Cornish |  Cornwall |
Cornish Language Partnership (Keskowethyans an Taves Kernewek) |
| Croatian |  Croatia |
Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics (Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
||
| Czech |  Czech Republic |
Institute of the Czech Language (of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) (Ústav pro jazyk český (Akademie věd České republiky)) |
| Danish |  Denmark |
Dansk Sprognævn (Danish Language Council) |
| Dalecarlian |  Dalarna County |
Ulum Dalska |
| Divehi |  Maldives |
Dhivehi Academy |
| Dutch |  Netherlands Belgium Suriname |
Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union) |
| Dzongkha |  Bhutan |
Dzongkha Development Commission (རྫོང་ཁ་གོང་འཕེལ་ལྷན་ཚོགས) |
| English | None official, but the Oxford English Dictionary is the principal historical dictionary of the English language. | |
| Estonian |  Estonia |
Emakeele Seltsi keeletoimkond (Language Board at the Mother Tongue Society) sets rules and standards, authoritative advice is given by the Institute of the Estonian Language (Eesti Keele Instituut) |
| Faroese |  Faroe Islands |
Faroese Language Council (Málráðið) |
| Filipino | Philippines |
Commission on the Filipino Language (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino) |
| Finnish |  Finland |
Institute for the Languages of Finland |
| French | France |
Académie française Délégation générale à la langue française et aux langues de France |
| Belgium |
Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique (Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium) | |
 Quebec |
Office québécois de la langue française (Québec Office of the French Language) | |
| Galician |  Galicia |
Royal Galician Academy (Real Academia Galega) |
| German |  Germany Austria Switzerland South Tyrol Belgium Liechtenstein Namibia |
Council for German Orthography (Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung) |
| Greenlandic |  Greenland |
The Greenland Language Secretariat (Oqaasileriffik) |
| Greek |  Greece Cyprus |
Center for the Greek Language (Κέντρον Ελληνικής Γλώσσας) |
| Guarani |  Paraguay |
Guarani Language Academy (Guarani Ñe’ ẽ Rerekuapavẽ) |
| Gujarati | India |
Gujarat Sahitya Akademi (ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી) |
| Hakka | Republic of China |
Hakka Affairs Council (客家委員會) |
| Haitian Creole |  Haiti |
Akademi Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole Academy) |
| Hebrew | Israel |
Academy of the Hebrew Language (האקדמיה ללשון העברית) |
| Hindi | India |
Central Hindi Directorate (केन्द्रीय हिन्दी निदेशालय) |
| Hmar | India |
Hmar Literature Society |
| Hungarian |  Hungary |
Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Nyelvtudományi Intézete) |
| Icelandic |  Iceland |
Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies |
| Igbo |  Nigeria |
Society for Promoting Igbo Language and Culture |
| Indonesian |  Indonesia |
Language and Book Development Agency (Badan Pengembangan Bahasa dan Perbukuan) |
| Irish |  Ireland Northern Ireland |
Foras na Gaeilge (Irish Institute) |
| Italian |  Italy San Marino Switzerland Vatican City |
Accademia della Crusca (Academy of the bran) |
| Japanese |  Japan |
National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (国立国語研究所) |
| Kabiye |  Togo |
Kabɩyɛ Akademii (Académie kabiyè) |
| Kannada | Karnataka |
Various academies and Government of Karnataka |
| Kashubian |  Poland |
Commission of the Kashubian Language |
| Kazakh |  Kazakhstan |
Ministry of Culture of Kazakhstan |
| Khmer |  Cambodia |
Royal Academy of Cambodia (រាជបណ្ឌិត្យសភាកម្ពុជា) |
| Korean |  South Korea |
National Institute of the Korean Language (국립국어원/國立國語院) |
 North Korea |
The Language Research Institute, Academy of Social Science (사회과학원 어학연구소) | |
| China |
China Korean Language Regulatory Commission (중국조선어규범위원회/中国朝鲜语规范委员会) | |
| Kven |  Norway |
Kainun institutti – kvensk institutt |
| Kurdish |  Kurdistan |
Kurdish Academy (ئەکادیمیای کوردی) |
| Kyrgyz |  Kyrgyzstan |
National Committee for State Language under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic (Кыргыз Республикасынын Президентине караштуу Мамлекеттик тил боюнча улуттук комиссия) |
| Latin |  Holy See |
Pontifical Academy for Latin (Pontificia Academia Latinitatis) (ecclesiastical Latin) |
| International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy: botanical Latin) | ||
| International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature: zoological Latin) | ||
| Latvian |  Latvia |
Latvian State Language Center (Valsts Valodas Centrs) |
| Lithuanian |  Lithuania |
Commission of the Lithuanian Language (Valstybinė lietuvių kalbos komisija) |
| Lusoga |  Uganda |
Lusoga Language Authority (LULA) |
| Luxembourgish |  Luxembourg |
Council for the Luxembourgish Language (Conseil fir d’Letzebuerger Sprooch) |
| Macedonian |  North Macedonia |
Linguistics and Literary Science Department at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts |
| Malagasy |  Madagascar |
Foibe momba ny teny at the Akademia Malagasy (http://www.tenymalagasy.gov.mg/) |
| Malay | Malaysia |
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (The Institute of Language and Literature) |
 Brunei |
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei (Language and Literature Bureau) | |
| Singapore |
Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura (Malay Language Council, Singapore) | |
| Malayalam | India |
Kerala Sahitya Akademi (കേരള സാഹിത്യ അക്കാദമി) |
| Maltese |  Malta |
National Council for the Maltese Language (www.kunsilltalmalti.gov.mt) |
| Manx |  Isle of Man |
Coonceil ny Gaelgey |
| Māori |  New Zealand |
Māori Language Commission |
| Marathi | India |
Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad (महाराष्ट्र साहित्य परिषद) |
| Mirandese |  Portugal |
Anstituto de la Lhéngua Mirandesa (Institute of the Mirandese Language) |
| Mixtec |  Mexico |
Academy of the Mixtec Language (Ve’e Tu’un Sávi) |
| Khalkha Mongolian |  Mongolia |
Council of the official state language (Төрийн хэлний зөвлөл). Decisions have to be confirmed by the Mongolian government. |
| Chakhar Mongolian | China |
Council for Language and Literature Work |
| Nepali |  Nepal |
Nepal Academy (नेपाल प्रज्ञा–प्रतिष्ठान) |
| Norwegian (Riksmål/Bokmål) | Norway |
Norwegian Academy |
| Norwegian Bokmål Norwegian Nynorsk |
Norwegian Language Council | |
| Occitan |  Occitania France Spain Monaco Italy |
Lo Congrès Permanent de la lenga occitana (the permanent congress of occitan language) Institut d’Estudis Aranesi (Aranese) Conselh de la Lenga Occitana |
| Odia | India |
Odisha Sahitya Akademi (ଓଡ଼ିଶା ସାହିତ୍ୟ ଏକାଡେମୀ) |
| Palauan |  Palau |
Palau Language Commission |
| Pashto |  Afghanistan |
Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan |
 Pakistan |
Pashto Academy | |
| Persian | Iran |
Academy of Persian Language and Literature (فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی) |
| Afghanistan |
Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan | |
 Tajikistan Uzbekistan |
Rudaki Institute of Language and Literature | |
| Paiwan | Republic of China |
Council of Indigenous Peoples |
| Polish | Poland |
Polish Language Council (Rada Języka Polskiego), of the Polish Academy of Sciences |
| Portuguese | Portugal |
Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Classe de Letras |
 Brazil |
Academia Brasileira de Letras (Brazilian Literary Academy) | |
| Galicia |
Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language (Academia Galega da Lingua Portuguesa) | |
| Quechua |  Peru |
High Academy of the Quechua Language (Qheswa simi hamut’ana kuraq suntur) |
| Rohingya |  Arakan (Rakhine State) |
Rohingya Language Academy (𐴌𐴟𐴇𐴥𐴝𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝 𐴎𐴟𐴁𐴝𐴕 𐴀𐴠𐴑𐴝𐴋𐴠𐴔𐴞) |
| Romanian |  Romania |
Institutul de Lingvistică al Academiei Române (Institute for Linguistics of the Romanian Academy) |
 Moldova |
Academia de Științe a Moldovei | |
| Romansh | Switzerland |
Lia Rumantscha |
| Russian |  Russia |
Russian Language Institute (Институт русского языка) |
| Scots |  Scotland |
Scots Language Centre (Center for the Scots Leid) |
| Scottish Gaelic | Scotland |
Bòrd na Gàidhlig (The Gaelic Board) |
| Secwepemctsín |  Canada |
Secwepemc Cultural Education Society |
| Serbian and Montenegrin |  Serbia Montenegro |
Board for Standardization of the Serbian Language |
| Sindhi | Pakistan |
Sindhi Language Authority |
| Sinhala |  Sri Lanka |
Hela Havula (හෙළ හවුල) |
| Slovak |  Slovakia |
Ľudovít Štúr Institute of Linguistics (Jazykovedný ústav Ľudovíta Štúra) at Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovenská akadémia vied) |
| Slovene |  Slovenia |
Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts |
| Somali |  Djibouti Ethiopia Somalia |
Regional Somali Language Academy |
| Sorbian | Germany Czech Republic Poland |
Serbski institut |
| Spanish | Spain Colombia Ecuador Mexico El Salvador Venezuela Chile Peru Guatemala Costa Rica Philippines Panama Cuba Paraguay Bolivia Dominican Republic Nicaragua Argentina Uruguay Honduras Puerto Rico United States Equatorial Guinea Israel |
Association of Spanish Language Academies (constituted by the Royal Spanish Academy plus 23 other separate national academies in the Spanish-speaking world and an Israel-based committee for Judaeo-Spanish.) |
| Swahili |  Tanzania |
Baraza la Kiswahili la Taifa |
 Kenya |
Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa | |
| Swedish | Sweden |
Swedish Language Council (semi-official) Swedish Academy |
| Finland |
Swedish Language Department of the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland (Svenska språkbyrån) | |
| Tamil | India |
Thanjavur Tamil University and Official Language Commission of Government of Tamil Nadu |
| Sri Lanka |
Department of Official Languages, Sri Lanka | |
| Singapore |
Tamil Language Council, Singapore | |
| Malaysia |
Malaysia Tamil Language Standardisation Council (மலேசியத் தமிழ் மொழியின் காப்பகம்) | |
| Taiwanese Hokkien | Republic of China |
Ministry of Education (Taiwan) |
| Tatar |  Tatarstan |
Institute of Language, Literature and Arts of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan |
| Telugu | India |
Telugu Academy and Official Language Commission of Government of Andhra Pradesh |
| Tetum |  East Timor |
National Institute of Linguistics at the National University of East Timor |
| Thai |  Thailand |
Royal Society of Thailand (ราชบัณฑิตยสภา) |
| Tibetan | Tibet Autonomous Region |
Committee for Tibetan Language Affairs |
| India |
Committee for the Standardisation of the Tibetan Language | |
| Tulu | India |
Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy |
| Turkish |  Turkey Cyprus Northern Cyprus |
Turkish Language Association |
| Ukrainian |  Ukraine |
NASU Institute of Ukrainian Language |
| Urdu | Pakistan |
National Language Promotion Department (اِدارۀ فروغِ قومی زُبان) |
| India |
National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (قومی کونسل برائے فروغ اردو زبان) | |
| Urhobo | Nigeria |
Urhobo Studies Association |
| Vietnamese |  Vietnam |
Institute of Linguistics of Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences |
| Võro | Estonia |
Võro Institute |
| Waray | Philippines |
Sanghiran san Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte (Academy of the Visayan Language of Samar and Leyte) defunct |
| Welsh |  Wales |
Welsh Language Commissioner (Aled Roberts) |
| West Frisian |  Friesland |
Fryske Akademy (Frisian Academy) |
| Wolof |  Senegal |
Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar (Center of Applied Linguistics of Dakar at the Cheikh Anta Diop University) |
| Yiddish | United States Sweden Russia |
YIVO (Note that YIVO does not regulate or hold any sway over the Yiddish used in Ultra-Orthodox circles where the Yiddish language is most used in current times. The orthography and pronunciation of Yiddish in the Ultra-Orthodox communities is dramatically different from the standardized version of Yiddish devised by YIVO. A prime example of this is the spelling of the name for the Yiddish language in Yiddish itself. YIVO promotes the spelling “ייִדיש”, while the spelling “אידיש” is more commonly used in most Ultra-Orthodox contexts.) |
| Yoruba | Nigeria |
Yoruba Academy |
Auxiliary languages
Esperanto
Apart from the Akademio de Esperanto, most auxiliary languages, also known as constructed languages (Conlangs) have no true linguistic regulators, language academies.
Esperanto 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.
| Language | Regulator(s) |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Akademio de Esperanto |
| Ido | Uniono por la Linguo Internaciona Ido |
| Lingua Franca Nova | Asosia per Lingua Franca Nova |
| Lojban | Logical Language Group |
| Volapük | Kadäm Volapüka |
Other constructed languages
| Language | Regulator(s) |
|---|---|
| Klingon | Marc Okrand |
| Talossan | Comità per l’Útzil del Glheþ |
Interlingua
The auxiliary language 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 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.
Hong Kong: Official Language Division Civil Service Bureau Government of Hong Kong – concerned with matters concerning government language policy
Macau: Departamento dos Assuntos Linguísticos of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau of the Government of Macau –concerned with matters concerning government language policy