Aworking language (alsoprocedural language) is alanguage that is given a unique legal status in asupranational company, society, state or other body or organization as its primary means of communication. It is primarily the language of the daily correspondence and conversation, since the organization usually has members with various differing language backgrounds.
Most international organizations have working languages for their bodies. For a given organization, a working language may or may not also be anofficial language.
Originally,English andFrench were the working languages at the UN. Later,Arabic,Chinese,Russian, andSpanish were added as working languages in theGeneral Assembly and in the Economic and Social Council. Currently, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish are the working languages of theSecurity Council.[1]
TheInternational Criminal Court has two working languages:English andFrench.[2] TheCouncil of Europe,[3] theOECD, andNATO also have English and French as their two working languages.[citation needed]
TheWorld Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) hasEnglish andFrench as official languages,[4] withArabic,Russian, andSpanish as additional working languages.[5]
TheOrganization of Ibero-American States (OEI),Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB),Mercosur, and theLatin American Integration Association have two working languages:Portuguese and Spanish.
TheWorld Trade Organization, theInternational Federation of Journalists, theInternational Telecommunication Union, theInternational Maritime Organization, theInternational Labour Organization,NAFTA, theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature, and theFree Trade Area of the Americas all have three working languages: English, French, andSpanish.
English and French are the official languages of the Council of Europe.