A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federal state or province, or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, “regional or minority languages” means languages that are: traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the State’s population; and different from the official language(s) of that State Recognition of regional or minority languages must not be confused with recognition as an official language.