Languages of the United Nations

Languages of the United Nations

Ever wondered what the official languages of the United Nations are? We did! And this week we’ll tell you a little bit more about who they are and the official languages of this organization.

First off, it’s important to note that the United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization with the ultimate goal of promoting peace and cooperation among the nations of the world. The UN is made up of 192 member states, and as you can expect these member states speak a variety of different languages.

There are six official languages of the United Nations. These languages are:

  1. Arabic
  2. Chinese
  3. English
  4. French
  5. Russian
  6. Spanish

With six official languages of the UN, it is very important to have interpretation and translation available to delegates. This is important because a delegate is allowed to speak in any one of the six languages above, but should a delegate make a statement in a non-official language, it must be translated or interpreted. All translations and interpretations must be clear and concise so issues of global importance are understood. It is also important to note that all official United Nations documents must be made available in one of these six languages.

It’s wonderful to see how translators and interpreters are able to bring together multiple countries, cultures and languages with one common goal in mind, as they do in the United Nations.

References

http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/official-languages/

http://www.un.org/en/about-un/index.html

www.pendletontranslations.com