A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. Such people are termed "linguistic minorities".
In Europe and in some other parts of the world, like in Canada, minority languages are often defined by legislation or constitutional documents and afforded some form of official support. The term, for example, appears in the Constitution of Canada in the heading above section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees minority language educational rights.
Some minority languages are simultaneously also official languages, including the Irish language (Gaelic) in the Republic of Ireland. Likewise, some national languages are often considered minority languages, insofar as they are the national language of a stateless nation.

Controversy

Regional language
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
German as a minority language
Language policy
Language revival
Sign Language
Indigenous language
Linguistic minorities
English-only movement