Official language to the government in their native languages. In countries that do not formally designate an official language, a "de facto" national language usually evolves. English is the most common official language, with recognized status in 51 countries. Arabic, French, and Spanish are also widely recognized. An official language that is also an indigenous language is called "endoglossic", one that is not indigenous is "exoglossic". An instance is Nigeria which has three endoglossic official languages. By this the country aims to protect the indigenous languages although at the same time recognising the English language as its lingua franca. Around 500 BC,
Official languages of the United Nations are third language speakers. Hindi is the lingua franca of the majority of Indians in the subcontinent, along with Pakistan (as Urdu), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, with its importance as a global language increasing day by day. Hindi is the fourth most-spoken first language in the world, after Mandarin, Spanish and English. In 2007, it was reported that the government would "make immediate diplomatic moves to seek the status of an official language for Hindi at the United Nations". According to a 2009 press release from its Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of India has been "working actively"