While Cape Verdean Creole is the mother tongue of nearly all the population in Cape Verde, Portuguese is the official language. Creole is, therefore, used colloquially, in everyday usage, while Portuguese is used in official situations, at schools, in the media, etc. Portuguese and Creole live in a state of diglossia, meaning that Portuguese is usually used in formal situations, in the media, business, education, judicial system and legislature, while Creole is preferred for informal situations as a vernacular language in day-to-day life and daily activities.