Editing Lebanon (section)

=== Language ===
{{Main|Languages of Lebanon}}
Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the [[French language]] is to be used".<ref name="article_11">{{cite web |author=Axel Tschentscher, LL.M. |url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/le00000_.html#A011_ |title=Article 11 of the Lebanese Constitution |publisher=Servat.unibe.ch |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116235845/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/le00000_.html#A011_ |archive-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The majority of Lebanese people speak [[Lebanese Arabic]], which is grouped in a larger category called [[Levantine Arabic]], while [[Modern Standard Arabic]] is mostly used in magazines, newspapers, and formal broadcast media. [[Lebanese Sign Language]] is the language of the Deaf community.

There is also significant presence [[French language in Lebanon|of French]], and [[English language in Lebanon|of English]]. Almost 40% of Lebanese are considered francophone, and another 15% "partial francophone", and 70% of Lebanon's secondary schools use French as a second language of instruction.<ref name="NadeauBarlow2008">{{cite book |title=The Story of French |author=Jean-Benoît Nadeau, Julie Barlow |year=2008 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-34184-8 |page=311 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NN5oc0HFC7QC&pg=PA311 |access-date=14 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511134912/http://books.google.com/books?id=NN5oc0HFC7QC&pg=PA311 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> By comparison, English is used as a secondary language in 30% of Lebanon's secondary schools.<ref name="NadeauBarlow2008" /> The use of French is a legacy of France's historic ties to the region, including its [[League of Nations mandate]] over Lebanon following World War I; {{As of|2005|lc=y}}, some 20% of the population used French on a daily basis.<ref name="Britannica2">{{cite encyclopedia| year=2011| title=Lebanon| encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica| url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/334152/Lebanon| access-date=19 October 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229143132/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/334152/Lebanon| archive-date=29 December 2008| url-status=live| df=dmy-all}}</ref> The use of Arabic by Lebanon's educated youth is declining, as they usually prefer to speak in French and, to a lesser extent, English, which are seen as more fashionable.<ref>{{cite news|title=Campaign to save the Arabic language in Lebanon|work=BBC News |date=24 June 2010 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10316914|access-date=24 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729000725/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10316914|archive-date=29 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Arabic – a dying language?|work=The Observers |url=http://observers.france24.com/content/20100625-arabic-dying-language-lebanon-beirut|publisher=France 24|access-date=25 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607123258/http://observers.france24.com/content/20100625-arabic-dying-language-lebanon-beirut|archive-date=7 June 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

English is increasingly used in science and business interactions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Plus ça change |author=Jean-Benoît Nadeau, Julie Barlow |year=2006 |publisher=Robson |isbn=978-1-86105-917-8 |page=483 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_luCRxg6Q4C&pg=PA317 |access-date=26 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/Jan/19/English-assumes-greater-importance-in-Lebanese-linguistic-universe.ashx##axzz2LJ9F7y9b |title=English assumes greater importance in Lebanese linguistic universe |author=Hodeib, Mirella |newspaper=Daily Star (Lebanon) |date=19 January 2007 |access-date=1 July 2013}}</ref> [[Lebanese nationality law|Lebanese citizens]] of [[Armenians in Lebanon|Armenian]], [[Greeks in Lebanon|Greek]], or [[Assyrians in Lebanon|Assyrian]] descent often speak their ancestral languages with varying degrees of fluency. {{As of|2009}}, there were around 150,000 Armenians in Lebanon, or around 5% of the population.<ref>{{cite news |last=Antelava |first=Natalia |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8000507.stm |title=Armenians jump Lebanon's divide |work=BBC News |date=16 April 2009 |access-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202180657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8000507.stm |archive-date=2 December 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>