Saharan Spanish

Saharan Spanish (Spanish: español saharaui) is the variety of the Spanish language spoken in Western Sahara and adjacent regions. This non-native variety is heavily influenced by both Spanish colonialism and a strong expatriate community who live in Spain and Latin America, particularly Cuba.

History

World map with Spain and Western Sahara highlighted
World map with Cuba and Western Sahara highlighted
An arch welcoming visitors in Arabic and Spanish to the museum
Western Sahara and former colonial power Spain (above) and frequent source of expatriate education Cuba (mid). A sign welcomes visitors to a military museum in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Arabic and Spanish.

Although the native and dominant languages in Western Sahara are Hassaniya Arabic and some Berber languages, Spanish was introduced by colonizers in Spanish West Africa and Spanish Sahara in the 19th century.

Spanish still influences Sahrawi society today and is the preferred second language for acquisition and government.[1] Although Arabic is the sole official language in their constitution, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic uses Spanish for radio broadcasts[2] and state journalism.[3]

Spanish vocabulary has entered Hassaniya, particularly in fields related to agriculture, automobiles, diet, and sanitation.[4] These loanwords are reinforced due to Sahrawis studying abroad in Hispanic lands and returning to either Western Sahara or the Sahrawi refugee camps.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Knoerrich, Isabel A. "Language, Identities, and Cultures Between Spain and Morocco". In Jungbluth, Judith; Meierkord, Chrisitane. Identities in Migration Contexts. Gunter Narr Verlag Tübingen. p. 118. ISBN 978-3-8233-6317-0.
  2. ↑ "Western Sahara profile". BBC. 14 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "About Us". Sahara Press Service.
  4. 1 2 Budda, Abdurrahaman (2012). "El español en África". Association of Academies of the Spanish Language.

Further reading

  • Aaiun, gritando lo que se siente. Antología poética (2006), published by the University of Madrid, ISBN 8461117220
  • Awah, Bahia Mahmud. Literatura del Sahara Occidental. Breve estudio (2008), ISBN 978-84-612-8912-7
  • Awah, Bahia Mahmud. Tiris, rutas literarias (April 2016), published by Última Línea, ISBN 9788416159239
  • Awah, Bahia Mahmud. Versos refugiados (2007), published by Universidad Alcalá De Henares, ISBN 978-84-88754-26-4
  • Awah, Bahia Mahmud and Moya, Conchi. El porvenir del español en el Sahara Occidental (2009), ISBN 978-84-613-0943-6
  • Budda, Abdurrahaman. Huellas del castellano en el dialecto del hassaniyya saharaui (2012).
  • Gil, Victoria Retratos saharauis (2011)
  • San Martin, Pablo and Bollig, Ben (eds.) Los colores de la espera : Antología de nueva poesía sahraui (2011), published in Hudson by Comodoro Rivadavia, ISBN 978-987-24042-5-3
  • Treinta y uno, Thirty-One : Antología poetíca (2007), published by Sandblast and the University of Leeds, ISBN 978-84-8053-474-1.
  • Um Draiga : Poesía sahraui contemporánea (2007), published in Zaragoza by Um Draiga.
  • VerSáhara, 2016. Varios autores canarios y saharauis (November 2016), published by Cuadernos de La Gueldera, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, ISBN 978-84-617-6174-6
  • Um Draiga, a Sahrawi expatriate organization in Spain that publishes Spanish-language Sahrawi literature and poetry (in Spanish)

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