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 cultural links and a strong expatriate community who live in Spain and Hispanic America, particularly Cuba.

History

Western Sahara and former colonial power Spain (above) and frequent source of expatriate education Cuba (mid). A sign welcomes visitors to the People's Liberation Army Museum, 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 settlers in Spanish West Africa and Spanish Sahara in the 19th century. Older Sahrawis who went to school in the time of the Spanish colonization (up to 1975) are typically competent in the language, and in addition Spanish is taught to the new generations in the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. In the Moroccan-ruled parts of the country, the foreign language taught in school is typically French, rather than Spanish.

Current usage and legal status

Spanish still influences Sahrawi society today and is the preferred second language for acquisition and government in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,^[1] though not in the Moroccan-ruled areas that make up most of the territory. Arabic is the sole official language identified in the Sahrawi constitution, and the republic only uses Spanish for radio and TV broadcasts^[2] and state journalism.^[3] The Cervantes Institute estimates that there are 22,000 second-language speakers, 5% of the population, in Western Sahara, plus a larger number in the refugee camps in Algeria.^[4]

Spanish vocabulary has entered Hassaniya, particularly in fields related to agriculture, automobiles, diet, and sanitation.^[5] These loanwords are reinforced due to Sahrawis studying abroad in Hispanic lands and returning to either Western Sahara or the Sahrawi refugee camps.^[5]

Lexicon

Regarding the lexicon, the preference for Hispanisms in the framework of technique and tools has been documented, just as other countries have opted for solutions of the colonizing language such as English or French.

Gallery of Spanish in Saharawi society

• 
  Sahrawi woman teaching Spanish in one of the Tindouf refugee camps.
• 
  School in Bir Lehlu.
• 
  National Sahrawi Police.
• 
  Emergency room.
• 
  Sale of products in a Dajla pharmacy with posters in Spanish.
• 
  Coins of 2 Sahrawi pesetas with inscriptions in Spanish.