Editing Spanish language (section)

==== North Africa and Macaronesia ====
{{See also|Canarian Spanish|Saharan Spanish}}

Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]] and the [[Canary Islands]], located in the Atlantic Ocean some {{convert|100|km|abbr=on}} off the northwest of the African mainland. The [[Canarian Spanish|Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands]] traces its origins back to the [[Conquest of the Canary Islands|Castilian conquest in the 15th century]], and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://revistes.urv.cat/index.php/utf/article/view/2332/2255|pages=175–176|first=Javier|last=Medina López|journal=Universitas Tarraconensis. Revista de Filologia|issue=14|year=1992–1993|publisher=Publicacions Universitat Rovira i Virgili|issn=2604-3432|title=Estandarización lingüística en las hablas canarias|access-date=19 January 2022|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124020917/https://revistes.urv.cat/index.php/utf/article/view/2332/2255|url-status=live}}</ref> which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lipski |first=John |author-link=John M. Lipski|date=1994 |title=Latin American Spanish |edition=1st |publisher=Longman|quote=An indisputable influence in the formation of Latin American Spanish, often overshadowed by discussion of the 'Andalusian' contribution, is the Canary Islands.|quote-page=55}}</ref> The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as a second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system.<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=[[Annual Review of Linguistics]]|first1=Manuel|last1=Díaz-Campos|first2=Juan M.|last2=Escalona Torres|first3=Valentyna|last3=Filimonova|url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011619-030547|page=369|doi=10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011619-030547|title=Sociolinguistics of the Spanish-Speaking World|year=2020|volume=6|s2cid=210443649 |issn=2333-9683|access-date=9 December 2023|archive-date=9 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209021219/https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011619-030547|url-status=live}}</ref>

While far from its heyday during the [[Spanish protectorate in Morocco]], the Spanish language has some presence in northern [[Morocco]], stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media.{{Sfn|Vicente|2011|p=67}} According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of the population.<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=[[Ministry of Economy (Spain)|Ministerio de Economía y Empresa]]|url=https://catalogo.ceu.es/pdocs/710471_10353835.pdf|title=The economic and commercial influence of Spanish-based languages|location=Madrid|year=2018|chapter=The endurance of Spanish in the Maghreb|pages=32–46|first=David|last=Fernández Vítores|access-date=9 December 2023|archive-date=13 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113155342/https://catalogo.ceu.es/pdocs/710471_10353835.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish,{{Sfn|Vicente|2011|p=67}} with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla.{{Sfn|Fernández Vítores|2018|pp=32–46}} Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education).{{Sfn|Vicente|2011|p=67}}

In [[Western Sahara]], formerly [[Spanish Sahara]], a primarily [[Hassaniya Arabic]]-speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] as its secondary official language,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.spsrasd.info/ar/articles/2018/11/29/18612.html |title=الوفد الصحراوي سيحضر لقاء جنيف بإرادة صادقة للتقدم نحو الحل الذي يضمن حق الشعب الصحراوي في تقرير المصير والاستقلال |trans-title=The Sahrawi delegation will attend the Geneva meeting with a sincere will to move towards a solution that guarantees the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence |date=29 November 2018 |website=[[Sahara Press Service]] |access-date=18 December 2023 |language=ar |archive-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125903/https://archive.spsrasd.info/ar/articles/2018/11/29/18612.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and in the [[Sahrawi refugee camps|Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf]] ([[Algeria]]), where the Spanish language is still taught as a second language, largely by Cuban educators.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.elindependiente.com/espana/2021/10/20/espana-se-desentiende-de-la-preservacion-del-castellano-en-los-campamentos-saharauis/ |website=El Independiente|date=20 October 2021 |first=Francisco |last=Carrión|title=España se desentiende de la preservación del castellano en los campamentos saharauis |access-date=19 January 2022|archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124020916/https://www.elindependiente.com/espana/2021/10/20/espana-se-desentiende-de-la-preservacion-del-castellano-en-los-campamentos-saharauis/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Martos |first1=Isabel |title=Linguistic Policy in the Camps of Sahrawi Refugees |via=researchgate.net |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273993698 |publisher=Universidad de Alcalá |access-date=19 August 2018 |archive-date=22 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522172107/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273993698_Linguistic_Policy_in_the_Camps_of_Sahrawi_Refugees_2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/anuario/anuario_06-07/pdf/paises_3.pdf |title=El Español en los Campamentos de Refugiados Saharauis (Tinduf, Algeria) |publisher=Cvc.cervantes.es |access-date=20 May 2015 |archive-date=26 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226150735/http://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/anuario/anuario_06-07/pdf/paises_3.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

Spanish is also an official language of the [[African Union]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AU languages |url=https://au.int/en/about/languages |access-date=June 6, 2024 |website=African Union |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407001442/https://au.int/en/about/languages |url-status=live }}</ref>