French and Spanish in North Africa
In North Africa there are countries where French or Spanish are spoken, but they are neither the main nor the official languages:
- Algeria, Maghreb French (this is the only North African nation where French is spoken by majority).
- Morocco, Spanish is often spoken as a second language in the former Spanish protectorate, but the French is widely the national second language once the French protectorate was much larger. Haketia (or Western Judaeo-Spanish) is spoken by a few hundreds of Moroccan Jews and is endangered. Another variant, the Spanish language that was spoken by moriscos, is extinct.
- Tunisia, Maghreb French.
- Western Sahara, Spanish language in Western Sahara.
Read more about this topic: Romance-speaking Africa
Famous quotes containing the words french, spanish, north and/or africa:
“There is but one Paris and however hard living may be here, and if it became worse and harder even—the French air clears up the brain and does good—a world of good.”
—Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)
“They are a curious mixture of Spanish tradition, American imitation, and insular limitation. This explains why they never catch on to themselves.”
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“Ah, how shall you know the dreary sorrow at the North Gate,
With Li Po’s name forgotten,
And we guardsmen fed to the tigers.”
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“What is Africa to me:
Copper sun or scarlet sea,
Jungle star or jungle track,
Strong bronzed men, or regal black
Women from whose loins I sprang
When the birds of Eden sang?”
—Countee Cullen (1903–1946)