Talk:Sahara

Semi-protected edit request on 10 May 2022

Change "BCE" to "BC" 108.30.247.221 (talk) 11:05, 10 May 2022 (UTC)

 Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{edit semi-protected}} template. Date formats are a thing. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 11:12, 10 May 2022 (UTC)

Languages spoken in Sahara desert

Arabic dialects are the most widely spoken languages in the Sahara. Arabic, Berber and its variants now regrouped under the term Amazigh (which includes the Guanche language spoken by the original Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands) and Beja languages are part of the Afro-Asiatic or Hamito-Semitic family.[citation needed] Unlike neighboring West Africa and the central governments of the states that comprise the Sahara, the French language bears little relevance to inter-personal discourse and commerce within the region, its people retaining staunch ethnic and political affiliations with Tuareg and Berber leaders and culture. 102.89.34.22 (talk) 07:00, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

That's right; Arabic is not a Berber dialects to be regrouped within it (that's so fuuny to mend), as Arabic has a well-known trace and history!

Also, Banu Hassan are true Arabs not Arabized (please, wikipedia is not a site of Berberism). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.220.114.154 (talk) 21:44, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

Why the hell is Arabic names "native" - Arabs have nothing to do with this desert Huamar (talk) 10:34, 2 August 2026 (UTC)

Well, the word "Sahara" itself is Arabic, and most of the people who now live across the northern edge of the Sahara speak Arabic. If you still think the statement needs to be changed, then propose a specific phrasing to replace what is currently in the article. - Donald Albury 15:52, 2 August 2026 (UTC)

Well first of, I personally object to the whole idea of "natives", people always migrated/conquered/fled etc from one place to another. Secondly, Arabs are natives to Arabia, not to North Africa. So I recommend to remove Arabic from there Huamar (talk) 08:13, 15 August 2026 (UTC)

Or change it to "Name in Arabic" not "Native". Egyptian and the rest of the Amaghirs, didn't call it like that they called it: Deshret, Tiniri (or Ténéré), Tanezrouft. Huamar (talk) 08:33, 15 August 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 January 2023

The third overview paragraph begins "The desert comprises much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region on the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley in Egypt and the Sudan."

At the very end of the sentence, the article before Sudan should be removed as it is not necessary and is incorrect. Givonmclean (talk) 23:04, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

 Done M.Bitton (talk) 01:06, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

Please see my comment below. 58.152.51.162 (talk) 10:15, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

It is actually correct. According to the UNGEGN World Geographical Names published by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, the definite article "the" should be added before "Sudan" as the country's official name is the "Republic of the Sudan", not the "Republic of Sudan".

"Sudan" without the definite article is reserved for an unrelated geographical region to the south of the Sahara.

Another African country, the Niger (official name: Republic of the Niger) should also have the definite article "the" included as a part of its name.

Source: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/geonames/ 58.152.51.162 (talk) 08:28, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

The Sahara Desert is much bigger

Quote:

---

The Sahara Desert spans across:

1. Algeria
2. Burkina Faso (northern)
3. Chad
4. Djibouti
5. Egypt
6. Eritrea
7. Ethiopia (northeastern)
8. Kenya (northern)
9. Libya
10. Mali
11. Mauritania
12. Morocco
13. Niger
14. Nigeria (northern)
15. Senegal (northern)
16. Somalia
17. Sudan
18. Tunisia
19. Western Sahara

---

According to Meta AI, the Sahara Desert is much bigger. It covers 18 countries and one disputed territory. 58.152.51.162 (talk) 07:44, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Linguistics in the Digital Age

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation–supported course assignment, between 15 January 2025 and 9 May 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Soniamstone (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Soniamstone (talk) 20:51, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 November 2026

Change the infobox population figure from “2,500,000” to approximately “30,000,000”.

The current population figure appears to be a significant underestimate. I have recalculated the population by examining the provinces and other first-level administrative divisions of each country that fall within the geographical boundaries of the Sahara Desert, using their respective population figures. Based on this regional approach, the Sahara’s population is estimated to be closer to 30 million.

I believe the existing figure should be reviewed, as a calculation based on the populations of the administrative regions within the Sahara’s boundaries suggests a substantially higher population. Ngoni010 (talk) 21:23, 4 November 2026 (UTC)

 Not done Everything in Wikipedia needs to be verifiable from reliable sources. The population figure used in this article is supported by a citation to the Encyclopedia Britannica, which is a reliable source. The population figure you have calculated is, in Wikipedia terms, original research, which is not allowed in articles. If you can find other reliable sources that give different population figures for the Sahara, we can figure out how to incorporate them into the article. I think it is obvious that the population is going to differ widely depending on just how the boundaries of the desert are calculated (note that EB explicitly excludes the Nile Valley for its population figure). Donald Albury 22:27, 4 November 2026 (UTC)