What language is spoken?
The official language is Moroccan Arabic which is very different from the Arabic that is spoken in the Middle East. French in the south and Spanish in the north are the second languages of the country due to the many years of the “forced protectorate”. Berber is the “indigenous” language and is spoken by the Berber peoples of the Rif and Atlas Mountain regions and the desert nomads in the south. The Moroccans seem to have a finely tuned ear and can mimic the speech of almost anyone. Those who come into contact with tourists have taught themselves to converse in all the major languages. You will be amazed and humbled by their abilities especially if you have taken a language course and still can not carry on a conversation in anything other than your native tongue. To put it simply, you really do not need to speak French or Arabic, but there will be times when life would be much easier if you knew a few words, so bring a French or Moroccan Arabic phrase book with you when you come.
Spanish is the official language of Mexico and is spoken everywhere in Cozumel. However, due to tourism English is also very widely spoken in Cozumel and non-Spanish speakers should have no problem getting by. You may also here some locals speaking Mayan, the ancient native language of the region.
