Somalialand

Somalialand is an archaic spelling of Somaliland, referring to British Somaliland, French Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. It does not refer to the modern-day secessionist region of Somaliland in northwest Somalia.

Explanation

Somalialand was formed as an alternative spelling of Somaliland in the 19th Century (or perhaps beforehand). Therefore the alternate or archaic spelling has historically only been used to refer to Somaliland in the 19th and early 20th Century when the area was divided between the colonies of England and Italy.

The alternate spelling was likely developed as an alternate translation of an East African tongue. The alternate spelling has therefore never been used with the modern nation of Somaliland which has an official translation form. It is still acceptable (but rare) to use Somalialand to refer to the colonies of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The preferred form remains Somaliland, although using Somalialand may be an effective method of distinguishing that one is attempting to refer to the area only during its colonial era.