The History of the Spanish language

0218 BC-06-16 15:34:11

Romans

The Romans saw the Iberian Peninsula, a land rich in metal and ore deposits, as the farthest outreach for their conquests. In the year 218 b.c. the Romans conquered the Carthaginians and invaded the eastern part of the peninsula, this side being more civilized than the rest due to the influence of the Greeks. The Romans established a legal system of individual rights, paternal families, individual pr operty rights, and social classes (free, semi-free, and slave). They organized the area into "provincias" and "municipalidades." They made Latin the official language and spread this language through the intermixing and intermarriages of the Roman soldiers with the peoples of the peninsula, spreading their influence along the systems of roads they created there. The Vulgar Latin spoken by the soldiers, a degenerative form of Latin used by the common people, greatly influenced the Spanish language so much that this vulgar Latin is only a “short hop” away from the most early Spanish as Latin broke into the romance languages extant today. Four Latin Verb conjugations > 3 in Spanish (-ar, -er, -ir) Latin demonstratives > Spanish definite articles (ille > el: ille seniores > los senores) Latin pl, cl, ct, ll combinations > ll, j, ch (planus > llano; clamare > llamar; oculus > oc’lu >ojo; nocten > noche; bellus > bello) Syntax/word order (adjectives and nouns) Nouns > verbs: carrus (“cart”) > carricare (“haul with a cart”) > car’car > cargar (carry, bear) Weak vowels collapsing to dipthongs: porta > puerta; costa > cuesta Contiguous vowels > dipthlongs > yod (palatalized) > new sounds: muliere > mul’yer > mujer; oculum > ocl’um > ojo One-part Latin future and conditional tenses > 2-part in Old Spanish > one part in modern Spanish (cantabo > cantáre habeo > cantaré)

0300 BC-10-10 07:24:56

Greeks

The Greeks came to the peninsula, possibly drawn to the abundant fish as well as tin, copper, and salt reserves. They brought with them terms that reflected their cultural values toward intelligence, artistic trade, and the spiritual world. •Until the Greeks came, the people on the peninsula were very war-like people. The Greeks were a civilizing influence on the culture of the people they came into contact with. Most Spanish words relating the to human intellect and spirit came from the Greeks Biblía (the book) Bilioteca (the place of books) Historia (history) Iglésia (church) Suffixes: --ía (geografía, manía) --ema (tema, escema) --ama (programa) These suffixes are still used when new words are formed due to technology such as the word telegrama.

0416-05-01 00:00:00

Visigoths

The Visigoths came to the northeast and plain of the peninsula in the year 416 a.d. The Visigoths established a system of laws, Fuerzo Juzgo (654 a.d.), in order to unify the diverse peoples living there. They established Toledo as their capital and established the concept of monarchy. Many Germanic words influenced Spanish as they were assimilated into the Latin used on the continent and then into the language known as Spanish. Military terms: guerra, guardia, robar, yelmo, espuela, estribo, espía, botín Clothing: falda, huesa (tipo de bota) Comercio/agricultura: jabón, ganar Música: arpa Leyes: bando, bandido (ban, “prohibición”) Sentimientos: orgullo, escarnecer, desmayar Lugares: Valladolid, Andalucía (tierra de Vandalos), Burgos, Cataluña (tierra de godos) Nombres personales: Álvaro, Fernando, Rodrigo, Elvira, Gonzalo, Alfonso, Ramiro (not Biblical names) Other words: rico, blanco

0500 BC-09-28 11:56:37

Carthaginians

The Carthaginians came from across the Mediterranean Sea. •The Carthaginians established Cartagena, which means “the city of the Carthaginians.” •Words like mata/matarral come from the Carthaginians

0550 BC-09-28 11:56:37

Celts

The Celts settled in the northwestern part of Spain. •The Celts were the first people to bring the concept of underwear (bragas) to the peninsula. •WARLIKE/COMMON ITEMS: huelga, paramo, lanza, hunt, fish, farm, herd, coimbra, fortaleza, camisa, carro, vasallo •AFFIXES: sego, iego (Segovia, Andariego, mugeriego)

0600 BC-05-01 00:00:00

Basques

The Basques are an ancient people of the peninsula as well. They lived and continue to live in the northern part of modern day Spain. •Although the people living the Basque region of Spain have their own language that is completely different from Spanish, the ancient people group contributed to the Spanish language as it was developing many years ago. •The use of the letters Z and X, typical of the Basque language, had an impact on Spanish. •(ex. izquierda) •NAMES: Indigo, Garcia, Javier/Xavier •SUFFIXES: --erci --ueco --ueque --ili --irri

0700 BC-05-01 00:00:00

Iberian Tribes

They contributed many terms to the Spanish language that are still used today… •WAR: defense, armor •GEOGRAPHIC TERMS: nacas de tolosa, navarra, orollo, balsa, carpio, vega •ANIMALES AND PLANTS: perro, sapo, urraca, conejo, cesco •FAMILY NAMES: Sanchez, Garciaz, Nuñez, Muñoz

0711-05-01 00:00:00

Arabs

The Arabs came to the peninsula in the year 711 a.d., passing the Straits of Gibraltar, rapidly conquering territory and spreading the influence of their own culture. While the Romans were famous for Roman baths, bathing as a form of hygiene was not a concept on the peninsula before the Arabs came. They brought with them wonderful new spices and citrus fruits, which revolutionized health in terms of the immune system’s ability to fight off diseases with the help of vitamin C in these fruits. In addition the Arabs brought with them advanced mathematics, science, and astronomy. They used irrigation techniques that changed the peninsula’s agriculture. The Arabs not only brought with them their religion of Islam, they contributed to the rich architectural and scholarly wonders for which Spain is known. As forms of recreation and expression the Arabs brought with them the game of chess as well as the guitar, now a prominent symbol of Spain inseparable from its culture and identity. Many Spanish words that begin with the phonemes “a” or “al” (“al” meaning “the”) are of Arabic origin: Alcázar (castle), alcalde (mayor), almacén (store house, department store), alfombra (carpet, rug), aceite (oil), aceituna (olive), algodón (cotton), azúcar (sugar). Agricultural Terms: Arroz (rice), naranja, limón, azahar, jazmín, alberca (reservoir), Scientific processes: Alcohol, alquimia, bórax, cero, cenit, nadir Words of everyday use: Ahorrar (to save), escarlata (scarlet), mono (monkey), matar (to kill—from the Persian root “mat” found in “checkmate”)

0800 BC-05-01 00:00:00

Iberian Tribes

The peninsula is named after these ancient peoples (Iberian Peninsula or Península Ibérica). A prominent river in Spain, the Río Ebro, is also named after the Iberians.

0900 BC-08-07 23:10:13

Ligurians

The Ligurians came to the northeastern part of Spain from Italy. •PLACE NAMES: Rango, Verganza, Toledo, Alava •SUFFIXES: --azco, --ozco, --uzco •SUFFIXES: --az, --ez, --oz

1000 BC-05-01 00:00:00

Iberian Tribes

The earliest inhabitants of the country we now call Spain are known as the iberians (los iberos).

1492-05-01 00:00:00

Indigenous Americas

When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World he encountered new people, cultures, languages and products. The Spanish words that have come from the New World are the result of the explorers approximations of the words in the native languages of the indigenous communities encountered in the New World. Coupled with the rich oriental foods in Spain brought by the Arabs, the new foods from the Americas brought the possibility for hybrid cooking, such as new soups and stews, in the Old World. Foods: Tomate, patata, banana, chocolate, cacahuete, maíz, cacao Functional Items: Canoa, Comote

1492-05-01 00:00:00

Spain--A Nation

The year 1492 marks not only the discovery of the New World; it also marks the expulsion of the Arabs and Jews from the peninsula, and the establishment of the Spanish Nation under the monarchy of Ferdinand and Isabel. This had an extreme impact on the Spanish language. The Political Unification of Spain makes Castilian the official dialect of the realm requiring all official documents to be written with the language. Gramática de la lengua castelllana The first grammar book in Europe is written by Antonio de Nebrija

1800-05-01 00:00:00

Modern Spanish Forming

By the 1800s one can recognize what is now know as modern Spanish. Accents are regulated to indicate stress in the pronunciation of words or to differentiate between identical forms (si/sí and se/sé).

1808-05-01 00:00:00

Old Spanish and the French Influence

This period of influence and change is marked by the French occupation of Spain by Napoleon. Publications flooded the country in an effort to establish language norms regarding spelling and usage. During this period the language academies were founded, the first of which being “La Real Academia de la Lengua.” i and y are clarified (y is the acceptable presentation of the word “and”) Object pronouns are regularized and occur after the infinitive and before sentences. Flood of French words regarding the culinary arts, customs of dress, and culture: Detalles, jalea, chaqueta, conserge, galán, intriga, modista, coqueta, chófer

1985-06-06 12:49:30

Modern English Influence

While pop music and the invention of satellite television have flooded the language with terms, science, medicine and sports and technology have had a profound influence of Spanish. As Spain entered the European Union after the Franco dictatorship they were very open to change. This is evident in the influence of the English language on Spanish in modern times. Gol Escáner/escanear, salvapantallas, ciencia ficción, video juego, Prefixes: eco, neo, bio, super (super bien), mega Suffixation causes new verbs: Promocionar/promover Ejercitar/ejercer Influenciar/influir Ofertar/ofrecer Guionizar, escandalizar, esponsorizar Piratear, faxear, tipear, tonificar

2013-06-06 12:49:30

Spanish Today

Today Spanish is still changing and evolving. The end of the Franco dictatorship in Spain (1980’s) marks an explosion in the usage of acronyms (OTAN—which is NATO in English). Many Spanish speakers are using abbreviations (profe/profesor, boli/bolígrafo, uni/universidad) and borrowing pop culture words from English such as “smash hit.” They are showing a preference for adverbial phrases over adjectives (nutricionalment, militarmente, futbolísticamente) and using more and more compound words (limpiahornos, apoyabrazos, todoterreno). However, there remain geological variances such as the word for bus—guagua, camión/eta, autobús, colectivo. This is a mere glimpse of the evolution of Spanish and the immerging trends that will no doubt continue to change the language as it evolves throughout time.

The History of the Spanish language

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