History of Spanish

Spanish language was born in the Iberian Peninsula, a region located on the southwest side of Europe. Towards the last years of the 6th Century, such land was inhabited by the Iberians, individuals who, upon mingling with the Celts (another race, of nomadic customs and originally from the center of Europe), formed a new group of people, known as the “Celtiberians”. These people had their own tongue, which was a variation of the Celtic language.

In the year 19 BC, the region acquired the name of Hispania, after a roman rule was issued upon the matter. The inhabitants were then taught Latin by Roman traders, settlers, administrators and soldiers.

Under Roman rule, in 19 BC, the region became known as Hispania, and its inhabitants learned Latin from traders, administrators, soldiers and other people coming from Rome. It was when these Romans’ Latin got mixed up with the languages that had previously been spoken by the Celtiberians, the Carthaginians, and other inhabitants of the region that a new language, referred to as “Vulgar Latin”, made its appearance. The aforementioned followed the basic models of Latin, while at the same time borrowing words from the other tongues and adding them to its own lexicon.