Here's a more detailed breakdown:
* Historical Roots: Galician evolved from Vulgar Latin, the language spoken by the common people in the Roman Empire. This was the same source for all the Romance languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Italian, Romanian, etc.
* Influence of Portuguese: Galician shares a close relationship with Portuguese, as the two languages developed side-by-side in neighboring areas. Some linguists even consider them to be dialects of the same language.
* Official Recognition: Galician gained official language status in Spain in 1983, alongside Spanish (Castilian).
So, while Galician's roots are in Vulgar Latin, its specific development and evolution were influenced by the unique geographical and historical context of Galicia, leading to the distinct language we know today.