1. Vulgar Latin:
* The starting point: The Latin spoken by everyday people in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) wasn't the pure, literary Latin of Rome. It was a "vulgar" dialect, incorporating regional pronunciations, vocabulary, and grammatical features.
* Regional variations: These variations differed across the peninsula, forming the basis for distinct regional languages that later coalesced into Spanish.
2. Influence of Other Languages:
* Celtic, Iberian, and Arabic: The Roman conquest of Iberia brought Latin into contact with existing languages, which left their mark on the evolving language. Celtic languages contributed words like "río" (river) and "guerra" (war), while Iberian languages influenced words like "pueblo" (people) and "huerta" (garden). Arabic, introduced during the Moorish occupation, provided words like "alcalde" (mayor) and "azúcar" (sugar).
3. Phonetic Changes:
* Sound shifts: Over time, the pronunciation of Latin sounds shifted. For example, the Latin /k/ sound before an /e/ or /i/ became the Spanish /ch/ sound, as in "caelum" (sky) becoming "cielo".
* Vowel reduction: Latin vowels often shortened or disappeared in Spanish, such as the loss of the final vowel in many words.
4. Grammatical Changes:
* Loss of grammatical cases: Latin had a complex system of grammatical cases that denoted the function of a noun in a sentence. Spanish simplified this system, largely eliminating the need for distinct case endings.
* Verb conjugation: Latin verb conjugation was also simplified. Spanish retained the six tenses of Latin but reduced the number of moods and voices.
5. Borrowing and Innovation:
* New words and concepts: As Spanish interacted with other cultures, it absorbed words for new concepts, such as "café" (coffee) from Arabic and "chocolate" from Nahuatl.
* Semantic evolution: The meanings of words changed over time. For example, "guerra" originally meant "war" in Latin but came to mean "fight" in Spanish.
6. Standardization:
* Castilian dialect: The dialect spoken in the Castile region became dominant and was promoted by the Spanish monarchy. This led to the standardization of Spanish, based on the Castilian dialect, and the gradual suppression of other regional languages.
Timeline:
* Early stages: The process of change from Latin to Spanish began in the Roman era and continued for centuries.
* Medieval Period: This period saw the emergence of distinct regional languages and the influence of Arabic.
* 15th-16th centuries: The standardization of Spanish occurred, with the Castilian dialect gaining prominence.
* Modern Spanish: The Spanish spoken today continues to evolve, influenced by globalization and cultural exchange.
In conclusion, the evolution of Latin into Spanish is a complex process shaped by various factors, including phonetic changes, grammatical simplification, the influence of other languages, and standardization. While it's not a simple linear progression, the end result is a language that is both distinct from its Latin ancestor and profoundly connected to it.