* Evolution, not creation: Languages evolve over time, and Spanish developed gradually from Latin spoken in the Iberian Peninsula. There isn't a single point where it suddenly became "Spanish."
* Regional variation: The language developed differently in various regions of Spain, leading to different dialects.
* Influence of other languages: Spanish borrowed words and grammatical structures from other languages, including Arabic, Basque, and indigenous languages of the Americas.
Here's a timeline of important milestones:
* Early Middle Ages: Latin spoken in the Iberian Peninsula began to evolve into different regional dialects.
* 13th-15th centuries: Castilian, the dialect of Castile, gained prominence as the language of the Spanish court and administration.
* 15th century: The Spanish Reconquista (reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors) helped unify the language under Castilian.
* 16th century: Spanish colonialism spread the language to the Americas, the Philippines, and other parts of the world.
* 17th-19th centuries: The Royal Spanish Academy was established to standardize the language, but regional variations continued to exist.
So, while we can't give a specific date, it's safe to say that Spanish emerged as a distinct language around the 13th-15th centuries, with Castilian dialect solidifying as the foundation.