Here's a breakdown of its evolution:
* Vulgar Latin: The Latin spoken by the common people in the Roman provinces gradually diverged from the formal, literary Latin. This Vulgar Latin, with its regional variations, became the foundation for the Romance languages.
* Galician-Portuguese: Around the 9th century, the Vulgar Latin spoken in northwestern Iberia evolved into a common ancestor of both Galician and Portuguese.
* Portuguese: By the 13th century, the language spoken in the area of modern-day Portugal began to diverge from Galician, leading to the development of Portuguese as a distinct language.
Key Factors in Portuguese's Development:
* Geographical Isolation: The northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, where Portuguese developed, was less exposed to influences from the rest of the Romance-speaking world. This allowed its own linguistic features to develop more prominently.
* Cultural Influences: Interactions with neighboring languages like Arabic, Basque, and Galician all played a role in shaping Portuguese vocabulary and grammar.
* Colonial Expansion: The Portuguese Empire's vast overseas ventures spread the language across the globe, leading to regional variations like Brazilian Portuguese.
In short, Portuguese is a Romance language that evolved from Vulgar Latin, shaped by various factors, and ultimately became a global language through Portugal's historical dominance.