* Latin: Was the language of the Roman Empire. It was spoken throughout the empire and used in official documents, literature, and law.
* Fall of the Roman Empire: After the fall of the Roman Empire, Latin continued to evolve and split into different regional dialects.
* Vulgar Latin: The language of the common people, different from the formal Latin used in official settings.
* Romance Languages: Vulgar Latin evolved into various Romance languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Catalan.
Here's how Spanish specifically relates to Latin:
* Direct descendant: Spanish is a direct descendant of Vulgar Latin spoken in the Iberian Peninsula.
* Shared vocabulary: Spanish shares a significant amount of vocabulary with Latin. Many Spanish words are direct cognates (words with a common origin) of Latin words.
* Grammar: While Spanish grammar has changed over time, it shares many structural similarities with Latin, including grammatical gender, verb conjugations, and word order.
In summary, Spanish is a Romance language that evolved directly from Vulgar Latin. It shares a common ancestor and many similarities with Latin in vocabulary and grammar.