Iberian Romance languages

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• A common Romance language with dialectal differences was spoken throughout the ancient Roman Empire
  Roman Empire
  
  The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
  . During this stage, we can speak of the Romance language, although it was probably somewhat different from one region to another. It can still be called Popular or Vulgar Latin
  Vulgar Latin
  
  Vulgar Latin is a blanket term covering the popular dialects and sociolects of the Latin which diverged from each other in the early Middle Ages, evolving into the Romance languages by the 9th century....
  .

• From this point on, the Romance languages on the Iberian Peninsula
  Iberian Peninsula
  
  The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
   followed a distinct path:

• Separation of East Iberian (Catalan
  Catalan language
  
  Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
  ) on one side of the peninsula from West Iberian Romance on the other. Catalan is sometimes regarded as a transition language between Iberian Romance and Gallo-Romance languages
  Gallo-Romance languages
  
  The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages includes French language, Occitan language, Arpitan language, and several other languages spoken in modern France and northern Italy....
  . Indeed, the ascription of Catalan to the Ibero-Romance languages is not shared by all linguists, since others prefer to group it with the closely related Occitan language
  Occitan language
  
  Occitan , known also as Lenga d'?c or Langue d'oc is a Romance languages spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain....
   in the Occitano-Romance
  Occitano-Romance languages
  
  The Occitano-Romance branch of Romance languages encompasses the dialects pertaining to the Occitan language and the Catalan language languages situated in France , Spain , Andorra, Monaco, parts of Italy , and historically in the County of Tripoli and the possessions of the Crown of Aragon....
   branch of Gallo-Romance.
• West Iberian Romance
  West Iberian languages
  
  West Iberian is a branch of the Romance languages which includes Spanish language, Ladino language, the Astur-Leonese group Speakers of West Iberian languages generally claim that they are all mutually intelligible to some extent....
   split into Castilian
  Spanish language
  
  Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
   (Spanish) and Leonese
  Leonese language
  
  The Leonese language was developed from Vulgar Latin with contributions from the pre-Roman languages which were spoken in the territory of the Spanish provinces of Le?n , Zamora, and Salamanca and in some villages in the District of Bragan?a, Portugal....
   in central Iberia, and Galician-Portuguese
  Galician-Portuguese
  
  Galician-Portuguese was a West Iberian languages spoken in the Middle Ages, in the northwest area of the Iberian Peninsula. It was first spoken in the area between the Bay of Biscay and the Douro River, but it expanded South with the Reconquista....
   in western Iberia.

History and official status

• Spanish/Castilian: The Crown of Castile
  Crown of Castile
  
  The Crown of Castile, as a historic entity, is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and definitive union of the two kingdoms of Kingdom of Le?n and Kingdom of Castile, or more concretely, with the union of their parliaments a few decades later....
   pushed for Castilian to be considered the Spanish language, which it is today. However, it did not abolish other languages within Spain
  Spain
  
  Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
  .
• Portuguese and Galician: Because Portugal
  Portugal
  
  Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
   became independent in the 12th century while Galicia remained subject to the Kingdom of Leon
  Kingdom of León
  
  Kingdom of Le?n was an independent country situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 A.D. when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias along the Bay of Biscay shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of Le?n, Spain....
  , political and sociolinguistic factors
  Sociolinguistics
  
  Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used....
   have caused them to be considered separate languages.
• Catalan: The political structure and strength of the Crown of Aragon
  Crown of Aragon
  
  The Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon.At the height of its power by the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain, Northern Catalonia, as well as some of the major islands and mainland...
   made Catalan a language of culture, science, and literature. Its importance diminished for some centuries, but the desire for more autonomy for Catalonia
  Catalonia
  
  Catalonia , is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km? and has an official population of 7,210,508. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east ....
   has given it renewed importance (it never ceased to be the language of a majority of the Catalan population up to the 20th century). It is now the official language of three of the four main regions of the former possessions of the Crown of Aragon, as well as of the independent state of Andorra
  Andorra
  
  Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France....
  . It is also still spoken in other enclaves.
• The fact that Galicia and Catalonia are a part of Spain makes their languages prone to Castilian influences, especially in large urban centers such as Barcelona in Catalonia and Coruña in Galicia.
• Minoritary languages like Asturian, Leonese, and Aragonese came to be regarded as mere dialects of Spanish by most people, although they are Romance variants with enough distinct features to be ranked as separate languages.
• On the other hand, in modern times, some authors have argued that subvarieties of Catalan, Galician, Asturian and Leonese
  Leonese language
  
  The Leonese language was developed from Vulgar Latin with contributions from the pre-Roman languages which were spoken in the territory of the Spanish provinces of Le?n , Zamora, and Salamanca and in some villages in the District of Bragan?a, Portugal....
  , such as Valencian
  Valencian
  
  Valencian is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the region's native language, known elsewhere as Catalan language ....
  , Eonavian
  Eonavian
  
  Eonavian or Eonaviego is a term used to refer a set of dialects or falas whose linguistic dominion extends in the zone of Principality of Asturias between the Eo River and Navia River rivers ....
  , and Mirandese, should be classified as separate languages.

• Catalan-Valencian-Balearic, originated from East Iberian Romance, which separated from West Iberian at an early stage in the development of the Iberian Romance languages. Closely related to Occitan, it has many dialects and is spoken by about 7 million people, mostly in five variants: Central Catalan
  Central Catalan
  
  Central Catalan is the Eastern Catalan dialect with the highest number of speakers, since it is commonly spoken in densely populated areas such as the whole Barcelona , the eastern half of Tarragona and most of the Girona , except for it is northern part, where a transition to Northern Catalan begins....
  , Northern Catalan
  Northern Catalan
  
  Northern Catalan is an Eastern Catalan dialect mostly spoken in Northern Catalonia, but also extending in the northeast part of Southern Catalonia in a transition zone with Central Catalan....
  , Valencian
  Valencian
  
  Valencian is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the region's native language, known elsewhere as Catalan language ....
   and Balearic
  Balearic
  
  Balearic is the name given collectively to the group of Catalan language variants spoken in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The collective term was coined by philologists, while the historic names used by the speakers themselves refer to the language as if it was local to each island, and so "Mallorqu?" , "Eivissenc" and "Menorqu?" may be used...
  .

• Galician, originated from the medieval Galician-Portuguese language. It has had a strong influence from Castilian.

• Portuguese, originated from a common Galician-Portuguese language. It is currently the sixth most widely spoken language in the world, with more than 200 million speakers.

• Spanish (also called Castilian
  Names given to the Spanish language
  
  There are two names given to the Spanish language: Spanish and Castilian . Spanish speakers from different countries or backgrounds can show a preference for one term or the other, or use them indiscriminately, but political issues or common usage might make speakers choose one term or the other....
  ) originated from the common West Iberian Romance along with Galician-Portuguese, with some influence from Mozarabic and Basque
  Basque language
  
  Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
  . It is now spoken by an estimated 392 million people throughout the world.

• Catalan: Andorra and Spain (it is also spoken by about 100,000 people in France
  France
  
  France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
   and members of the older generations of one town in Sardinia
  Sardinia
  
  Sardinia is the Mediterranean islands#By area island in the Mediterranean Sea . The area of Sardinia is . The island is surrounded by the France island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia and the Balearic Islands....
  , Alghero
  Alghero
  
  Alghero , is a town of about 42,000 inhabitants in Italy. It lies in the Provinces of Italy of Province of Sassari in north-western Sardinia....
  );
• Occitan: official in small regions of Spain (under the name of Aranese) and Italy
  Italy
  
  Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
  ;
• Portuguese: official in eight independent countries (see Geographic distribution of Portuguese
  Geographic distribution of Portuguese
  
  Portuguese language is the official and first language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and S?o Tom? and Pr?ncipe. It is also one of the official languages of Equatorial Guinea , East Timor , Macau and the gabonese-equatoguinean city of Cocobeach ....
  );
• Spanish: many countries throughout the world.

See also

• Gallo-Iberian languages
• Iberian languages
  Iberian languages
  
  Iberian languages is a generic term for the languages currently or formerly spoken in the Iberian peninsula....
  

External links

• Spanish, a romance language.