Spanish Language Development
“Trace the development of the Spanish language from its
origin in Europe to its current situation in Latin America.”
This essay will discuss the development of the Spanish language,
‘mother tongue of about 350 million people’, from which ‘about
85% live in Latin America’.1 The subjects discussed will be the
formation of the Castilian language, variation between Toledo
and Sevillian norm, and further expansion of Spanish in the
Canary Islands and South and Central Americas.
The Castilian language was not so significant in the beginning of
Middle Ages, compared to Galician or Catalan. All these languages
have roots in the Latin, the Romance language.
It is discussed that Alfonso X The Learned, the King of Castile and
León (1252-84), has created the Standard Spanish. The writing
was made in a spelling system, which helped to specify the
vernacular pronunciation. This type of writing has become more
common and more often used in Castile Kingdom in the late
twelfth and beginning of thirteenth century.
The King Alfonso X was translating into Spanish some ‘historical,
legal and scientific works’ of the time.
The consistent use of language by the King Alfonso X for
administration purposes had another impact. This language by
religious neutrality had culturally unifying advantages in
linguistically diversified Spain. As the Castilian Kingdom started
becoming more powerful and important the language progressed
to spread even wider. Another factor influencing the spread of
language was banning the use of Latin Lingo, which was used only
by the intellectual elites. Finally since the Reconquest in 1492 and
conquest...