Have you ever wondered what the origin of Spanish language is? If you are a student and you are starting to learn Spanish in Spain, this question may have crossed your mind at some point. So, here at don Quijote, we are going to give you the keys you need to discover the history of the Spanish language.

A fascinating journey through the centuries that reflects linguistic, political and cultural influences, that is what the history of the Spanish language boils down to. All these factors have contributed to shaping Spanish as we know it today.

To be more precise, however, the origin of Spanish is to be found in Vulgar Latin, a spoken variant of Latin that spread with the domination of the Roman Empire in the Iberian Peninsula. However, the evolution of Spanish has not been linear, but rather a complex process of transformation and assimilation of various languages.

Origin of Spanish language

The origin of Spanish as a language dates to the 3rd century BC, when the Romans arrived in the Iberian Peninsula and imposed Latin as the official language. However, before Romanization, the peninsula was inhabited by various peoples with their own languages: the Iberians, the Celts, the Tartessians and the Vascones. These pre-Roman languages left traces in modern Spanish, especially in toponymy (the set of proper names of a country or region) and in some commonly used words, such as cerro (hill), which comes from Iberian, and camisa (T-shirt), of Celtic origin.

With the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, the peninsula was invaded by the Visigoths, who spoke a Germanic language. Although their lexical influence was limited, they contributed terms such as guerra (war) and espía (spy). However, Vulgar Latin remained the predominant language and continued to evolve, giving rise to the Romance languages, including modern Spanish.

On the other hand, several co-official languages currently coexist on the Iberian Peninsula, euskera (Basque) being one of the most unusual cases. Euskera is the only pre-Roman language that has survived to the present day without having been replaced by a Romance language. Its origin is still uncertain, and unlike Spanish, it does not derive from Latin. Although its influence on Spanish has not been as extensive as that of Latin or Arabic, it has contributed some words and place names, such as izquierda (left), bacalao (cod) or aquelarre (coven).

Formation of medieval Spanish

Around the 9th century, Spanish began to take shape in the Kingdom of Castile as a distinct language. The Castilian dialect emerged in the north of the peninsula, in a mountainous region where contact with other Romance languages was frequent. Thus, with the territorial expansion of Castile during the Reconquista, Castilian prevailed over other dialects, such as Leonese or Aragonese, and began to consolidate itself as the dominant language.

One of the most important milestones in the history of Spanish was the work of Alfonso X el Sabio in the 13th century. Under his reign, Castilian became the official language of administration and culture, which allowed for its standardization. During this period, numerous scientific, philosophical and legal texts were translated into Castilian, enriching its vocabulary and establishing its grammar.

Another key figure in the consolidation of Spanish as a language was Antonio de Nebrija, who in 1492 published the Gramática de la lengua castellana (Grammar of the Castilian Language), the first grammar guide for a Romance language. This event marked the beginning of Spanish as a codified language with defined linguistic norms.

Influence of Arabic and phonetic evolution

During the period of Muslim rule (711-1492), Arabic had a significant influence on Spanish. It is estimated that around 4,000 words in modern Spanish come from Arabic, especially in fields such as agriculture, science and administration. Some examples of these words include alcohol, azúcar (sugar), ojalá (I hope) and almohada (pillow).

In addition to lexical enrichment, Spanish underwent significant phonetic changes in the Middle Ages. For example, the evolution of the Latin initial “f” into “h”, as in farina, which evolved into harina (flour). The palatalization of the “ll” and the loss of the final “e” in some words, for example, the word lupus became lobo (wolf).

These changes contributed to differentiating Spanish from other Romance languages such as French or Italian.

Spanish in the modern era

In the 15th and 16th centuries, with the expansion of the Spanish Empire, Spanish spread throughout the Americas, the Philippines and some regions of Africa. During this period, Spanish adopted numerous terms from indigenous American languages, including chocolate, canoa (canoe) and mate. This influence contributed to the lexical diversity of Spanish and the creation of regional varieties.

In the 18th century, the Real Academia Española or RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) was founded with the aim of standardizing the language. The publication of the Diccionario de Autoridades in 1726 and the establishment of spelling rules helped to unify Spanish and reduce dialectal differences.

Currently, Spanish is a language spoken by more than 500 million people worldwide and is the second most spoken language in terms of the number of native speakers. Its evolution is still ongoing, influenced by factors such as migration, technology and contact with other languages.

Therefore, Spanish is a Romance language since it originated in Rome, but it was also influenced by pre-Roman and Germanic languages. The history of the Spanish language is the result of centuries of linguistic and cultural changes.

If you are thinking of improving your Spanish and joining the more than 500 million people who speak the language, intensive Spanish courses can help you achieve your goal. The lexical richness and dialectal diversity of Spanish make it a living language in constant transformation that will allow you to communicate with thousands of people around the world. Don't hesitate any longer and start your adventure in the language!

You have probably heard the saying that “ask and you shall learn” or that “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”. These popular Spanish sayings refer to the fact that, if you have any questions, the best thing to do is to ask and learn from them.

So, if you've ever wanted to ask a question in Spanish but didn't know how to structure it or how to start a conversation, don Quijote has the perfect article for you. Discover how to ask questions in Spanish, how to ask and answer Spanish questions, the most basic and easy questions you should master in the language, and much more!

You can also read this article in Spanish, French, Italian or Dutch.

Interrogative pronouns in Spanish

Asking questions in Spanish is essential for communicating on the street, in class or in a supermarket. So, you need to master how to ask questions in Spanish in order to talk to native speakers, answer questions from your teacher in class or simply give directions in Spanish.

Before you start asking questions, you need to know the interrogative pronouns in Spanish used for asking questions:

• Qué (what): used to ask about things or general information.
• Quién (who): used to ask about people.
• Cuándo (when): used to ask about time.
• Por qué (why): used to ask about reasons or causes.
• Dónde (where): used to ask about places.
• Cómo (how): used to ask about states, forms or manners.
• Cuánto (how much/many): used to ask about quantity.

Most Spanish questions begin with these Spanish interrogative pronouns, which allow you to formulate questions depending on the context. These 7 particles are essential for formulating questions in Spanish, and they always have a tilde to differentiate them from Spanish relative pronouns.

However, Spanish is such a flexible language that it also allows you to ask questions without having to use them. Here are the types of questions that can be asked in Spanish.

Basic Spanish questions

Not all questions in Spanish require an interrogative pronoun. Therefore, we can distinguish two main types of questions in Spanish:

Open questions in Spanish

Open Spanish questions require more detailed answers and cannot be answered with yes or no. In addition, this type of Spanish questions usually uses interrogative pronouns, and the answers vary depending on the information needed:

• ¿Qué haces el fin de semana? (What do you do on the weekend?)
• ¿Cómo se llama tu madre? (What is your mother's name?)
• ¿Dónde vives?) (Where do you live?)

Closed questions in Spanish

On the other hand, closed Spanish questions do not use interrogative pronouns and short answers are expected. These questions can be answered with yes or no and are formed by simply adding the question marks to the sentence:

• ¿Te gusta el chocolate? (Do you like chocolate?)
• ¿Está ocupado este asiento? (Is this seat taken?)
• ¿Vives en Madrid? (Do you live in Madrid?)

Ask a question in Spanish

Knowing how to formulate questions in Spanish correctly will help you obtain information, clarify doubts and maintain fluent conversations, which is why it is an essential skill in any language.

If you want to learn Spanish in Spain it is useful to start with simple questions that will help you in everyday life. Here are some phrases with an answer as an example:

• ¿Cómo te llamas? or ¿Cuál es tu nombre? – Mi nombre es María (What is your name? - My name is María)
• ¿Cuántos años tienes? – Tengo 28 años (How old are you? - I am 28 years old)
• ¿De dónde eres? – Soy de Asturias (Where are you from? - I'm from Asturias)
• ¿Dónde está el baño? – Al fondo a la izquierda (Where is the bathroom? - At the back left)
• ¿Qué es eso? – Un regalo de cumpleaños (What is that? - A birthday present)
• ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? – Mi cumpleaños es el 3 de octubre (When is your birthday? - My birthday is October 3rd)
• ¿Dónde vives? – Vivo en Guadalajara (Where do you live? - I live in Guadalajara)
• ¿En qué trabajas? – Trabajo de camarero (What do you do for a living? - I work as a waiter)
• ¿Dónde aprendiste español? – Aprendí español con don Quijote (Where did you learn Spanish? - I learned Spanish with don Quijote)
• ¿Te gusta la comida española? – Me encanta, sobre todo las croquetas (Do you like Spanish food? - I love it, especially croquettes)

• ¿Qué hora es? – Son las 23:45pm (What time is it? - It's 11:45pm)
• ¿Puedo ayudarte? – Si, ¿puedes decirme cuánto cuesta esta camiseta? (Can I help you? - Yes, can you tell me how much this T-shirt costs?)
• ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? – Son 20 euros (How much is this? - It's 20 euros)
• ¿A qué te dedicas? – Soy traductor (What do you do? - I'm a translator)
• ¿Qué día es hoy? – Hoy es martes (What day is it today? - Today is Tuesday)
• ¿Puedes hablar más despacio, por favor? – Si, claro (Can you speak more slowly, please? - Yes, of course)
• ¿Qué has dicho? – Decía que si te gusta la pizza (What did you say? - I said: Do you like pizza?)
• Puedes repetir eso último, ¿por favor? – Por supuesto. ¿Me pasa la sal? (Can you repeat that last one, please? - Of course. Can you pass on the salt?)

Learning to formulate questions in Spanish is fundamental to improve your communication. Using interrogative pronouns correctly and practicing open and closed questions will help you speak fluently.

With don Quijote you will find it easy to ask basic questions and increase in complexity over time. Remember that the key is to practice and not be afraid to ask questions.