why did so many languages derive from Latin French Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc?

Question

the area's that speak these lands why wasnt there just one language how did all of these come to be in such a small area compared to other places

Answer 1

Answer, Rome.

The Romans ruled all those areas, and after Rome fell, they were isolated and developed their culture and language independently. So Latin devolved/evolved into French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.

Answer 2

Actually, this is NOT a small area. Compare the island of New Guinea which has the highest concentration of languages in the world. Europe has about 50 languages, but the island of New Guinea has about 1000 languages in an area MUCH smaller than the area of Europe. The highlands of Ethiopia, the highlands of Nigeria and Cameroon, and the Andean foothills also have tremendous linguistic diversity compared to Europe. So to ask why Europe has so many languages in its area is not the right question. The question is really why does Europe have so FEW languages for an area so large.

To correct a previous answer: ENGLISH IS NOT DERIVED FROM LATIN. I get sick and tired of this falsehood. English is a Germanic language and is NOT derived from Latin. Here are the languages derived from Latin: French, Franco-Provençal, Provençal, Gascon, Catalan, Spanish, Aragonese, Mozarabic, Galician, Portuguese, Italian, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Corsican, Sardinian, Venetian, Dalmatian, Friulian, Ladin, Romansch, Romanian, Aromanian, Istro-Romanian. Depending on how you slice the language pie, some of these may be more than one language, but this list is an average of the scientific lists out there.

Answer 3

There are many different language families, Latin and the Romantic languages which stem from it are part of the Indo-European family. Like the Romance languages, the languages in this family all come from a common ancestor, known as Proto-Indo European. So, how did we arrive at the point where there are so many different languages? All languages change, including Latin. Over a long period of time, different dialects of Latin diverged to the point that they were no longer mutually-intelligible. Factors such as geography and culture kept the groups who spoke those dialects separated long enough that the dialects were no longer under the influence of the mother language. At the point when members of different dialects can no longer understand each other, they are in essence different languages.

Other parts of the world have even more languages spoken in even smaller geographical areas that also are closely related, so this is not phenomenon unique to Latin and Europe.

...and English shares some Romantic roots because of the influence of French that came from the Norman conquests.

Answer 4

It had to do with geography and the influx of the tribes that moved into the former Roman Empire when it collapsed. The Romans were wealthy, influential and travelled a lot. The tribes that came in often were less advanced and tended to stay where they settled. Thusly, you had Latin speaking people intermingling with whichever tribe settled there and after many years the two languages mingled but somehow the Influence of the Latin was very strong and became the basis for those languages which evolved. Thats why there are so many similarities in the base words of those languages.
According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Italian didn't emerge as a totally seperate language until about 1000AD.

The word Romance comes from a Latin adverb that refers to speakers of Latin who were said to be "fabulare romanice" which means "to speak in the Roman Way" Since the languages you mention have their roots in Latin it was but a very easy transition to consider them "Romance" Languages.

The lasting presence of the Catholic church also helped to preserve the "Mother tongue" of Latin. It is interesting to note that the Latin alphabet is the most widely used alphabet in the world.


Italian is considered the modern language most similar to ancient Latin and oddly enough Spanish is closer to Italian than the other "Romance" languages. About 80% similar.

English does not have its roots in Latin but From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers mingled many new words from Latin and Greek roots.

These languages are used at the UN. Spanish, French, and English are spread to most parts of the world, and are common second languages of many countries.

Wikipedia has extensive info on this subject, far too much to post here and it would make interesting reading for anyone who would like to know more about how we got our languages and to see how many similarities there are.

Answer 5

because when people from other areas of the world came into the large area that spoke latin, the languages merged, but at that time latin was the main language, so English is a mix of latin and germanic, i dont know the exact combinations of the others, but thats why theyre mostly based from Latin

Answer 6

The Roman Empire conquered most of the known world. And local dilects mingled with latin. Yo. Look at what happens in border areas.

Answer 7

English is a hodgepodge of many linguistic impacts. a multitude of words in present day English come from Latin and French (with the aid of Norman invasion of britain). there is in basic terms as plenty effect from Latin as from previous English, the Germanic language. you're nicely suited, English is assessed as Germanic, no longer Romance. despite if, anybody is justified in linking it with Latin, the two immediately and with the aid of French, with the aid of fact a pair of million/2 of the language derives from it in some way.

Answer 8

because the Romans dominated great part of the world.

Answer 9

becoz of the Roman empire in the past.