The resulting language was a hybrid because Castilian borrowed many words from Mozarabic, and modern Spanish has an estimated 4,000 words with Arabic roots. The creation of a standardized Spanish language based on the Castilian dialect began in the 1200s with King Alfonso X, who was called the Learned�King of Castile and Leon. He and his court of scholars adopted the city of Toledo, a cultural center in the central highlands, as the base of their activities. There, scholars wrote original works in Castilian and translated histories, chronicles, and scientific, legal, and literary works from other languages (principally Latin, Greek, and Arabic). Indeed, this historic effort of translation was a major vehicle for the dissemination of knowledge throughout ancient Western Europe. Alfonso X also adopted Castilian for administrative work and all official documents and decrees. The Castilian dialect of Spanish gained wider acceptance during the reign of the Catholic monarchs Isabella of ...

Spanish The history of the Spanish language and the origin of the dialects of Spain begin with the linguistic evolution of Vulgar Latin. Castilian & Andalusian dialects emerged in the Iberian peninsula (Hispania) during the middle ages.The emergence of modern Spanish more or less coincided with the reconquest of Moorish Spain which was completed by Isabella of Castile & Ferdinand of Aragón. Keep reading to learn more. Spanish Language Spanish is the native language of 332 million people in the world. In addition to Spain, Spanish is the official language of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In addition, it is widely spoken in several other nations, including Canada, Morocco, the Philippines, and the United States. Spanish is one of the Romance languages in the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European ...