The spread of the Roman empire throughout Europe contributed to the spread of several languages. These include:
1. Latin: As the official language of the Roman empire, Latin was widely spoken and used for administration, law, education, and trade. As the Romans conquered new territories, Latin became the language of governance and communication. It eventually evolved into the Romance languages such as Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Romanian.
2. Germanic languages: The Germanic tribes that lived in regions conquered by the Romans also adopted some Latin vocabulary and were influenced by Roman culture and administration. This interaction resulted in the development of Germanic languages such as Old English, Old High German, Gothic, and Old Norse.
3. Indo-European languages: The Romans encountered numerous peoples with their own languages and dialects as they expanded their empire. While these languages were not directly spread by the Romans, the Roman influence had an impact on them. Indo-European languages such as Celtic, Slavic, Balto-Slavic, and Greek coexisted and interacted with Latin, leading to linguistic changes and borrowing of words and phrases.
4. Basque: Basque, a non-Indo-European language spoken in the Basque region (current-day Spain and France), is believed to have been isolated and unaffected by the spread of Latin due to the geographical distance from the Roman empire. Basque maintains its uniqueness and does not have significant Latin or Romance language influence.
Due to the spread of the Roman empire throughout Europe,
Choose also spread through the area?
Germanic languages
Basque
Latin
Indo-European languages
1 answer