the’spread’of’romance’and’germanic’languages…isat.jmu.edu/geospatialsemester/10-11winners/second/harris... ·...

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Timeline  of  the  spread  of  Romance  and  Germanic  languages  

800  BC   753  BC   253  BC   AD  247   AD  300  

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The  Spread  of  Romance  and  Germanic  languages  in  Europe  from  753  BC  to  AD  247  Introduc)on  

 Romance   languages   are   spoken   by   more   than   80   million   people   in   50   countries  around  the  world.  The  Romance  languages  came  from  Vulgar  LaJn,  an  ancient  Italic  language  belonging  to  the  Indo-­‐European  family.  These  languages  include  Spanish,  Portuguese,  French,  Italian,  and  Romanian  (Batzarov,  1999).  The  founding  of  Rome  is   generally   known   to   be   753   BC   and   by   the   6th   century,   Rome  had   become   the  dominant   power   in   the   area.   However,   by   265   BC,   Rome   conquered   the   enJre  Italian   peninsula,   looking   to   expand   the   size   of   its   empire.   The   last   of   the   Punic  Wars,   the   Third   Punic  War   (149-­‐146   BC)   resulted   in   a   massive   territory   gain   for  Rome  including  Spain,  northern  Africa,  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  and  Egypt.  The  south  of  Gaul  (France)  was  conquered  in  125  BC  and  completely  conquered  by  Julius  Caesar  in   52   BC   (Hemminger,   1997).   By   AD   476,   the  Western   Roman   Empire   had   fallen,  with   no   more   Roman   Emperors   controlling   the   West.   Through   exploraJon   and  diversion,   Romance   languages   have   been   able   to   spread   to   many   countries  throughout  the  world.  The  evoluJon  from  a  small,  central  language  used  by  a  small  group  of  people  is  remarkable  and  evident  of  the  presence  of  a  large  empire  such  as   Rome   and   shows   how   much   language   can   change   through   war,   people,   and  exploraJon.      

Methods    

Romance   and   Germanic   languages  were   researched  and   three  different  maps   were   made.   In   500   year  intervals,   starJng   at   753   BC   and  going   to   AD   247,   Romance   and  Germanic   ciJes   were   marked   and   a  spline  was  done  to  show  the  spread  of   the   languages   over   Jme.   A   dead  zone   where   neither   language  occupied,  was  outlined  by  a  separate  color.      

Conclusion                A^er  all  three  maps  had  been  made,                the  spread  of  the  Romance  and      

Germanic   languages  was   seen   as   a  direct   result   of   the   spread   of   their  empire   (tribes,   in   the   case   of  Germanic   languages).   The   dead  zone  may  have  been  caused  by  the  Alps,   which   are   on   the   northern  border   of   Italy.   Also,   because   the  Germanic   tribes  were   so   separated  they   were   able   to   win   key   ba_les  and   defeat   large   Roman   armies,  prevenJng   their   forces   from  invading  present-­‐day  Germany.    

  Cita)ons    

                     Batzarov,  Z.  (1999).  The  romance  languages.  Retrieved  from  h_p://www.orbilat.com/General_Survey/Romance_Languages.html                        Hemminger,  B.  (1997).  Roman  chronology.  Retrieved  from  h_p://eawc.evansville.edu/chronology/ropage.htm          

Legend!( Romance Cities

!( Germanic Cities

World Countries

Spread of Romance languagesValue

AD 247

753 BC

Spread of Germanic LanguagesValue

AD 247

753 BC

Dead Zone

Ma2  Harris    Shenandoah  Valley  Governor’s  School