The Spanish language developed from vulgar Latin, with influence from Basque in the north and Arabic in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula (see Iberian Romance languages). Typical features of Spanish diachronic phonology include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida; Latin lupus, Spanish lobo), palatalization (Latin annum, Spanish año) and diphthongation of short E/O from vulgar Latin (Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo; Latin tempus, Spanish tiempo; Latin ferrum, Spanish fierro and now hierro). Similar phenomena can be found in most other Romance languages as well, especially after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD reduced cultural contact with Rome.
