Of all the Germanic incursions into provinces of the Roman Empire, the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain had the most far-reaching linguistic consequences. From the fifth to the seventh century, much of the island of Britain changed from a Celtic to a Germanic speech area.

Yet even though the Anglo-Saxon settlement is especially significant, other Germanic migrations also left their linguistic traces within what was once the Roman Empire. The best known trace is probably the word France, which recalls the Germanic tribe called the Franks who came to dominate the region known to Romans as Gaul (first a mainly Celtic land but a predominately Italic area ever since Roman times). Although the language spoken by the Franks eventually disappeared (with the conquerors learning an early form of French), the Germanic influence was significant enough to rename the country.

In the case of Spain, there is likewise a linguistic record of a former Germanic presence. The region of southern Spain now known as Andalusia takes its name from the Vandals, who passed from northern to southern Europe and then to North Africa. Another Germanic group, the Visigoths, made a long migration from Eastern Europe to Spain. Unlike the Vandals, the Visigoths stayed in Spain and ruled there until invading Arabs drove them from power in the eighth century. Yet just as remains of Visigothic pottery and decorative arts have survived in Spanish museums, many Gothic words have survived in the Spanish language. Some of these words are also found in southern France, as in the case of banda (group of soldiers) and bramar (roar). Other Gothic words appear to have survived only in Spain, as in ataviar (adorn), gana (desire), and ganso (goose).

Source for this page: Ralph Penny, A History of the Spanish Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.