Mozarabian was the language spoken by Christians in the Muslim domains in Spain in the Middle Ages. It was mainly used by the city dwellers who adhered to Christianity, although they adopted Arab customs and culture. The peasants more often converted to Islam. It seems that the Arabs also used it.
It is curious that Spanish scientists began to call the "Mozarabian" language in the 19th century. The word comes from the Arabic "mustarab", which means arabized. Another, Arabic, name of the language is al-ajamiya (foreign, unfamiliar). The native speakers themselves called it … Latin.
Now Mozarabian belongs to the Romanesque group. Meanwhile, he was an explosive mixture of Arabic and Latin. His vocabulary was about 40 percent Arabic and 60 percent Latin. The writing system, unlike most other Romance languages, was based on the Arabic alphabet. Hebrew graphics were also occasionally used.
Today the Mozarabian language is considered extinct. Only in some places in Spain and Morocco is it used in the liturgy. The decline of the Mozarabic language began during the Reconquista, when the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain conquered lands from the Moors.
It finally lost its position in 1567, after King Philip II issued a decree ordering to abandon the Arabic language in all life situations. Formal and informal, speaking and writing. Native speakers were urged to learn Spanish within three years and then get rid of all Arabic books and manuscripts, and Moorish clothing and non-Christian names were also banned. Children were allowed to receive education only from Catholic priests. The decree provoked major riots, which were suppressed.
Soon, at the beginning of the 17th century, the language died. Although individual words and expressions from it were found in Spanish and Portuguese as early as the 19th century.