This first German-language introduction to Vulgar Latin to appear in the last 40 years examines the changes that led to the emergence of the Romance languages. The history of these languages can be traced back over more than 2,500 years and is accordingly an ideal case for historical linguistics. The changes described are phonological, morphological, syntactic, and lexical. This is preceded by an outline of the state of research, definition problems, external language history, and the source situation. Greek influences and typology are also dealt with. The appendix contains an overview of verb forms and a number of texts with commentaries.