In various places, Jews adopted the language of their host countries, adapted them to suit their cultural requirements, and preserved them for their own use, sometimes evolving separately from the original language. The Babylonian Talmud was transcribed in (Hebrew and) Aramaic, a common language of the area. Jews living in southern Europe around the Mediterranean Sea spoke Ladino, a Spanish-like language, adopted from the Latin-flavor languages in the area. Jews living Northern Europe spoke Yiddish (Jewish), which was derived largely from the Germanic languages spoken in the region.