Latinromance

LatinRomance denotes the family of languages descended from Vulgar Latin, the vernacular form of Latin spoken throughout the Roman Empire. More commonly, these languages are identified as the Romance languages; LatinRomance is a way to highlight their shared origin without implying a single language.

Origins and development: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, regional varieties of Vulgar Latin diverged, aided by geographic isolation and contact with other languages. By the medieval period they had crystallized into distinct languages, and by modern times they are standardized in national or regional forms. The Romance languages share core traits from Latin but differ in phonology, grammar, and vocabulary across regions.

Common features include the loss of the Latin case system and the neuter gender, the introduction of definite articles from demonstratives, simplification of noun declensions, and the use of new verbal tenses and periphrastic constructions. Most lack the Latin synthetic future and instead use auxiliary constructions; numerous vowels' changes also mark phonological evolution. Orthography varies by language.

Major languages classified within LatinRomance include Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan, along with several regional languages and dialects. They are broadly divided into Western Romance (Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Catalan) and Eastern Romance (Romanian and related varieties).

Global presence: due to colonization and migration, Romance languages are widely spoken across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and other regions. They play a major role in education, media, and culture. Linguists continue to study LatinRomance to understand language change, contact, and how regional varieties converge and diverge over time.