The Romance Languages are languages which originated from the Latin Language. The word “romance” in this sense has nothing to do with making love. Romance in this sense means “from the Romans.”
As you may or may not know, the language spoken in the ancient Roman Empire was called Latin. Latin is now a defunct language. However, variations of the language emerged as the Roman Empire fell and the people moved to different parts of the world.
These are the Romance Languages:
- French – Widely known as the language of love. (Quite romantic indeed)
- Spanish
- Italian
- Portuguese
These four languages may be considered sister languages because they all share one common root: Latin. Many of the words in the romance language bear striking similarities. Nevertheless, they are essentially different. For example, a native Spanish speaker will have difficulties understanding a native Portuguese speaker, but will still understand a few words if spoken slowly. In addition, a native Spanish speaker will be able to learn Portuguese or any of the other romance languages ten times faster than a native English speaker of the same intelligence – so to speak.
In short, the romance languages are very similar, yet they are essentially different.
Up next: Comparing the Romance Languages: 20 Common Words