The internal classification of the Romance languages is a rather controversial topic which may not even have a correct answer. Several classifications have been proposed, based on different criteria. Romance languages in the World Blue-French; Green-Spanish; Orange-Portuguese; Yellow-Italian; Red-Romanian The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...

Difficulties of classification

The comparative method which is used by linguists to build family language trees is based on the assumption that the member languages evolved from a single proto-language by a sequence of binary splits, separated by many centuries. With that hypothesis, and the glottochronological assumption that the degree of linguistic change is roughly proportional to elapsed time, the sequence of splits can be deduced by measuring the differences between the members. The comparative method (in linguistics) is a method used to detect genetic relationships between languages and to establish a consistent relationship hypothesis by reconstructing: the common ancestor of the languages in question, a plausible sequence of regular changes by which the historically known languages can be derived from that common... Today, Lexicostatistics is comprised as a subfield of Quantitative Linguistics. ...

However, the history of Romance languages, as we know it, makes the first assumption rather problematic. While the Roman Empire lasted, its educational policies and the natural mobility of its soldiers and administrative officials probably ensured some degree of linguistic homogeneity throughout its territory. Even if there differences between the Vulgar Latin spoken in different regions, it is doubtful whether there were any sharp boundaries between the various dialects. On the other hand, after the Empire's collapse, the population of Latin speakers was separated — almost instantaneously, by the standards of historical linguistics — into a large number of politically independent states and feudal domains, whose populations were largely bound to the land. These units then interacted, merged and split in various ways over the next fifteen centuries, possibly influenced by languages external to the family (as in the so-called Balkan linguistic union). To sum it up, the history of Latin and Romance speaking peoples can hardly be described by a binary branching pattern; therefore, one may argue that any attempt to fit the Romance languages into a tree structure is inherently flawed. For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Vulgar Latin, as in this political engraving at Pompeii, was the language of the ordinary people of the Roman Empire, distinct from the Classical Latin of literature. ... Balkan linguistic union or Balkansprachbund is a name given to the similarities in grammar, syntax, vocabulary and phonology found in the languages of the Balkans, which belong to various Indo-European branches, such as Albanian, Greek, Romance and Slavic. ...

On the other hand, the tree structure may be meaningfully applied to any subfamilies of Romance whose members did diverge from a common ancestor by binary splits. That may be the case, for example, of the dialects of Spanish and Portuguese spoken in different countries, or the regional variants of spoken standard Italian (but not the so-called "Italian dialects", which are distinct languages evolved directly from Vulgar Latin). Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Degree of separation from Latin

In a study by linguist Mario Pei (1949), the degrees of evolution of the Romance languages with respect to the ancestral Latin were found to be as follows Mario Andrew Pei (1901-1978) was an Italian-American linguist and polyglot, who wrote a number of fairly popular books known for their accessibility to readers without a professional background in linguistics. ...

• Sardinian: 8%;
• Italian: 12%;
• Spanish: 20%;
• Romanian: 23.5%;
• Occitan: 25%;
• Portuguese: 31%;
• French: 44%.

This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Occitan, or lenga dòc, or languedoc, is a Romance language (or group of languages), spoken mainly in southern France. ...

The standard proposal

Nevertheless, by applying the comparative method, some linguists have concluded that the earliest split in the Romance family tree was between Sardinian and the remaining group, called Continental Romance. Among the many peculiar Sardinian distinguishing features are its articles (derived from Latin ESSE instead of ILLE) and retention of the "hard" sounds of "c" and "g" before "e" and "i". This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

According to this view, the next split was between Romanian in the east, and the other languages (Italo-Western branch) in the west. One of the characteristic features of Romanian is its retention of three of Latin's seven noun cases. The third major split was more evenly divided, between the Italian branch, which comprises many languages spoken in the Italian peninsula, and the Gallo-Iberian branch.

Another proposal

However, this is not the only view. Another common classification begins by splitting the Romance languages into two main branches, East and West. The East group includes Romanian, the languages of Corsica and Sardinia, and all languages of Italy South of a line through the cities of Rimini and La Spezia. Languages in this group are said to be more conservative, i.e. they retained more features of the original Latin. Capital Ajaccio Land area¹ 8,680 km² President of the Executive Council Ange Santini (UMP) (since 2004) Population   - Jan. ... Sardinia (Sardegna in Italian, Sardigna, Sardinna or Sardinnia in the Sardinian language, Sardenya in Catalan), is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (Sicily is the largest), between Italy, Spain and Tunisia, south of Corsica. ... Riminis skyline. ... Map of Italy showing La Spezia in the northwest La Spezia is a city in the Liguria region of northern Italy, at the head of La Spezia Gulf. ...

Lost text

This latter then split into a Gallo-Romance group, which became the Oïl languages (including French), Occitan, Francoprovençal and Romansh, and an Iberian Romance group which became Spanish and Portuguese. Catalan is considered by many specialists as a transition language between the Gallic group and the Iberian group, since it shares characteristics from both groups; for example, 'fear' is 'medo' in Portuguese, 'miedo' in Spanish, but 'por' in Catalan — compare with 'peur' in French. The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages includes French, Oïl languages, Catalan, and Occitan, among other languages. ... The langue doïl language family in linguistics comprises Romance languages originating in territories now occupied by northern France, part of Belgium and the Channel Islands. ... Franco-Provençal (Francoprovençal) or Arpitan is a Romance language with several dialects in a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue dOïl and Langue dOc. ... Romansh (also spelled Rumantsch, Romansch or Romanche) is one of the four national languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian and French. ... The formation of Iberian Romance languages followed more or less this process: A common Latin/Romance language with dialectal differences was spoken throughout the ancient Roman Empire. ...

The wave hypothesis

Other linguists claim that the various regional languages did not evolve in isolation from their neighbours; on the contrary, they see many changes propagating from the more central regions (Italy and France) towards the periphery (Iberian Peninsula and Romania)

The Ethnologue classification

The classification below is largely based on the analysis provided at ethnologue.com. The ISO-639-2 code roa is applied by the ISO for any Romance language that does not have its own code. The Ethnologue classification (produced by the SIL International) is at one extreme of linguists, who divide into 'splitters' and 'lumpers'. Ethnologue produce a very detailed classification, which is more precise than many other linguists would accept, but it is valuable as a description of varieties. ISO 639 is one of several international standards that lists short codes for language names. ... SIL International is a worldwide non-profit, Christian organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ...

The Southern group

• Sardinian Four versions recognized; all are included in ISO 639-1 code, sc; ISO 639-2 code, srd)
  • Sardinian, Sassarese - (SIL code, SDC)
  • Sardinian, Gallurese - (SIL Code, SDN)
  • Sardinian, Logudorese - (SIL Code, SRD)
  • Sardinian, Campidanese - (SIL Code, SRO)
• Corsican - (SIL Code, COI; ISO 639-1 code, co; ISO 639-2 code, cos)

The Italo-Western group
The Western sub-group
. .Gallo-Iberian division
. . .Ibero-Romance sub-division
. . . .West Iberian section This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Sassarese is a diasystem of the Sardinian language, spoken in Sassaris area (north-western part of Sardinia) in Italy. ... SIL International is a non-profit, Christian, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... Gallurese (gadduresu) is a diasystem of the Sardinian language, spoken in the Gallura (Gaddura), north-eastern part of Sardinia including the town of Tempio Pausania (Tempiu). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Sardo Campidanese is a diasystem of the Sardinian language primarily spoken in the Province of Cagliari. ... Corsican (Corsu or Lingua Corsa) is a Romance language spoken on the island of Corsica (France), alongside French, which is the official language. ...

• Asturo-Leonese
  • Asturian - (SIL Code, AUB; ISO 639-2 code, ast)
  • Mirandese - (SIL Code, MWL; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
• Castilian
  • Spanish - (SIL Code, SPN; ISO 639-1 code, es; ISO 639-2 code, spa)
  • Spanish, Loreto-Ucayali - (SIL Code, SPQ; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Ladino (Judæo-Spanish) - (SIL Code, SPJ; ISO 639-2 code, lad)
  • Extremaduran - (SIL Code, EXT; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Caló - (SIL Code, RMR; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
• Portuguese-Galician
  • Portuguese - (SIL Code, POR; ISO 639-1 code, pt; ISO 639-2 code, por)
  • Galician - (SIL Code, GLN; ISO 639-1 code, gl; ISO 639-2 code, glg)
  • Fala - (SIL Code, FAX; ISO 639-2 code, roa)

. . . .East Iberian section
Asturian, Leonese, Astur-Leonese or Bable (Asturianu in Asturian, Llïonés in Leonese) is a Romance language spoken in some parts of the provinces of Asturias, León, Zamora and Salamanca in Spain, and in the area of Miranda de Douro in Portugal (where it is officially recognized as... The Mirandese language (Lhéngua Mirandesa in Mirandese; Língua Mirandesa or Mirandês in Portuguese) is spoken in northeastern Portugal. ... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ... Extremaduran is a Romance language spoken by some thousands in Spain, most of them in the autonomous community of Extremadura and the province of Salamanca. ... Caló may refer to: Caló (Spanish Romani), Spanish Romani or Gypsy language Caló (Chicano), idiom Calo (Chicano slang) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Galician (Galician: galego) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia (Galicia or Galiza in the Galician language). ... Fala language (SIL Code: FAX; ISO 639-2 code: roa) is a Romance language from the Portuguese-Galician subgroup spoken in Spain by about 10,500 people, of which 5,500 live in a valley of the northwestern part of Extremadura near the border with Portugal. ...

• Catalan-Valencian-Balear - (SIL Code, CLN; ISO 639-1 code, ca; ISO 639-2 code, cat)

. . . .Oc section
Catalan (Català, Valencià) is a Romance language understood by as many as 12 million people in portions of Spain, France, Andorra and Italy, although the majority of active Catalan speakers are in Spain. ...

• Occitan (langue d'oc) - Six versions recognized; all are included in ISO 639-1 code, oc; ISO 639-2 code, oci) - all are from France
  • Auvergnat - (SIL Code, AUV)
  • Gascon - (SIL Code, GSC)
  • Limousin - (SIL Code, LMS)
  • Languedocien - (SIL Code, LNC)
  • Provençal - (SIL Code, PRV)
  • Shuadit - (SIL Code, SDT)

. . .Gallo-Romance sub-division
. . . .Gallo-Rhaetian section Occitan, or lenga dòc, or languedoc, is a Romance language (or group of languages), spoken mainly in southern France. ... Auvergnat is a language spoken in Auvergne, which is a historical province in the northern part of Occitania. ... The Gascon language is an Occitan dialect mostly spoken in Gascony (in the French départements of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes, Gers, Gironde, a part of Lot-et-Garonne, a part of Haute-Garonne, and a part of Ariège), and in the small Spanish... The Limousin dialect is a Romance language akin to Provençal spoken or understood by about 400 000 people in the part of southern France known as Limousin. ... Languedocien is a Romance language akin to Provençal spoken by some people in the part of southern France known as Languedoc. ... Provençal (Prouvençau in Provençal language) is one of several dialects of the Romance language Occitan, which is spoken by a minority of people in southern France and other areas of France. ... Shuadit, also spelled Chouhadite, Chouhadit, Chouadite, Chouadit, and Shuhadit is the extinct Jewish language of southern France, also known as Judæo-Provençal, Judéo-Comtadin, Hébraïco-Comtadin. ...

• Rhaetian
  • Friulian - (SIL Code, FRL; ISO 639-2 code, fur)
  • Ladin - (SIL Code, LLD; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Romansh - (SIL Code, RHE; ISO 639-1 code, rm; ISO 639-2 code, roh)
• Langues d'Oïl
  • French (langue d'oïl)
    • Standard French - (SIL Code, FRN; ISO 639-1 code, fr; ISO 639-2(B) code, fre; ISO 639-2(T) code, fra)
    • Cajun French - (SIL Code, FRC; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
    • Picard - (SIL Code, PCD; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
    • Zarphatic - (SIL Code, ZRP; ISO 639-2 code, roa) - extinct
  • Franco-Provençal - (SIL Code, FRA; ISO 639-2 code, roa)

. . . .Gallo-Italian section Friulian (friulano in Italian, furlan or affectionately marilenghe in Friulian) is a Romance language belonging to the Rhaetian family, spoken in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-east Italy. ... Ladin (Ladino in Italian, Ladin in Ladin, Ladinisch in German) is a Rhaetian language spoken in the Dolomite mountains in Italy, between the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto. ... Romansh (also spelled Rumantsch, Romansch or Romanche) is any of the various Rhaetian languages spoken in Switzerland. ... Cajun French is a dialect of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, particularly in Lafayette Parish and St. ... Picard is a language closely related to French, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. ... Zarphatic or Judæo-French (Zarphatic: Tsarfatit) is an extinct Jewish language, formerly spoken among the Jewish communities of northern France and in parts of what is now west-central Germany, in such cities as Mainz, Frankfurt-am-Main, and Aachen. ... Franco-Provençal (Francoprovençal) or Arpitan is a Romance language with several dialects in a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue dOïl and Langue dOc. ...

• • Emilio-Romagnolo - (SIL Code, EML; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Ligurian - (SIL Code, LIJ; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Lombard - (SIL Code, LMO; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Piemontese - (SIL Code, PMS; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Venetian - (SIL Code, VEC; ISO 639-2 code, roa)

. .Pyrenean-Mozarabic division Emilio-Romagnolo (also known as Emiliano-Romagnolo) denotes a language spoken in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. ... The Ligurian language was spoken in pre-Roman times and into the Roman era by an ancient people of north-western Italy and south-eastern France known as the Liguri. ... The term Lombard refers to a group of related dialects spoken mainly in Northern Italy (most of Lombardy and some areas of neighbouring regions), in Southern Switzerland (Ticino and Graubünden). ... The Piemontese language (also known as Piedmontese, Piemontèis) is a Romance language spoken in Piedmont, northwestern Italy. ... Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy. ...

• Pyrenean
  • Aragonese - (SIL Code, AXX; ISO 639-1 code, an;ISO 639-2 code, arg)
• Mozarabic
  • Mozarabic - (SIL Code, MXI; ISO 639-2 code, roa) - Extinct for common speech

The Italo-Dalmatian sub-group Languages distribution in Aragon (Aragonese in red). ... Mozarabic was a continuum of closely related Iberian Romance dialects spoken in Muslim dominated areas of the Iberian Peninsula during the early stages of the Romance languages development in Iberia. ...

• • Italian - (SIL Code, ITN; ISO 639-1 code, it; ISO 639-2 code, ita)
  • Napoletano-Calabrese - (SIL Code, NPL; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Sicilian - (SIL Code, SCN; ISO 639-2 code, scn)
  • Judeo-Italian - (SIL Code, ITK; ISO 639-2 code, roa)
  • Dalmatian - (SIL Code, DLM; ISO 639-2 code, roa) - extinct in 19th century.
  • Istriot - (SIL Code, IST; ISO 639-2 code, roa)

The Eastern group Neapolitan (Neapolitan: nnapulitano, Italian: napoletano) is a Romance language spoken in the city of Naples (Neapolitan: Napule, Italian: Napoli), Italy and the surrounding areas of the Campania region. ... Sicilian (Lu Sicilianu, Lingua Siciliana) is the Romance language spoken in Sicily and southern Italy. ... Italkian is a modern English name for Judeo-Italian linguistic varieties, in use mainly between the 10th and the 19th centuries in Rome and in central and northern Italy. ... Dalmatian is an extinct Romance language formerly spoken along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia and as far south as Kotor in Montenegro. ... Istriot is a Romance language spoken in the Western Region on the coast of the Istrian Peninsula (especially in the towns of Rovinj (Rovigno) and Vodnjan (Dignano)), on the upper northern part of the Adriatic Sea, in Croatia. ...

• Romanian - (SIL Code, RUM; ISO 639-1 code, ro; ISO 639-2(B) code, rum; ISO 639-2(T) code, ron) - Includes Daco-Romanian.

  Also as Moldovan - (ISO 639-1 code, mo; ISO 639-2 code, mol)

• Macedo Romanian - (SIL Code, RUP; ISO 639-2 code, rup) - known by native speakers as Aromanian
• Megleno Romanian - (SIL Code, RUQ; ISO 639-2 code, roa) - also known as Moglenitic or Meglenitic
• Istro Romanian - (SIL Code, RUO; ISO 639-2 code, roa)

Aromanian (also known as Macedoromanian, Vlach or Wallachian; in Aromanian: Armâneashti or Vlăheşte) is a language in the eastern group of the Romance languages. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Arvantovlaxika. ... Moglenitic (or Meglenitic) is a Romance language, similar to Aromanian, spoken in the Moglená region, located across the Pella and Kilkis prefectures of Macedonia, Greece. ... Moglenitic (or Meglenitic) is a Romance language, similar to Aromanian, spoken in the Moglená region, located across the Pella and Kilkis prefectures of Macedonia, Greece. ... Istro-Romanian is a Romance language used in a few villages in the peninsula of Istria, on the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, in Croatia. ...

See also

• List of Romance languages

The Romance languages include 47 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken in Europe and western Asia; this language group is a part of the Italic language family. ...

External links