Latin → Romance
A poster‑style family tree of the Romance languages with defining innovations.
HistoryFamiliesRomance
What this is
A clear map from Latin to the major Romance branches — a ‘plate’ you can read at a glance.
Why it matters
Understanding how Latin diversified helps you predict vocabulary, grammar patterns, and mutual intelligibility.
How to read it
Center = Latin. Around it: branches with example members. The ‘Defining innovations’ callout highlights changes many branches share.
Romance Family Plate
Center: Latin • Ring: Branches
Latin
Classical → Vulgar
Ibero‑Romance
Spanish, Portuguese, Galician
Gallo‑Romance
French, Occitan, Franco‑Provençal
Italo‑Romance
Italian, Sicilian, Neapolitan
Balkan Romance
Romanian, Aromanian
Sardinian
Conservative phonology
Catalan
Transitional features
Defining innovations
- Latin case endings → fixed word order + prepositions
- Future tense from periphrasis (e.g., haber + infinitive → Spanish)
- Palatalization and new affricates (e.g., /k/ + front vowels)
- Articles emerge (il, la, el, o/a, etc.)
Dialects & continua
Romance languages form geographic continua with transitional varieties. The classification above is a readable map, not a rigid box.
See also
LingoCrush
Crush language barriers in 40 languages