Romanic
The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages or Latinic languages, are the languages that directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family.
The five most widely spoken Romance languages by number of native speakers are:
Spanish (489 million): official in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, and Hispanic America; widely spoken in the United States of America
Portuguese (240 million): official in Portugal, Brazil, Portuguese-speaking Africa, Timor-Leste, and Macau
French (80 million): official in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Haiti, and 21 other countries, but majority native in fewer
Italian (67 million): official in Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, and Switzerland; minority language in Croatia; regional in Slovenia (Istria) and Brazil (Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo and Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul).
Romanian (25 million): official in Romania, Moldova, and the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia; minority language in Hungary, the rest of Serbia, and Ukraine.
The Romance languages spread throughout the world owing to the period of European colonialism beginning in the 15th century. There are more than 900 million native speakers of Romance languages found worldwide, mainly in the Americas, Europe, and parts of Africa. French, Spanish, and Portuguese also have many non-native speakers; they are widely used as lingua francas. There are also numerous regional Romance languages and dialects. All five of the most widely spoken Romance languages are also official languages of the European Union.
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