Here's a breakdown:
* Romance languages are a family of languages that originated from Vulgar Latin, spoken in the Roman Empire. They include languages like French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Catalan.
* The word "romance" comes from the Latin word "romanicus," which means "Roman." This was used to refer to the languages and literature of the Roman Empire.
* The concept of "romantic love" developed much later, during the Middle Ages. This concept, centered around idealized and passionate love, was popularized by medieval literature, particularly chivalric romances. These romances were written in the vernacular languages, which included the emerging Romance languages.
* The term "romantic" became associated with this idealized love, and later, the word "romance" itself also came to be used to describe love stories and relationships.
The misconception:
The connection between Romance languages and romantic love stems from the fact that the term "romance" was used for both the languages and the love stories written in them. However, the languages themselves don't inherently express or celebrate romantic love more than other language families.
In summary:
While the terms "romance" and "romantic" share a common root, there's no direct connection between the Romance languages and romantic love. The connection is simply a product of historical happenstance, with the word "romance" being used for both the languages and the literature that popularized the concept of romantic love.