Proto-language

A proto-language is an ancestor from which two or more related languages descend. It may be reconstructed by historical linguists or preserved in historical records.

Comparative method: A method for reconstructing earlier languages by comparing systematic similarities among related languages. It identifies inherited sound correspondences that support a proto-language reconstruction.
Proto-Indo-European: The reconstructed ancestor of the Indo-European language family. It is a major reconstructed proto-language, inferred from a broad set of descendant languages.
Language family: A group of languages descended from a common ancestral language. A proto-language is the shared ancestor that defines a language family.
Homoplasy: Similarity that arises independently rather than through inheritance from a common ancestor. Independent similarities can mislead attempts to infer inherited features.
Sound change: A regular change in how speech sounds are produced or perceived over time. Regular sound changes explain how descendant forms diverged from their ancestor.
Proto-Germanic: The reconstructed ancestor of the Germanic languages, including English, German, and Swedish. Its sound system and vocabulary are inferred by comparing Germanic descendants.
Historical linguistics: The study of how languages change and how they are related through time. Proto-languages are central objects of historical linguistic inquiry.
Language contact: Interaction between speakers that leads to linguistic influence across languages. Borrowing can resemble inherited similarity and complicate reconstruction.
Cognate: A word in one language that shares a historical origin with a word in another language. Cognates provide comparative evidence for shared ancestral vocabulary.
Proto-Austronesian: The reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian language family. Its reconstruction links languages spread across a vast island region.

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