Proto-Slavic

Proto-Slavic is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Slavic languages. It was spoken before the Slavic languages diversified into distinct branches.

Comparative method: A method for reconstructing ancestral languages by comparing systematic similarities among related languages. It provides the main evidence for reconstructing Proto-Slavic from its descendants.
Slavic liquid metathesis: A set of sound changes that altered sequences of vowels and liquids in Slavic languages. Its differing outcomes help trace regional developments from Proto-Slavic.
Proto-Slavic homeland: The proposed geographic region where Proto-Slavic was spoken before its speakers dispersed. Competing homeland proposals shape accounts of the language’s early development.
Proto-Slavic numerals: The reconstructed number words of Proto-Slavic, including forms inherited from earlier Indo-European stages. Numerals preserve comparable forms across branches and expose regular sound correspondences.
Proto-Indo-European: The reconstructed ancestor of the Indo-European language family, including Slavic, Germanic, and Indo-Iranian languages. Proto-Slavic inherited much of its vocabulary and grammar from this more distant ancestor.
Havlík's law: A rule describing the distribution of strong and weak jer vowels in late Proto-Slavic. It accounts for alternating jer vowels and their disappearance in many daughter languages.
Slavic migrations: The movements of Slavic-speaking peoples across central, eastern, and southeastern Europe, especially in the early medieval period. Their expansion helps explain the spread and diversification of Slavic speech.
Proto-Slavic kinship terms: The reconstructed Proto-Slavic vocabulary for family relationships. Kinship words show both inherited Indo-European vocabulary and specifically Slavic developments.
Sound change: A systematic alteration in how a language’s sounds are pronounced over time. Regular sound changes connect reconstructed Proto-Slavic forms to their recorded descendants.
Jers: The short high vowels conventionally reconstructed as *ь and *ъ in Proto-Slavic. Their weakening and loss reshaped syllables and triggered later sound changes.

Linked from 20 pages