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Preferred term

protolanguage  

Definition

  • Protolanguage is a term from historical linguistics that refers to the hypothetical, reconstructed ancestor from which a set of known languages is descended. The protōancestor is reconstructed using the comparative method, by which existing and/or historically attested forms are compared, and ancestral forms are reconstructed, which can yield the attested forms via regular sound and other changes. [Source: Encyclopedia of Anthropology; Protolanguage]

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URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/protolanguage

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