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A 'proto-language' is a language which was the common ancestor of related languages that form a language family. The German term '''Ursprache''' (derived from the prefix ''Ur-'' "primordial" and ''Sprache'' "language") is occasionally used as well.
In most cases, the ancestral proto-language is not known directly and it has to be reconstructed by comparing different members of the language family via a technique called the comparative method. Through this process only a part of the proto-language's structure and vocabulary can be reconstructed; the reconstruction remains the more fragmentary the more ancient the proto-language in question relative to the number of its descendants. Examples of unattested but (partially) reconstructed proto-languages include Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Uralic, Proto-Bantu and Proto-Paman. Sometimes, however, the proto-language is a language which is known from inscriptions, an example being the Proto-Norse language attested in the Elder Futhark runic inscriptions, or very well-known, such as Latin (ancestor of the Romance Languages).

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See also

See also

★ Historical linguistics

★ Comparative method

★ Proto-Indo-European language

★ Proto-Pama-Nyungan language