- published: 28 Oct 2012
- views: 142025
The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans. The existence of such a language has been accepted by linguists for over a century, and reconstruction is advanced and detailed.
Scholars estimate that PIE may have been spoken as a single language (before divergence began) around 3700 BC, though estimates by different authorities can vary by more than a millennium. The most popular hypothesis for the origin and spread of the language is the Kurgan hypothesis, which postulates an origin in the Pontic-Caspian steppe of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. In modern times the existence of the language was first postulated in the 18th century by Sir William Jones, who observed the similarities between Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, and Latin. By the early 1900s, well-defined descriptions of PIE had been developed that are still accepted today (with some refinements).
PIE is thought to have had a complex system of morphology that included inflections (suffixing of roots, as in who, whom, whose), and ablaut (vowel alterations, as in sing, sang, sung). Nouns used a sophisticated system of declension and verbs used a similarly sophisticated system of conjugation.
How to Speak Proto-Indo-European
PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE by Daniel Singer - Axotalks Video
Proto-Indo-European Culture
古代語 From Proto-Indo-European 古代言語音声集 How Ancient Languages Sound Like
Extinct Languages Spoken - Ubykh, Old English, Proto-Indo-European and more
[HD] INDO-EUROPEAN ORIGIN
Spoken Sample of Proto-Indo-European
Counting from 1 - 10 in some ancient Indo-European languages
Proto-Indo-European Deities
Recitation of Schleicher's Fable in Proto-Indo-European from "Prometheus" [subtitled & translated]
James Mallory, Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Uralic and Nostratic
Linguist recreates proto indo European language
Proto-Indo-European [M] - Adam Scott at the Polyglot Gathering Berlin 2014
Animated map shows how Indo-European languages may have evolved