Proto- (Language) a prefix used to denote hypothetical aspects of ancestral languages
Proto- is a term in Historical Linguistics that commonly means "a prefix used to denote hypothetical aspects of ancestral languages." This term belongs mainly to the broader category called Language.
Definition of Proto-
Source: A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics
"proto-"
A prefix used in historical linguistics to refer to a linguistic form or state of a language said to be the ancestor of attested forms/languages, e.g. Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Romance. More recently, some linguists have begun to use the term analogously in the context of language acquisition, to refer to the emerging linguistic system of the young child, in such uses as ‘proto-conversation’, ‘proto-sentence’ (see phonetically consistent form).
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Citation
PsychLing Contributors. "Proto-." PsychLing, OMNIKA Foundation, 3 Sep. 2023, psylng.org/glossary/term/proto. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Bibliography
APA Contributors. "APA Dictionary of Psychology." Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Accessed September 14, 2023. https://dictionary.apa.org. [Visit]
Campbell, Lyle R., and Mauricio J. Mixco, eds. A Glossary of Historical Linguistics. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 2007.