Proto-language may refer to either:

1. a language that preceded a certain set of given languages, or
2. a system of communication during a stage in glottogony that may not yet be properly called a language.

The origin of language is a topic that has been written about for centuries, but the ephemeral nature of speech means that there is almost no data on which to base conclusions on the subject. ...

Languages inferred from other languages

Main article: Historical linguistics

A relative proto-language is a language that reflects an earlier state in a language family. Historical linguistics (also diachronic linguistics or comparative linguistics) is primarily the study of the ways in which languages change over time. ...

In most cases, this proto-language is not known and it has to be reconstructed by comparing different members of the language family for which records are available. Examples are Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Bantu. Sometimes, however, the proto-language is a language which is known from inscriptions, an example being the Proto-Norse language. The Proto-World language is a theoretical language which would have to be the proto-language from which all the languages were derived. The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages. ... Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ... Proto-Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old... It has been suggested that Ur language be merged into this article or section. ...

A communication mode less complete than true language

Main article: Origin of language

An absolute proto-language, as defined by linguist Derek Bickerton, is a primitive form of communication lacking: The origin of language (glottogony, glossogeny) is a topic that has been written about for centuries, but the ephemeral nature of speech means that there is almost no data on which to base conclusions on the subject. ... Derek Bickerton (born March 25, 1926) is a linguist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. ...

• a fully-developed syntax
• tense, aspect, auxiliary verbs, etc.
• a closed (i.e. non-lexical) vocabulary

The "me Tarzan, you Jane" nature of proto-language in this last sense is evident in pidgins, some features of early childhood language, and the language of adults who were deprived of language during the critical period (such as the feral child Genie). Derek Bickerton suggests language evolved from this kind of proto-language in a linguistic 'big bang'. But see also Terrence Deacon's arguments in his book The Symbolic Species for a radically different point of view. Syntax, originating from the Greek words συν (syn, meaning co- or together) and τάξις (táxis, meaning sequence, order, arrangement), can in linguistics be described as the study of the rules, or patterned relations that govern the way the words in a sentence come together. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A feral child (feral, ie. ... Derek Bickerton (born March 25, 1926) is a linguist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. ... Terrence Deacon is an American anthropologist (Ph. ...