protolang

English

Etymology

From proto- +‎ -lang.

Noun

protolang (plural protolangs)

1. (conlanging) A constructed ancestor language from which other naturalistic conlangs are descended (actually or retroactively).
   • 1998 November 9, Nik Taylor <[e-mail]>, “New Project”, in Conlang mailing list‎:

     I created a protolang (consisting mainly of phonology and inflections) to ensure realistic mutations.

   • 2024 September 16, H. S. Teoh <[e-mail]>, “Re: Hrmitt lexicon reached 800 entries”, in Conlang mailing list‎:

     Then at one point I wanted to add head-marking to the language to mark tenses. In my initial sketch, this head-marking would have features of a "real" verb, a kind of calcified form from an ancestral verb in the protolang, kinda like how English uses "was" to mark past tense ("I was going to the market", "I was reading yeserday").

2. Clipping of proto-language.