Proto-Norse language

Proto-Norse or Proto-Nordic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have diverged from Proto-Germanic sometime between 200 BC and 200. It was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into Old Norse.

Proto-Norse
Proto-Nordic, Proto-North Germanic, Northern Proto-Germanic
ᚹᛖᚱᚨᛉ
Pronunciation	[ˈwe.rɑʒ]
Era	c. 150 to c. 800
Language family	Indo-European Germanic Proto-Norse
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Germanic
Writing system	Old Futhark
Language codes
ISO 639-2	gmq
ISO 639-3	gmq
Linguist List	1be

There is a corpora of ca 200 runic inscriptions of which the earliest are from ca 200. The inscription found on the Gallehus horn is the most famous example and comes from the 5th century. It reads Ek hlewagastir holtijar horna tawido (I Leeguest of Holt made the horn) and it would in Old Norse have been Ek Hlégestr hyltir táða horn. The R was a sound special to Proto-Norse, which evolved and disappeared, derived from the phoneme z; It was pronounced like Czech ř.

Some Proto-Norse names are found in latin works such as tribal names e.g. Suiones (Swedes).