protolanguage

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Related to protolanguages: Proto-linguistics

pro·to·lan·guage

 (prō′tō-lăng′gwĭj)
n.
A language that is the recorded or hypothetical ancestor of another language or group of languages. Also called Ursprache.

protolanguage

(ˌprəʊtəʊˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ)
n
1. (Linguistics) an extinct and unrecorded language reconstructed by comparison of its recorded or living descendants. Also called: Ursprache
2. (Historical Terms) an extinct and unrecorded language reconstructed by comparison of its recorded or living descendants. Also called: Ursprache

pro•to•lan•guage

(ˈproʊ toʊˌlæŋ gwɪdʒ)

n.
the reconstructed or postulated parent form of a language or a group of related languages.
[1945–50]
Translations
kantakieli
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References in periodicals archive ?
The syntax in human language today was made possible by our ancestors' long use of symbolic protolanguages. Genes and culture coevolved to reorganize the human brain.
Planet of the Apes? Unlikely to ever happen
Furthermore, languages or protolanguages may link with specific singing styles because of the inherent traits of the shortest transitory speech elements.
Timely orders: A new viewpoint of the vocal onset and release
Reconstructed words for species are indicative of their substantial significance to speakers of protolanguages. The approach, then, has the potential to contribute to the discussion of the antiquity of coconut in Panama by comparing words for the species in genetically related modern languages spoken there and in adjacent areas.
Coconuts in the Americas
(116) Deacon, The Symbolic Species; Aiello, "The Foundations of Human Language"; Donald, "Preconditions for the Evolution of Protolanguages."
Assessing evidences for the evolution of a human cognitive platform for "soulish behaviors"

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