Fornarrétt

Fornarrétt is a term that has seen some usage in discussions related to language and etymology, particularly within specific linguistic communities. It refers to a hypothetical or reconstructed Proto-language that may have existed prior to a more widely recognized ancestral language. In essence, it is a linguistic predecessor to a proto-language.

The concept of a "fornarrétt" arises when linguists observe systematic sound changes and grammatical similarities among related languages and hypothesize an even older, unattested source language from which their proto-language itself might have descended. This is a speculative endeavor, relying heavily on comparative reconstruction methods. While Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Germanic, and Proto-Slavic are well-established proto-languages, the idea of a "fornarrétt" pushes the reconstruction further back, into an even more ancient and less certain linguistic period.

Evidence for such deeper ancestral languages is scarce and indirect. Linguists might infer potential features of a "fornarrétt" by identifying patterns that suggest even older sound shifts or grammatical structures predating those attributed to the commonly accepted proto-language. However, the further back one attempts to reconstruct, the more the evidence becomes fragmented, and the reconstructed features become less certain. The term itself is not universally adopted within mainstream linguistics, and its application often depends on the specific theoretical framework or research focus of the linguist using it.