ProtoAnatolian

Proto-Anatolian is a hypothetical reconstructed ancestor language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. This reconstructed language is not directly attested in any written records, but its existence and characteristics are inferred by linguists through comparative analysis of the surviving Anatolian languages, such as Hittite, Luwian, Palaic, and Lydian. The reconstruction of Proto-Anatolian is a complex process that involves identifying shared linguistic features and systematically proposing sound changes and grammatical innovations that would have led to the observed differences in the attested languages.

Scholars generally believe that Proto-Anatolian was spoken sometime in the 3rd millennium BCE. Its speakers are thought to have originated in the Pontic-Caspian steppe or Eastern Europe, and then migrated southwards, eventually reaching Anatolia. The Anatolian languages represent the earliest attested branch of Indo-European, with the earliest Hittite inscriptions dating to the 17th century BCE. This early attestation suggests that the Anatolian branch diverged from other Indo-European languages at a very early stage. The reconstruction of Proto-Anatolian provides insights into the phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon of this ancient linguistic ancestor, contributing to our understanding of the broader history and evolution of the Indo-European language family.