ProtoSlavic

Proto-Slavic is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Slavic languages, a branch of the Indo-European family within the larger Balto-Slavic group. It is not directly attested in any surviving inscription; its features are inferred through the comparative method by examining regular correspondences across Slavic languages and by comparing them with Baltic and other Indo-European languages. Proto-Slavic serves as the basis for understanding the development of the Slavic language family.

Scholars locate the homeland in eastern Europe, commonly associated with the region around the Pripet Marshes and adjacent areas of present-day Belarus and western Ukraine. From this core, Slavic-speaking populations are thought to spread into Central and Southeast Europe during the early medieval period. Dating places the emergence of Proto-Slavic in the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age, with diversification into West, East, and South Slavic dialects by roughly the first centuries CE.

Phonologically, Proto-Slavic developed a system of consonants and vowels that later diversified in its descendants. It featured inflectional grammar with noun declensions in multiple cases and gendered adjectives, and a verbal system with aspect and tense markings. The language shows regular sound correspondences that modern Slavic languages inherit.

Old Church Slavonic, the oldest attested Slavic language, arises in the 9th century and provides crucial data for reconstruction. Slavic writing traditions use the Glagolitic and later Cyrillic scripts, reflecting both liturgical and secular use across different regions.

From Proto-Slavic, three primary branches emerge: West Slavic (including Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Sorbian), East Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian), and South Slavic (Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and others). The modern Slavic languages descend from these branches through a long history of regional diversification and contact.

Proto-Slavic remains a central concept in historical linguistics, guiding the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European-Balto-Slavic relationships and the study of Slavic cultural and linguistic heritage.