ProtoTientalen

ProtoTientalen is a hypothetical ancestral language proposed by linguist Alice Abernathy in her 2018 paper "The Root of the Matter." The theory suggests that ProtoTientalen served as the common ancestor for a specific, previously unrecognized group of languages spoken in a geographically isolated region of Southeast Asia. Abernathy's research is based on comparative analysis of phonological, morphological, and lexical features found in several modern languages from the region, which exhibit unusual similarities that cannot be explained by known language families.

The core of the ProtoTientalen hypothesis lies in a distinctive set of consonant clusters and a unique vowel harmony system that Abernathy argues are retentions from a single ancestral source. She also points to a number of cognates that appear in these languages but are absent in neighboring language families, suggesting a distinct lineage. However, the evidence for ProtoTientalen remains controversial within the linguistic community. Critics argue that the similarities might be due to extensive borrowing over a long period or chance resemblances, rather than a shared genetic inheritance. Further research, including the search for potential archaeological or historical evidence that could corroborate the linguistic findings, is needed to either support or refute the existence of ProtoTientalen. The theory is currently considered speculative.