Ursprache

Ursprache is the hypothesized original language of a language family, reconstructed through the comparative method in historical linguistics. It is not directly attested, but inferred from systematic correspondences among related languages.

The term Ursprache is German for “original language” and is used in contrast with Urheimat, the original homeland of a people. In practice, the Ursprache is treated as the ancestral language at the level of phonology, lexicon, and grammar, from which daughter languages diverged.

Reconstruction relies on the identification of cognates and regular sound correspondences, from which a phonemic inventory is inferred. Grammars and basic vocabulary are reconstructed, while many details remain hypothetical and subject to revision as new data or analyses emerge.

One well-known example is Proto-Indo-European, the Ursprache of the Indo-European languages. Other language families have their own proto-languages, such as Proto-Semitic or Proto-Dravidian. Reframing and dating of these reconstructions are often debated and uncertain, reflecting the limits of indirect evidence.

Ursprache studies illuminate how languages evolve and how they reflect historical contact and divergence among communities. They help trace long-range connections between peoples and their languages, while also underscoring the provisional nature of reconstructions in historical linguistics.