preSlavic

PreSlavic, or pre-Slavic, is an informal term used in some discussions of Slavic linguistics to denote the linguistic stage that would precede Proto-Slavic, the reconstructed ancestor of all Slavic languages. In mainstream linguistics, Proto-Slavic is treated as the earliest well-defined Slavic stage, and there is no broadly accepted, independently verifiable reconstruction of a distinct pre-Slavic language. Consequently, pre-Slavic is not a clearly defined linguistic entity in the same sense as Proto-Indo-European or Proto-Slavic.

Linguistic evidence for any pre-Slavic stage is indirect, drawing on comparisons with other Indo-European branches, older loanwords in neighboring languages, and substrate toponyms and hydronyms in regions later dominated by Slavic languages. Such evidence helps scholars infer the social and geographic context in which Slavic-speaking communities formed, but it does not yield a consensus phonology, morphology, or lexicon for a separate pre-Slavic language.

Chronology and homeland debates focus on Proto-Slavic rather than a separate pre-Slavic language. Proto-Slavic is generally dated to the first millennium BCE, with diversification into East, West, and South Slavic in the early centuries CE. Proposed homelands for early Slavic-speaking populations vary, including areas around the Pripet Marshes, the lower Dnieper valley, and parts of the middle Danube region.

In summary, pre-Slavic is a nonstandard, informal label for hypothetical antecedents to Proto-Slavic, used mainly to discuss Slavic prehistory rather than as an independently reconstructable linguistic stage.