protoBaltic

Proto-Baltic is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. It is not directly attested in surviving texts but is inferred from systematic correspondences among the Baltic languages, especially between East Baltic languages (such as Lithuanian and Latvian) and West Baltic languages (including Old Prussian and other extinct varieties). The split between East Baltic and West Baltic is a central feature of Baltic prehistory, and the timing of this divergence is uncertain, generally placed in the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age.

Reconstruction of Proto-Baltic relies on the comparative method: regular sound correspondences, shared morphological patterns, and a core vocabulary inferred from cognate sets. Proto-Baltic is thought to have been richly inflected, with an established noun case system and verb conjugations, and a consonant and vowel system that later developed differently in its descendant branches. The Baltic languages preserve several archaic inflectional and phonological tendencies, alongside innovations that distinguish East Baltic from West Baltic.

The study of Proto-Baltic sheds light on the typology and history of the Baltic language group, as well as the prehistory of the Baltic peoples and their interactions with neighboring language communities. Ongoing research continues to refine its phonology, morphology, and lexicon, incorporating data from extinct Baltic varieties and advances in comparative linguistics.