Proto-Indo European
Proto-Indo European (PIE) is a hypothetical language that is believed to have started the evolution of language. It has been hypothesised that Proto-Indo European was an actual language believed to have been spoken as early as 3700 BC.
The idea that a single language could be the parent of all the different languages around the world, was first postulated in the 18th century by Sir William Jones, who had observed similarities between Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, and Latin. "The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident." Despite this groundbreaking idea by Sir William Jones, it wasn't until the 20th century that Proto-Indo European was actually considered to be a likely parental language.
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