Overview of Indo-European Languages

Below the surface similarity of various languages, comparative linguists determine the linguistic principles that can confirm or reject the possibility that a specific similarity is not the result of coincidence, but has developed from an older common phase. The use of the comparative method helps reconstruct Proto-Indo-European.

Students obtain an overview of the main linguistic changes in the Indo-European language family from the formation of the proto-language to its breakup and further on to the development of individual language families within the Indo-European family and the formation of modern languages. Texts in and on individual Indo-European languages, proper names, and glosses are sources that can be used to explore Indo-European prehistory. Students use vocabulary examples and learn how data from a specific language contribute to the understanding of a common initial proto-language. They learn the basics of Indo-European dialectology and familiarize themselves with documents in individual early attested languages and their writing systems. They learn how writing systems arose and developed.

Students familiarize themselves with all of the Indo-European languages that are important from the perspective of comparative linguistics and those that are important due to the large number of speakers today.