Proto-Indo-European language: Difference between revisions

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==Grammar==
==Grammar==
===Noun cases===
===Noun cases===
Proto-Indo-European had eight noun cases (''see'' '''[[Grammatical case]]''').
[[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] had eight noun cases (''see'' '''[[Grammatical case]]''').
*Of the nouns, there were three [[Grammatical number]]s, [[Singular number|Singular]], [[Dual number|Dual]], and [[Pural number|Plural]]; the dual may have referred to two of anything (as with Arabic) or a natural pair (as with gloves, shoes or eyeglasses, or a pair of jeans) as with [[Hebrew]]. And yes, a few languages have a [[Trial number|Trial]], which refers to three of something.
*Of the nouns, there were three [[Grammatical number]]s, [[Singular number|Singular]], [[Dual number|Dual]], and [[Pural number|Plural]]; the dual may have referred to two of anything (as with Arabic) or a natural pair (as with gloves, shoes or eyeglasses, or a pair of jeans) as with [[Hebrew]]. And yes, a few languages have a [[Trial number|Trial]], which refers to three of something.



Revision as of 12:32, 5 April 2007

Proto-Indo-European is the reconstructed language of a real people who lived in a real place at a real time in history. It is the ancestral language from which all members of the Indo-European family of languages descend. The first person to recognize the relationships between Indo-European languages (based on comparison of Greek, Latin and Sanskrit) was Sir William Jones in 1786. This article will discuss the characteristics of the reconstructed language.

  • For the science that allows us to reconstruct such a language see ---
  • For a discussion of Proto-Indo-European ethnicity, see ---
  • For a discussion of where these people originated, see ---

Grammar

Noun cases

Proto-Indo-European had eight noun cases (see Grammatical case).

  • Of the nouns, there were three Grammatical numbers, Singular, Dual, and Plural; the dual may have referred to two of anything (as with Arabic) or a natural pair (as with gloves, shoes or eyeglasses, or a pair of jeans) as with Hebrew. And yes, a few languages have a Trial, which refers to three of something.

Sources

  • Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, edited by James P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams; Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997; "Proto-Indo-European", pp. 458-470.