parent language

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Linguists believe that these similar languages derived from an ancient parent language often described as “proto-Bantu.”

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

This single parent language – known as Proto Indo-European – spawned all these later languages and their shared word for paters.

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2022

And she has been invited to present her ideas for a parent language initiative to the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy in early October.

From Slate • Sep. 27, 2013

The way linguists compare words from descendant languages to reconstruct the parent language is called, appropriately, the comparative method.

From Scientific American • Feb. 12, 2013

When languages are so similar that they may be believed to have come from one parent language, they are said to belong to the same language family or stock.

From American Indians by Starr, Frederick