Proto-Norse language

Proto-Norse or Proto-Nordic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have diverged from Proto-Germanic sometime between 200 BC and 200. It was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into Old Norse.

There is a corpora of ca 200 runic inscriptions of which the earliest are from ca 200. The inscription found on the Gallehus horn is the most famous example and comes from the 5th century. It reads Ek hlewagastir holtijar horna tawido (I Leeguest of Holt made the horn) and it would in Old Norse have been Ek Hlégestr hyltir táða horn. The R was a sound special to Proto-Norse, which evolved and disappeared, derived from the phoneme z; It was pronounced like Czech ř.

Some Proto-Norse names are found in latin works such as tribal names e.g. Suiones (Swedes).