Germanic Parent Language - Absolute Chronology

Absolute Chronology

Several historical linguists have pointed towards the apparent material and social continuity connecting the cultures of the Nordic Bronze Age (1800–500 BCE) and the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BCE–1 CE) as having implications in regard to the stability and later development of the Germanic language group. The emerging consensus among scholars is that the First Germanic Sound Shift—long considered to be the defining mark in the development of Proto-Germanic—happened as late as 500 BCE.

Research conducted over the past few decades displays a notable interest in exploring the linguistic and sociohistorical conditions under which this sound shift occurred, and often formulates theories and makes reconstructive efforts regarding the periods immediately preceding Proto-Germanic as traditionally characterised. The notion of the Germanic Parent Language is thus used to encompass both the Pre-Proto-Germanic stage of development preceding the First Germanic Sound Shift (i.e. that assumed to be contemporary with the Nordic Bronze Age) and that stage traditionally identified as Proto-Germanic up to the beginning of the Common Era.