Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA) is the name given to the posited proto-language of the languages of the Algonquian family. One theory, first put forth by Frank Siebert in 1967, is that it was spoken between 2500 and 3000 years ago between Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario, Ontario, in Canada, and at least as far south as Niagara Falls (determined through examination of the reconstructed terms for natural features, plants, and animals), although this is still debated.

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  • Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA) is the name given to the posited proto-language of the languages of the Algonquian family. One theory, first put forth by Frank Siebert in 1967, is that it was spoken between 2500 and 3000 years ago between Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario, Ontario, in Canada, and at least as far south as Niagara Falls (determined through examination of the reconstructed terms for natural features, plants, and animals), although this is still debated. More recent work by scholars such as Ives Goddard and Peter Denny suggests that in fact it was spoken much further west than this, perhaps in the western Great Plains near what is now Montana or Alberta. This latter theory is most favored among current Algonquian specialists, and accounts better for the location of languages such as Blackfoot and Arapaho. Proto-Algonquian, in turn, was a member of the Algic family, whose other two members, Wiyot and Yurok, are spoken in California. The Algonquian family is usually divided into three subgroups: Eastern Algonquian, Central Algonquian, and Plains Algonquian (an areal grouping). The earliest comparative work on the Algonquian family was undertaken by the linguist Leonard Bloomfield, who reconstructed Proto-Algonquian (his "Proto-Central-Algonquian") using four languages: Fox, Ojibwe, Menominee, and (Plains) Cree. Since his initial reconstructions, there has been an enormous amount of comparative work undertaken on the Algonquian family, making Proto-Algonquian a significantly well-studied proto-language, particularly compared with many other North American language families.
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  • Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA) is the name given to the posited proto-language of the languages of the Algonquian family. One theory, first put forth by Frank Siebert in 1967, is that it was spoken between 2500 and 3000 years ago between Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario, Ontario, in Canada, and at least as far south as Niagara Falls (determined through examination of the reconstructed terms for natural features, plants, and animals), although this is still debated.
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  • Proto-Algonquian language
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