The following list is an attempt at translating some common or famous phrases into Proto-Indo-European (PIE). They are not exact, and they can never really be exact, because PIE is a reconstructed language. That is to say, we can only guess how PIE was spoken based on evidence available in the Indo-European daughter languages. Our reconstructions may be similar to how PIE was in reality, or may be way off, we will likely never know.
The following phrases represent our/my current knowledge of PIE, and are really just fun attempts to bring life to a language that has not been spoken for a very long time, yet remains dear to historical linguists. The phrases will likely be added to, as well as updated and improved as knowledge of PIE increases.
If there is anything that you believe can be fixed or improved upon, feel free to leave a comment. Otherwise, enjoy!
*h₃rḗǵs mr̥tós h₁ésti, gʷíh₃wetu h₃rḗǵs
‘The king is dead, long live the king!’
*yḗgʷeh₂ toy(kom) h₁syéh₁t
‘May the force be with you’ (Star Wars – 1977)
*te káh₂mi ᴏʀ *te lúbʰmi
‘I love you’
*tód pédom minṓs dʰǵʰm̥néy h₁ésti, h₂áwti séltos méǵh₂os tewtáh₂ay
‘That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind‘ (Neil Armstrong – 1969)
*Tóto, nu memónh₂a ne h₁swós h₁en kánsasey
‘Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more‘ (The Wizard of Oz – 1939)
*stólos h₁iwr̥ dṓm ne h₁ésti
‘There’s no place like home’ (The Wizard of Oz – 1939)
*h₂énǵʰonm̥ napl̥h₂més h₂áyeri káh₂mi, h₁iwr̥ séǵʰos h₂enǵʰah₂yéti
‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning, it smells like victory’ (Apocalypse Now – 1979)
*ǵʰérete náh₂um méǵh₂yosm̥
‘You’re gonna need a bigger boat’ (Jaws – 1975)
*h₂ngʷʰmís plewnáh₂us moy pl̥h₁nós h₁ésti
‘My hovercraft is full of eels’ (Monty Python’s Flying Circus – 1970)
*deywós mr̥tós h₁ésti, n̥smékʷe tóm gʷʰn̥mé
‘God is dead… And we have killed him’ (Friedrich Nietzsche – 1882)
*dʰǵʰémones solh₂wós h₁léwdʰeroes ǵén̥h₁ntor
‘All human beings are born free..’ (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 1948)
Some phrases in the Proto-Indo-European Language (PIE)
Published
Linguistics and Nonsense 