> Without written language, no record can exist of the spoken language. It's possible to go back further, at least if there are multiple descendants. We have

> Without written language, no record can exist of the spoken language. It's possible to go back further, at least if there are multiple descendants. We have a reasonably good understanding of spoken Proto-Germanic based on literature in Gothic, Old English, and Old Norse. We can even go back further to Proto-Indo-European as we have records in Hittite, Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit.