Language Tree

A graphic depiction of the way our language has grown and changed.  The roots are Proto-Indo-European words and their meanings, and the leafy branches are the meanings and the various words they've grown into.  I find PIE roots fascinating, as they can tell us about people whose language has vanished and who have left possibly no records other than echos of words in current languages. For instance, if the words Wolf Night Fire Mother Father Winter are all very similar across languages, but Lion is different, we know that an early people needed to express Wolf, but clearly there were no Lions about. The original is ink and illustration marker on watercolor paper, 20 x 26.  Prints are available at full size or scaled down to traditional sizes for ease of framing.

Note: If printed in smaller sizes, the words may not be readable.

This list is not comprehensive for the single reason that I do not have paper big enough to make a tree with over 400 Proto-Indo-European root words.  Discovering what words have unexpected similarities, and imagining what the society that used those words must have been like feels like time travel to me.  It's an endless source of knowledge and joy. I congratulated myself on avoiding a complex geometric design, somehow failing to realize how many words I was going to have to write and plan and go over.  Ordinarily, I pick a calligraphy font for the lettering, this however is just my handwriting, because I personally find the topic delightful.