Proto-Scandinavian language

Proto-Scandinavian, also known as Ancient Scandinavian, is the earliest identifiable stage of the Germanic language spoken in Scandinavia. Evidence from around 125 inscriptions dating from 200 to 600 AD, primarily in the older runic alphabet, provides the oldest linguistic records of any Germanic language. These inscriptions, though brief, offer insights into the language's vocabulary and grammar, retaining unstressed vowels lost in later Germanic languages.1234

Proto-Scandinavian shows few distinctively North Germanic features and may represent a stage before the split between North and West Germanic languages. It is only after the 7th century that a clearly Scandinavian or North Germanic dialect can be identified. The expansion of Nordic peoples during the Viking Age led to the spread of Scandinavian speech across various regions, eventually evolving into distinct dialects and later standard languages.1234