Attested language

In linguistics, attested languages are languages for which evidence has survived to the present day, either in the form of inscriptions or literature, or because the language is still spoken. They are the opposite of the hypothetical, unattested proto-languages proposed as a result of work on linguistic reconstruction.

The surviving word forms which are the evidence for such a language are called attested forms.

See also

• Historical linguistics
• List of languages by first written accounts