Objectif Today, Europe’s linguistic landscape is shaped almost entirely by a single language family: Indo-European. Even by the dawn of history, a patchwork of Indo-European subgroups, Germanic, Celtic, Italic, Baltic, Slavic and Greek, was covering the continent, and over the centuries, these subgroups evolved into the modern European languages, among which Russian, Italian, German, Lithuanian and Swedish, as well as the global lingua francas French, Spanish, and English.The Indo-Europeanization of Europe was probably one of the most profound linguistic shifts ever to have taken place in the prehistory of Europe. The origin of the European languages, unsurprisingly, is therefore a matter of intense academic debate. There are currently only two prehistoric events that in the present academic debate are considered as likely driving factors behind the spread of Indo-European speech. One the one hand, there are those historical linguists who by meticulous comparison of the different Indo-European languages have reconstructed a language and culture that is typical of the early Bronze Age. Terminology for horse-riding and wagon technology provides a possible link to the expansion of the Yamnaya culture on the Pontic-Caspian steppes, which was fueled by the invention of the wheel and the domestication of the horse. Others have suggested that the Indo-European languages diffused from Anatolia together with another major prehistoric event, the spread of agriculture to Europe between the 8th and 5th millennium.The debate has remained unresolved for over two decades, but a new approach produces potentially decisive results. By studying prehistoric loanwords absorbed by the speakers of Indo-European when they entered Europe, and test the resulting cultural implications against the available archaeological record, new light can be shed on the language of Europe’s first farmers, and whether or not they spoke a form of Indo-European. Champ scientifique humanitieslanguages and literaturelinguisticshumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistoryprehistoryagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture Mots‑clés Indo-European Studies Comparative linguistics Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Thème(s) ERC-2016-STG - ERC Starting Grant Appel à propositions ERC-2016-STG Voir d’autres projets de cet appel Régime de financement ERC-STG - Starting Grant Institution d’accueil UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN Contribution nette de l'UE € 1 499 578,00 Adresse RAPENBURG 70 2311 EZ Leiden Pays-Bas Voir sur la carte Région West-Nederland Zuid-Holland Agglomeratie Leiden en Bollenstreek Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Participation aux programmes de R&I de l'UE Opens in new window Réseau de collaboration HORIZON Opens in new window Coût total € 1 499 578,00 Bénéficiaires (1) Trier par ordre alphabétique Trier par contribution nette de l'UE Tout développer Tout réduire UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN Pays-Bas Contribution nette de l'UE € 1 499 578,00 Adresse RAPENBURG 70 2311 EZ Leiden Voir sur la carte Région West-Nederland Zuid-Holland Agglomeratie Leiden en Bollenstreek Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Participation aux programmes de R&I de l'UE Opens in new window Réseau de collaboration HORIZON Opens in new window Coût total € 1 499 578,00