Thoughts on the development of Indo-European Studies: formulism, realism and the protolanguage text

Abstract This article builds on Šimon Ondruš’s linking of the progress and periodization of Indo-European studies with attempts to reconstruct a short text in the Indo-European protolanguage, the tale of sheep and horses first introduced by August Schleicher. It is shown that there coexist two attitudes in the development of the field, formulism and realism. Existing text reconstructions in the Indo-European and other protolanguages are tentatively classified according to the way and degree to which they advocate realism.