Do Romanists need to reconstruct Proto-Romance?: The case of the Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom) project

This paper discusses and evaluates the role of the Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (= DÉRom) project in reintroducing the rigorous use of comparative reconstruction in the practice of Romance etymology. It describes and discusses critically such issues as the DÉRom’s conception of Proto-Romance, the place of written Latin in the reconstructive process, the relationship of Proto-Romance to spoken Latin, and the DÉRom’s contribution to our knowledge of the semantics and linguistic variation of Proto-Romance. It reviews some of the critiques leveled against the DÉRom by several veteran specialists in Romance etymology, and concludes with a discussion of certain features of Proto-Romance as reconstructed by the members of the DÉRom team.