This template is for use in articles about reconstructed proto-languages.

{{Infobox proto-language
| name        = name of the proto-language (defaults to the page name)
| altname     = alternative name(s) of the proto-language
| acceptance  = used to indicate lack of consensus for the family that is reconstructed,
                e.g. disputed for Proto-Altaic
| target      = the language family of which this is the reconstructed ancestor
| region      = the hypothetical geographic region of the proto-language
| era         = the estimated era of the proto-language
| familycolor = appropriate language family #REQUIRED
| ancestor    = the highest-level reconstructed proto-language ancestral to this one
| ancestor2   = an intermediate proto-language
| ...
| ancestor5   = another intermediate proto-language
| child1      = a reconstructed descendant proto-language, of a subgroup of the family
| child2      = another proto-language of a subgroup of languages
| ...
| child12     = another proto-language of a subgroup of languages
| listclass   = class for the list of children:
                plainlist (default), hlist (horizontal) or flatlist (bulleted)
| boxsize     = width of infobox (default 22em). Must include units (e.g. "12em" or "123px"). 
                This is useful when an article has multiple infoboxes aligned in a column.
| module      = used for embedding other infoboxes into this one
| notes       = A space for notes, e.g., "* [something here]" footnote
}}

Background colors by family

ಸಂಪೊಲಿಪುಲೆ

The familycolor parameter should always be set, and determines the color of template headings indicating the broad group of languages to which the family belongs. Some of these groups (e.g. Altaic, Caucasian) are areal groups rather than accepted language families.