Languages of the
Indo-European family are classified as either
centum languages or
satem languages, according how the
dorsal consonants (sounds of "K" and "G" type) of the reconstructed
Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) developed. An example of the different developments is provided by the words for "hundred" found in the early
attested IE languages: in centum languages these typically began with a sound (
Latin centum was pronounced with initial /k/), while in satem languages they often began with (the example
satem comes from the
Avestan language of
Zoroastrian scripture).
