A language is a form of communication that people worldwide use languages to communicate with others and pass on information. Many years ago, before even kingdoms were established, symbols and hand gestures were used to communicate to other communities.
With the help of archaeology, innovation, and technology, we can trace scriptures and artifacts that have led us to certain human discoveries that have left the human race absolutely appalled. One such discovery is the origin of the oldest languages in the world. Although there have been many debates on the first-ever language, certain cave carvings and scriptures reveal some of the oldest languages in the world.
The idea of communication through language came about 10,000 years ago, and that changed everything. According to research, approximately 8,000 languages are spoken today across the world by various communities. These differ from culture and region to region. Language has evolved and changed over the years in different ways. It can be used to express emotions, feelings, thoughts, information, and ideas.
Here are the top 5 oldest languages in the world that are still spoken today:
1. Tamil
Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world. In today's world, around 78 million people speak Tamil. Tamil is the official language of the Southern Indian state, Tamil Nadu, and is spoken majorly in Sri Lanka and Singapore.
2. Sanskrit
Sanskrit is the oldest language in the world, but it faded away as a commonly spoken language. The first written record of Sanskrit can be found in Rigveda, a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, written somewhere around the 2nd millennium B.C. According to studies, the Sanskrit language forms the base for many European languages. Sanskrit is still India’s one of the official languages.
3. Egyptian
Egypt is considered one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and Egyptian Coptic is the oldest indigenous language of Egypt. The Written records of its usage date back to 3400 BC, making it an ancient language. Only a handful of people fluently speak the Egyptian language today. Based on ancient texts, scholars generally divide the history of the Egyptian language into 5 periods: Old Egyptian (from before 3000 to about 2200 BCE), Middle Egyptian (c. 2200–c. 1600 BCE), Late Egyptian (c. 1550–c. 700 BCE), Demotic (c. 700 BCE–c. 400 CE), and Coptic (c. 2nd century CE until at least the 17th century).
4. Hebrew
It lost common usage around 400 CE. It was primarily used for religious texts, correspondence, and communications between Jewish people who otherwise did not share a language from around the second century CE.
5. Greek
It is the official language of Cyprus and Greece. It was first spoken in Greece and Asia Minor, which is now a part of Turkey. It has an uninterrupted history of being used as a written language for over 3,000 years, which is longer than any other Indo-European language spoken today. This history is divided into 3 stages, Ancient Greek, Medieval Greek, and Modern Greek. Over 15 million people, mostly residing in Cyprus and Greece, speak Greek today. Countries like Australia and the United States also have large Greek-speaking communities.
You must be logged in to post a comment.