World’s Oldest Language
It is not possible to answer exactly how many languages of the world are there. According to an estimate, the total number of languages in the world is about 6809, out of which the number of speakers of 90 per cent of the languages is less than 100000. There are about 200 to 150 languages that are spoken by more than 1 million people. There are about 357 languages that only 50 people speak. Not only this, but there are also 46 languages whose number of speakers is only one.
But do you know which is the oldest language in the world? If you are not aware of the answer to this question then after reading this article you will know which is the oldest language in the world, because in this article we are giving the details of the 10 oldest languages of the world according to the origin.
World’s 10 oldest languages
10. Armenian Language
The Armenian language is also part of the Indo-European linguistic group, which is spoken by the Armenians. Bibles written in the fifth century exist as its earliest appearance. The Armenian language originated in 450 BC. At present, about 5 per cent of people speak this language. This language is spoken in Mesopotamia and the intermediate valleys of the caucus and in the southeastern region of the Black Sea. The region falls in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan (northwestern Iran). It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia.
9. Korean language
The Korean language is spoken from around 600 BC. At present, about 80 million people speak the Korean language. The script of this language is Hangul. In ancient times, the Chinese settled in Korea, so the Korean language is strongly influenced by the Chinese language.
8. Arabic language
This language is found in Hebrew and Arabic languages today. It was once the official language of the Armenian Republic. There is evidence of its presence even 1,000 years before Christ. Even today the Arabic language is spoken in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel, Lebanon and modern Rome.
7. Chinese Language
Chinese is the most spoken language in the world. It is spoken in China and some countries of East Asia. The Chinese language belongs to the Chinese-Tibetan language-family and is actually a group of languages and dialects. Standardized Chinese is actually a language called “mandarin”. This language is 1200 years old even before the arrival of Jesus. Currently, about 1.2 billion people speak Chinese.
6. Greek Language
The Greek language is the oldest language in Europe, spoken since 1450 years before Christ. Currently Greek is spoken in Greece, Albania and Cyprus. About 13 million people still speak Greek today.
5. Egyptian Language
The Egyptian language is the oldest known language in Egypt. This language belongs to the Afro-Asian linguistic family. it is 2600–2000 years old from Christ. This language is still keeping its nature alive.
4. Hebrew Language
Hebrew is the language falling under the Semitic branch of the Sami-Hami language-family. The Hebrew language is about 3000 years old. It is currently the official language of Israel, after its extinction, the Israeli people revived it. The Jewish community considers it to be ‘holy language’ and the Old Testament of the Bible was written in it. The Hebrew language is written in the Hebrew script, read and written from right to left. Studies of Hebrew are relatively popular nowadays in Western universities. The official language of Palestine after the First World War is also modern Hebrew.
3. Latin Language
Greek is the third oldest language in the world. Latin was the official language of the ancient Roman Empire and ancient Roman religion. It is currently the official language of the Roman Catholic Church and the official language of the Vatican City. Like Sanskrit, it is a classical language. Latin comes in the romance branch of the Indo-European language family. From this, French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese and the most popular language of the present time, English has originated. Due to the dominance of Christianity in Europe, Latin language in medieval and pre-modern times was the international language of almost all Europe, in which books of all religions, science, higher literature, philosophy and mathematics were written.
2. Tamil Language
The Tamil language is recognized as the oldest language in the world and it is the oldest language of the Dravidian family. This language had a presence even around 5,000 years ago. According to a survey, 1863 newspapers are published in the Tamil language only every day. At present, the number of speakers of Tamil language is around 7.7 crores. This language is spoken in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.
1. Sanskrit Language
World’s oldest language is Sanskrit. The Sanskrit language is called Devbhasha. All European languages seem inspired by Sanskrit. All the universities and educational institutions spread across the world consider Sanskrit as the most ancient language. It is believed that all the languages of the world have originated from Sanskrit somewhere. The Sanskrit language has been spoken since 5,000 years before Christ. Sanskrit is still the official language of India. However, in the present time, Sanskrit has become a language of worship and ritual instead of the language of speech. All the auspicious works performed in Hindu religion are recited by Veda Mantra, whose language is Sanskrit.
FAQs
Historians and linguists generally agree that Sumerian, Akkadian and Egyptian are the oldest languages with a clear written record. All three are extinct, meaning they are no longer used and do not have any living descendants that can carry the language to the next generation.
Which is the first language in the world? ›
As far as the world knew, Sanskrit stood as the first spoken language because it dated as back as 5000 BC. New information indicates that although Sanskrit is among the oldest spoken languages, Tamil dates back further. Tamil dates as far back as 350 BC—works like the 'Tholkappiyam,' an ancient poem, stand as evidence.
What is the 3 oldest language in the world? ›
Greek is the third oldest language in the world. Latin was the official language of the ancient Roman Empire and ancient Roman religion. It is currently the official language of the Roman Catholic Church and the official language of the Vatican City. Like Sanskrit, it is a classical language.
Is Tamil or Sanskrit older? ›
Tamil is an older language than Sanskrit. Records of the Tamil language date to the third century BCE and records of the Sanskrit language date to the second century BCE. Tamil is still in everyday use today, but Sanskrit died out around 600 BCE and is used for mainly religious and literature purposes today.
Which is the 2 oldest language in the world? ›
This is the second oldest language in the world which is still being used today. Sanskrit is the language of Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. 7,000 people are Sanskrit speakers.
What language did Adam and Eve speak? ›
Traditional Jewish exegesis such as Midrash says that Adam spoke the Hebrew language because the names he gives Eve – Isha and Chava – only make sense in Hebrew. By contrast, Kabbalism assumed an "eternal Torah" which was not identical to the Torah written in Hebrew.
What language did Jesus speak? ›
Aramaic is best known as the language Jesus spoke. It is a Semitic language originating in the middle Euphrates. In 800-600 BC it spread from there to Syria and Mesopotamia.
Who is the mother of all languages? ›
In the beginning, Sanskrit stood as mother of all languages and encouraged all languages and was the reason for their growth and prosperity. One may note that most of the works in Sanskrit have been translated into other Indian languages.”
What is the hardest language to learn? ›
Mandarin Chinese
Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the writing system is extremely difficult for English speakers (and anyone else) accustomed to the Latin alphabet.
What is the youngest language ever? ›
The first surviving scripts date back to the Sumerian-Babylonian civilisation. Although some ancient languages have not yet been deciphered. Among the youngest known languages is Afrikaans. It is spoken in South Africa and Namibia, mostly by white people and by a small proportion of local inhabitants.
Recorded Tamil literature has been documented for over 2000 years. The earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is dated from c. 300 BC until AD 300. It has the oldest extant literature among Dravidian languages.
Is Hindi or Tamil older? ›
Tamil literature and writing are both diverse. Tamil, which continues to be used to publish hundreds of daily newspapers, is the oldest language still in use today.
Is Greek older than Tamil? ›
Greek is the third oldest language in the world. ... The Tamil language is recognized as the oldest language in the world and it is the oldest language of the Dravidian family. This language had a presence even around 5,000 years ago. 300 BC – AD 300.
Is Tamil older than Aramaic? ›
Aramaic is thought to have emerged around the 11th Century B.C.E. Tamil, spoken primarily in what is today southern India, appears in written form in the 5th Century B.C.E., according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Is Egyptian older than Sanskrit? ›
Yes. The Afroasiatic language of Ancient Egypt, written in the parallel Hieroglyphic and Hieratic mixtures of a logographic and a consonant script, dates to about 3000 BCE. That's not only about 2,000 years older than Sanskrit, but is scarcely younger than the date some scholars give for proto-Indo-European.
Is Egyptian older than Tamil? ›
In terms of historically attested languages, Sumerian and Akkadian have records that are much older than Tamil. Egyptian records are date back to to about 2,690 BC, which is much older by about 2,000 years than any historical evidence for Tamil. Egyptian still survives as the liturgical language of the Coptic Church.
Who started the first language? ›
Some scholars assume the development of primitive language-like systems (proto-language) as early as hom*o habilis, while others place the development of symbolic communication only with hom*o erectus (1.8 million years ago) or with hom*o heidelbergensis (0.6 million years ago) and the development of language proper with ...
Which is older Hebrew or Arabic? ›
The oldest language called Hebrew is certainly older than the oldest language called Arabic, though the oldest form of Arabic still intelligible to modern speakers (early Modern Standard Arabic) is probably older than Modern Hebrew.
What is the first language in the world and why? ›
Dating back to at least 3500 BC, the oldest proof of written Sumerian was found in today's Iraq on an artifact known as the Kish Tablet. Thus, given this evidence, Sumerian can also be considered the first language in the world or one of the ancient languages.
