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Discover the 10 Oldest Spoken Languages in the World (Updated 2024) here. Prepare to be transported into a rich & fascinating history on the oldest spoken languages that exist.
This is a list of languages arranged by age of the oldest existing text recording a complete sentence in the language. It does not include undeciphered writing systems, though there are various claims without wide acceptance, which, if substantiated, would push backward the first attestation of certain languages.
Ancient civilizations in regions around the world began to develop complex language systems starting at least as early as 3200 BCE. While it’s difficult to pin down the exact origin of language given the limited archaeological evidence available, historians generally agree on a few early tongues that pioneered the use of both written and ...
Spoken by 78 million people and official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore, Tamil is the oldest language in the world. It is the only ancient language that has survived all the way to the modern world.
Jan 31, 2024 · The world’s 10 oldest languages in the world 1. Egyptian – 2690 BC (circa. 4700 years old) The first known language ever was a proto-language on the African continent, and the first known proto-writing system was created in Nigeria. So, it is perhaps no surprise that the oldest language on this list is also from and used in Africa ...
Aug 24, 2023 · Disagreements about the age of Sanskrit and Tamil illustrate the broader issues in pinpointing the world’s oldest language.
May 10, 2024 · 1. Chinese (6,000 years old) The Chinese language is the oldest written language in the world, having been sighted on animal bones, known as oracle bones, that date back to the Shang dynasty. This means it was some 3,600 years ago when the written language was first used.
Dec 6, 2022 · What is the oldest language in the world? Well, it depends. Scholars debate how to determine when a language began: when it was written, or spoken?
Dec 20, 2023 · Evidence of the Tamil language dates back 2,300 years, making it the eighth-oldest language still spoken in the world. With a large body of ancient literature, it is also one of the world’s oldest classical languages.
Feb 17, 2020 · Part of the Northwest Semitic group of the Afro-Asiatic languages, Aramaic is certainly amongst the oldest languages in the world. It boasts roughly 3,100 years of written history, placing it at the top of our list.
