What was the very first word in the world

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The word is of Hebrew origin(it is found in the 30th chapter of Exodus). Also according to Wiki answers,the first word ever uttered was “Aa,” which meant “Hey!” This was said by an australopithecine in Ethiopia more than a million years ago.

What were humans first word?

What was the very first English word?

There was no first word. At various times in the 5^th century, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and other northern Europeans show up in what is now England. They’re speaking various North Sea Germanic dialects that might or might not have been mutually understandable.

Who wrote first words?

The inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia, where Iraq now stands, are usually credited with the invention of writing. Clay tablets from slightly before 3,000 BC show a predecessor of the script called cuneiform, which records the affairs, and presumably the language, of the early Babylonians.

What is the most said word in the world?

Of all the words in the English language, the word “OK” is pretty new: It’s only been used for about 180 years. Although it’s become the most spoken word on the planet, it’s kind of a strange word.

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Every species in the world has created some way to communicate with each other. Humans are the only type of being on earth capable of spoken language. Since the existence of humans, we have found ways to communicate, whether through movement sounds or even drawings.

Communication is essential to the survival and growth of the human species, and spoken language allowed us to express emotions and ideas effectively. As mankind evolved over the centuries, so did their languages. But where did it all start? What was the first word ever?

The Oldest Word in the World

It is believed the first spoken word was “Aa,” which meant hey. “Aa” is thought to have first been spoken by an australopithecine in Ethiopia over a million years ago. While the first spoken word was most likely “Aa” or some sort of other warning call or greeting, it can be argued that these sounds weren’t necessarily words.

To pinpoint the oldest word ever, researchers at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom created a statistical model to study words that sounded similar and meant the same thing across different languages. They used this model to look at the frequency of these words across several of the oldest language groups. What came from this study is the 23 words that are believed to be over 15,000 years old, dating back to the end of the last ice age.

The words on the following list are found in at least four of the oldest languages leading researchers to believe they all came from a single Eurasiatic language. While it is not certain which word was the first word, here is the list of what is believed to be the first 23 words in English and other languages:

• I 
• thou 
• not 
• that 
• we 
• this 
• what 
• man/male 
• mother
• ye 
• old 
• hand 
• fire 
• To hear 
• To pull 
• Black  
• To flow
• worm 
• bark 
• ashes 
• To spit 

The Oldest Languages in the World

It is very hard to identify the oldest languages because many ancient languages died and were lost in history. In the linguistic community, there was debate as to whether the first spoken language was Tamil or Sanskrit. At first, it was believed Sanskrit was the oldest spoken language, but recent evidence suggests Tamil dates back even further than Sanskrit. Tamil influenced other languages like Latin and Greek, suggesting it might be the mother of all languages.  

The oldest written languages were discovered in clay tablets dating back 6,000 years. On these tablets were Hittite, Babylonian, and Sumerian written languages. Many of the oldest languages known to man are extinct, while some are still spoken today. 

These are the oldest languages that are now extinct include:

• Hurrian
• Palaic
• Egyptian
• Akkadian
• Elamite
• Hittite
• Mycenaean Greek

These are the oldest languages that are still spoken today:

• Sanskrit
• Greek
• Coptic Egyptian
• Hebrew
• Chinese
• Aramaic
• Arabic
• Persian (Farsi)
• Tamil
• Irish Gaelic

First Forms of Communication

Since man appeared on earth, there has always been some sort of communication used. However, the first methods consisted of disorganized movements or noises that could have had various meanings for each human. Only around three million years after mankind began to exist did the first intentional form of communication begin to appear. 

Primitive Art

Around 30,000 B.C.E., the first known primitive communication began to take form. Cave paintings are the first known intentionally manufactured form of communication between humans. They were first used by a species of man known as homo sapiens that came to exist around 130,000 B.C.E.

Homo sapiens used mixtures of fruits, berries, colored minerals, or animal blood to paint on cave walls. These paintings most often depicted animals which some scholars believe were used to identify which animals were safe to eat. Even today, we still find new information about how cave paintings were used and their meaning.

Music, Dance, and Smoke Signals. 

Before there were books, many civilizations used music and dance to pass down stories. Music wasn’t just used for telling stories, though. Drums were often used to notify neighboring tribes of events or concerns they thought should be shared. Different drum patterns meant different things, similar to how morse code is used. Like the drums, smoke signals were also used to try and signal other tribes. However, both of these forms of communication were not preferable because they could easily catch the attention of enemy tribes or predatory animals. 

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The first word ever spoken is a topic of much debate among linguists and historians. Some believe it to be a primal grunt or cry, while others argue that it was a more complex and sophisticated word. However, one thing is certain: the first word ever spoken had a profound impact on the development of language and communication as we know it today.

One theory is that the first word ever spoken was a simple cry or grunt, used to convey basic emotions and needs such as hunger, pain, or fear. This idea is supported by the fact that many animals, including primates, use similar vocalizations to communicate with one another.

Another theory is that the first word was a more complex and sophisticated word, possibly related to the concept of fire. Fire played a crucial role in early human societies, providing warmth, light, and a means of cooking food. It is believed that early humans may have developed a word to describe this important resource.

Despite the debate over the exact nature of the first word, it is clear that language and communication have evolved significantly over time. Today, we have a vast vocabulary and sophisticated language structures that allow us to express complex ideas and concepts.

In conclusion, the first word ever spoken is a mystery that may never be fully solved. However, its impact on the development of language and communication cannot be denied. Whether it was a primal cry or a more complex word, the first word ever spoken marked the beginning of a journey that has shaped the way we communicate with one another today.

Have you ever wondered what was the first word ever? If you have, then you’re not alone. Many people ask this question every day. It’s a great way to make sure you remember the basics. the first word ever uttered was “Aa,” which meant “Hey!” This was said by an australopithecine in Ethiopia more than a million years ago.

It is not possible to know with certainty what the first words spoken in human history were. Language is a complex and constantly evolving phenomenon, and the earliest forms of human language were likely very different from the languages spoken today.

There is evidence that humans have been using language for at least 50,000 years, and it is likely that the first words were simple and consisted of short, distinct sounds that conveyed basic concepts such as “food,” “water,” “danger,” and “friend.” However, language has become more complex and nuanced over time, with different languages developing different sounds, grammar rules, and vocabulary.

It is also important to note that the concept of “words,” as we understand them today, may not have been a part of the earliest forms of human language. For example, it is possible that early human language consisted of a combination of sounds, gestures, and other forms of communication, rather than discrete units of meaning that we recognize as words today.

In summary, it is impossible to know exactly what the first words spoken in human history were, as language has evolved and changed over time. However, it is likely that the earliest words were simple and conveyed basic concepts and needs.

Oldest Languages in Human History

It is difficult to determine the oldest language in human history with certainty, as language is a constantly evolving phenomenon and there is limited written evidence available from the earliest stages of human history.

Several languages are considered to be ancient and have a long history. Some examples include:

1. Sumerian: This language was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and is one of the oldest recorded languages in the world. It dates back to at least the 4th millennium BCE and has been written in cuneiform script on clay tablets.
2. Egyptian: The ancient Egyptian language is another ancient language with a long history. It was written in hieroglyphics, a system of writing using pictures and symbols, and is thought to date back to at least the 4th millennium BCE.
3. Sanskrit: Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-European language that was spoken in ancient India. It has a rich literary tradition and is considered one of the world’s oldest and most classical languages.
4. Hebrew: Hebrew is an ancient Semitic language that is still spoken today. It has a long and complex history and is considered one of the world’s oldest languages.

Mother

One of the most important functions of a mother is to teach her offspring to be obedient. The most efficient way to do this is to provide her with a solid set of bêtes noires. To this end, she is entrusted with a small but mighty army of humans. With that in mind, it is little surprise that one of her most favored offspring is the tiniest baby. It is with this in mind that the burgeoning momma may slack off on the task of educating her ward. She is thus tasked with the more mundane tasks of feeding, changing, and swaddling. While not a fan of this particular task, she is nonetheless a stalwart, albeit a rather small-sized one.

There is no denying that being a parent is a thankless task. This is especially true in a household where both parents are working ferociously to bring home the bacon and keep the tiniest little cherubs from tainting the homestead. But as with anything in life, there comes a time when a momma needs to get her head out of the sand for a bit. Luckily, there are plenty of online resources to turn to. Among them is a well-curated selection of a few mommy grads that will take your kids out for a nice long brunch in the best of company.

Bark

If you are looking for a way to monitor your child’s use of the internet, you might want to check out Bark. The app lets parents track their child’s activity and provides useful tips for chatting with their kids.

The app works by filtering the content and notifications on your child’s device so you know what they’re using and when. Users can also set up and edit screen time schedules and pause or restrict Internet use. You can also block problem phone numbers directly from your child’s device.

When you first install the app, you’ll be asked to connect an iOS device to a computer. Once you do that, it will walk you through the process of setting up the app. It will take about 30 to 45 minutes.

Among other things, the app will provide you with a list of apps your child has installed on their device. You can also choose to set up and edit schedules and even set up a minute-by-minute screen time schedule.

Another neat feature is that you can receive push notifications and emails. For example, you can set up a weekly summary report. This is a great way to check in on your child, especially if you’re not nearby.

Some of the app’s most popular features include parental alerts, which let you know when your kid is on the app. Other features include a filter for your router, which lets you limit the amount of time your kid spends online.

Spit

Spit is a word that is used to describe the act of forcibly ejecting saliva from the mouth. Saliva has enzymes that help break down food, making it easier for the tongue to taste. For example, without saliva, it would be difficult to swallow a grilled cheese sandwich.

Spit is derived from the Old English word spaetan. It has also been a synonym for a number of other words, including Swedish spits and German spies.

Historically, spitting was used to express disdain and to defend against an evil eye. It was a practice in Greece and Eastern Europe. Spitting is considered rude or a social taboo in some parts of the world.

Some believe that the origin of spit was the Biblical reference to another bodily fluid. Other writers argue that spit was an abbreviation of the spirit.

It is unclear when spit first started being used, although it is believed to have been around since at least the 16th century. However, there is some evidence that it originated from a French expression.

One study found that the meaning of some words was stable for over 15,000 years. This suggests that language is capable of surviving for centuries.

Although some of the most famous words in the English language are obvious, there are others that are not so well known. For example, spit is not one of the most common words in the language.

Yahweh

It is important to realize that God’s name is YHWH. This word is commonly written as Yahweh. However, the name ‘Yahweh’ is not the only way to write God’s name.

The first recorded use of the name ‘Yahweh’ appears in the book of Exodus. There, Moses hears God’s voice through the burning bush. As a result, he has to convince the Israelites that his mission is from God.

During biblical times, names were important. They could be used to define a person’s disposition and indicate their life goals. Moreover, names can be used to indicate who is related to whom.

When a name contains several vowels, it may be more difficult to pronounce. For example, the smallest letter of the Jewish consonantal alphabet is the Yod, which represents the name of Yahweh. In fact, the name Yahweh may not have proper pronunciation.

In addition to the name ‘Yahweh,’ there is also the name ‘Jehovah.’ Jehovah is derived from the divine name consonants’ Adonai, ‘ayin,’ ‘yah’, and ‘he’.

‘Jehovah’ is not a good translation of the name ‘Yahweh’, however. Many scholars believe that the word ‘Jehovah’ is incorrect. Instead, the correct pronunciation of the name ‘Yahweh’ can be found in the Greek and Hebrew texts.

The name ‘Yahweh’ was originally the name of a special god for Israelites. However, other Semitic peoples did not use the name ‘Yahweh’ for their gods.

However, as time went by, it became more common to use the name ‘Yahweh’ as the name of the God. As a result, several academic works regularly use the name ‘Yahweh’.

Contact on the Moon

During the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. It was a technological feat, one of the first successful soft landings in space, and a victory for mankind.

Armstrong uttered an immortal quote when he was about to walk off the Moon’s surface. Buzz Aldrin said it was “the first words ever spoken on the Moon.”

Whether or not he actually said it remains unclear. What’s certain is that Armstrong’s statement paved the way for subsequent astronauts to cite the same feat.

Despite Armstrong’s assertion that he was the first to say it, a few other astronauts have come out and said they had. One disputed that it was a true statement, while another thought that the government had mandated that the astronauts said the aforementioned statement.

Another astronaut, Pete Conrad, claimed to have been the first to say it. He bet a journalist $500 that he could prove it. However, a 45 rpm recording showed no such thing.

A more accurate claim is that it was the first word ever said on the Moon. The first recorded words were delivered by radio equipment supplied by Motorola, which was the range safety provider on the Saturn V rocket that lifted the Apollo 11 crew off the Earth and onto the Moon.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11’s lunar module, Eagle, touched down on the Moon, making the nation’s first known landing on the surface of another world. Two days later, the Apollo 11 astronauts returned safely to Earth.

Longest Word in a Dictionary

The longest word in a dictionary may be quite subjective. It depends on a number of criteria, such as length, orthography, and suffixes.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has 171,476 words in its current edition. A word may be considered long if it is longer than any other single word in the OED or composed of all the letters of the English alphabet.

Among the longest English words, there are medical terms, technical terms, and chemistry terms. For instance, the chemical name for the protein titin is METHIONYLTHREONYLTHREONYGLUTAMINYLARGINYL…ISOLEUCINE. This takes three and a half hours to pronounce, and its name is based on the Greek word for a small molecule.

Several scientific terms, including lamelligomphus and zoosporous, are very long. However, if the longest word in a dictionary is a scientific term, then it may not be considered a word in the dictionary.

Many languages, such as Finnish, produce infinitely long words. Some of these languages are agglutinative, which means that they are formed from jamming a few small words together to make a larger word.

Other languages, such as German, have a wealth of words for everything. A word in German can be infinitely long. Despite this, the longest German word is twyndyllyngs, which is the plural of the obscure 15th-century dialectical word for “twin”.

In contrast, the longest non-coined monosyllable word in the English dictionary is strength. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the word is 189,819 letters long.

FAQ’s

What was the first human word?

According to scholars, some of the oldest words are mother, bark, and spit. Continue to read The oldest known words are merely three of the 23 words, mother, bark, and spit, which scholars estimate to be 15,000 years old.

What was the 1st English word?

The initial word was absent. The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and other northern Europeans arrive in what is now England at various points during the 5th century. They may or may not have been able to comprehend each other because they were speaking different North Sea Germanic dialects.

Who started human?

Anatomically modern humans first appeared in Africa some 300,000 years ago, evolving from Homo heidelbergensis or a related species, spreading elsewhere, and eventually displacing or mating with the indigenous populations of archaic humans. The majority of human history was spent by nomadic hunter-gatherers.

What is the old name of human?

They gave it the moniker Homo habilis, designating it as the earliest extant real human species. According to the limited fossil evidence, H. habilis possessed a brain that was significantly bigger than an australopith’s and more similar to that of subsequent human species.

Who said the 1st word?

Aa, which stands for “Hey,” was the first word ever spoken, according to Wiki answers. More than a million years ago, an australopithecine in Ethiopia said these words.

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Published May 13, 2016 at 2:52 PM EDT

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On But Why we let you ask the questions and we help find the answers. One of the things that many of you are curious about is language. How we speak, why we speak and what we speak.

There are 7,097 living languages, according to people who study languages. These people are usually called linguists.

But that number is shrinking all the time because many languages have just a handful of speakers. So some linguists say there are really more like 6,000 spoken languages still around right now. But the bottom line is that language is part of what makes us human. So in this episode we focus on verbal communication.

«My question is: who invented words?» -Winlon, 6, Atlanta, GA

We turned Winlon’s question over to a guy named John McWhorter. He is a linguist who writes books and gives talks and teaches at Columbia University in New York City.

Credit Eileen Barroso / Columbia

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Columbia

«I think that most people who study language would say in terms of who invented the first words, it would have been the first people. And the first people who were exactly like us were in Africa, probably about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago. They would have been the ones who first came up with words for things and then they would have passed those on to their children, and that would have kept going to you and me.

«But what you’re really asking is how did they come up with the words. That’s a tough question because there are 6,000 languages in the world and they all have different words for things, and we can’t go back in time so we will probably never know what those first words were. Some people have said that it must have had to do with imitating the sounds that things make. That may work with some things, but most things don’t make sounds. It’s hard to say what would have lead people to come up with some kind of word like ‘sun’ or ‘tree,’ or something like ‘already’ or ‘maybe.’ It’s a mystery. We’ll never know why they came up with those words, but we know once they did, there seemed to have never been any more people who didn’t have any words.

Credit Photo courtesy Winlon’s mom.

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«Language changes all the time. Like the clouds in the sky are always moving, the sounds are always changing a little bit. The word ‘tree’ used to be pronounced more like ‘tray,’ but you might be hearing something more like ‘tree,’ so you’re going to grow up saying something in between. Then the person who listens to you talking and learns how to talk may say it more like ‘tree.’ Pretty soon, the word is ‘tree.’ The word changes bit by bit. If you imagine that happening to every word in every language all the time, you know why one language could never stay the way it was. It’s always inching along and changing to a new language.

«If you have a bunch of people and one bunch goes in one direction and one bunch goes in another, then not only are everyone’s languages changing, but languages change in all sorts of ways. Take all of those changes happening to every word all the time and it means that you’re going to get two different languages, one on one side of the mountain and one on the other side.»

«Why is the alphabet in the order that it is?» -Nephele, 8, Burlington, VT

Credit Photo courtesy Nephele’s mom.

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«The answer to this question is one that is just no fun. There is no reason. The order of the alphabet has never made any sense. All we know is that the people who invented the first alphabet put the letters in a certain order. When they passed those letters on to other people, and those people passed the letters on to us, we kept the letters in that order. «The best I can do is to say that x y and z are hanging down at the end because with the first alphabets you didn’t need an x or a y or a z. Those letters weren’t needed in the languages those people spoke, but as the alphabet got passed down to people speaking other kinds of languages, people wanted new letters: x, y and z were those letters.

«Even now x and z feel kind of strange. They are only in so many words, they are kind of the peculiar letters. They were invented later and it seemed natural to tack them on to the end.»  —John McWhorter, Columbia University

7097 languages means 7097 ways to say hello!  Listen to the full podcast to hear some of them.

Read the full transcript

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Updated 2022

Currently, about 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. While some of them are ancient, many of them of modern languages that evolved from older roots. The human language dates back to ancient times and evolved over the span of hundreds of thousands of years. But did you know that a mere 23 of the 7,000 dominate the world’s population?

The languages spoken today belong to different language families and their origins date back thousands of years ago. Researchers are still finding it difficult to pinpoint the oldest language in the world. However, the earliest written languages (literary language) and oldest texts on record are the cuneiform script that was discovered in Mesopotamia that dates back to the 8th millennium BC. The Sumerian script that started in the 3^rd millennium BC was developed for funerary inscriptions because the Sumerians were concerned about their afterlife.

For a long time, humans used primitive sounds and gestures as their means of communication. Our first words as a species would probably sound alien in our world today. Structured languages and written languages from the oldest texts were seen in scriptures that were written about 10,000 years ago. Linguists say that a language’s age should be determined by the first time it appeared in texts and its use in the present.

Since many official languages are thousands of years old, a number of ancient languages could be included in the list of the oldest languages in the world. Some of them are already extinct; other languages survived and still exist for a specific purpose, while others are still widely used, even if the number of speakers is drastically reduced.

Finding the Oldest Language in the World

In this post, we will explore the oldest languages and a little history behind each of them! Keep in mind that these languages are the ones that survived the test of time and are still spoken today and still in use, so it might not contain a concise collection of the world’s oldest languages. Here’s a look at the most fascinating ancient languages, some of which might have changed in many ways, and some that continue to captivate the human mind!

Latin

Inscriptions of the ancient language of Latin first appeared in 75 BC. There is also Old Latin that was used to communicate before this, a language that influenced numerous languages. Victors of many battles in wars that were waged on the Italian Peninsula throughout the middle ages spoke Latin. The Roman Empire elected to make Latin its formal spoken language, making it an important language in the world at that time.

Latin was the origin of all the other languages that form the Romance family of languages – Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, and Romanian and many words today, including a number of words in modern-day English. Latin is still around and spoken today. In a sense, it is the foundation of most European languages. It remains an official language in the Vatican and in Poland. Millions of people are still learning the language, although it is mainly taught as a course in higher education classes.

Armenian

Armenian belongs to the Indo-European language family. Its oldest surviving text and first written record is a translation of the Bible that was done in the 5^th century. Based on the latest texts that were found, the language likely started in 450 BC. Armenian is still a living language and its first language speakers are about 5 million. Speakers of Armenian are located in Iran, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine.

Korean

The Korean language is considered as one of the oldest languages in the world. It is a language isolate that came from Proto-Korean and Old Korean. It evolved further from Middle Korean to Modern Korean. Korean was used in ancient times during the period of the Three Kingdoms, where the Unified Silla was the most dominant. During the time China already had an influence on Korean and samples of Old Korean text used Chinese characters that were adapted to the existing Korean language at that time, making it difficult to decipher.

Middle Korean came into being around the 15^th century, and it used Hangul, the unique Korean characters that were developed by King Sejong the Great and his scholars as a means for written communication. More distinct is Modern Korean which was established in the 17^th century. It is now spoken in South Korea, North Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Japan, and China. It is also spoken today in several communities in the U.S. and other parts of the world. This is one of the reasons why Korean translation services are globally in demand.

Hebrew

The first book and written language of Hebrew script go back to 1000 BC. The language is more than 3,000 years old. It is an old Semitic language and is declared Israel’s official language. Hebrew was labeled a holy language because it was used mainly for religious texts. It disappeared for a time (from 200 CE to 400 CE) and people stopped using Hebrew for a while before it made a resurgence to become the written and spoken language of the Jewish community around the world again during the rise of Zionism in the 19th Century.

Modern Hebrew, however, isn’t generally referred to as the Hebrew language any longer. It is called either Israeli Hebrew or simply Israeli. Modern Hebrew was also the first official language of Palestine after the First World War. Today, it’s the one and only official language of Israel.

Aramaic

The Aramaic language donated plenty of words to the Arabic language and Hebrew language. It is also an influencer of Farsi. It made it to the list of some of the oldest languages in the world based on the diplomatic documents and written record that was used among Aramaic states from the 10^th century BC.

The various dialects of modern Aramaic are spoken in several countries today, such as Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and other countries in the West such as the United States, Australia, Europe, and Russia. Between 579,000 and 1,000,000 people speak Aramaic as their native language. During its long course of existence, Aramaic has served as a sacred language and was also the native language of various Semitics from the Near East.

Chinese

The first script that appeared with Chinese characters was from 1250 BC. Chinese started in the late Shang dynasty. Its writing system is more than 3,000 years old. Currently, it is the language with the most number of first language speakers. According to the latest data, about 1.2 billion speak Chinese as their first language in all its variations and dialects. Native speakers of Chinese are located in 37 republics across the globe. Although it can be subdivided into various different languages, Chinese dominates the modern stage of human language. The roots of Mandarin Chinese were traced back to 1250 BC and were found on oracle bones!

Archaic or Old Chinese was the language that was commonly used in the early to the middle parts of the Zhou Dynasty that existed from the 11^th to 7^th centuries BC. Evidence of Old Chinese texts were seen inscribed on artifacts made of bronze, in Shujing (Classic of History), Shijing (Classic of Poetry) poetry, and parts of the Yijing (Classic of Changes or I-Ching).

The development of the Chinese language took thousands of years and several dynasties to complete. Different forms of Chinese are spoken in different parts of China. Today, Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese are the most prominent forms of the language.

Greek

Greek made its first appearance in 1450 BC. About 13 million people live in the modern world Cyprus, Albania and Greece, and the Black Sea speak the ancient Greek language as their common language. Its long history makes Greek one of the oldest languages spoken in Europe. The first confirmed Mycenaean Greek runs back to 1450 BCE.

The Greek language has historical significance and played a key role in the evolution of Indo-European languages. The original versions of the epic poems Odyssey and Iliad were written in Greek. Many of the foundational documents in Western philosophy, like the works of Aristotle and Plato, logic and mathematics, astronomy, and other branches of science were originally captured in written form in Greek. Koiné Greek was used in writing the Christian Bible’s version of the New Testament.

Modern Greek is the national language in Cyprus and Greece as well as one of the official languages of the European Union. It is also an official language in the EU and the primary language of Greek communities around the world and in Turkey, Albania, and Italy.

Egyptian

The ancient Egyptian language is considered one of the 10 oldest languages in the world, as it is already about 4,700 years old. It is the oldest known language in Egypt. The first complete sentence in Ancient Egyptian traces back to 2690 BCE. Autobiographical writings found on walls of Egyptian tombs were said to be created around 2600 BC to 2000 BC. In Egypt, the language is the country’s oldest and most spoken language.

Proto language hieroglyphs that were found in the country, dates back about 600 years before the appearance of complete texts in Egyptian. A post from a temple gate in Philae that was recently discovered had hieroglyphics that were from the year 396 CE. It was also around this time that written records done in Tamil were found.

Egyptian is still in use today as the Coptic Church’s liturgical language.

Sanskrit

Linguists thought Sanskrit was very influential to several languages in Europe, including Farsi. They also believe that the language came from Tamil. Sanskrit, which is 4,000 years old (some say its 6,000 years of age), used to be the language of the classics in India. Sanskrit is still an official language in the Indian Peninsula despite its limited use as an everyday language today. Rigveda, which is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, is where the first and earliest examples of the language can be found.

Sanskrit, which is considered a sacred language, first appeared in 1500 BC and was hailed as the gods’ language. The principles of the language were used during the construction of the computer’s basic language. It consists of 49 letters and is spoken in Uttarakhand, in India’s Himalayan North. The language combines sound vibrations and is often used for mantra meditation in an area that is teeming with Hindu temples. Many people in India and beyond also use it as a second language.

Tamil

Tamil is the oldest language still in use today. By order of appearance, the Tamil language (part of the family of Dravidian languages) would be considered the world’s oldest living language as it is over 5,000 years old, with its first grammar book having made its first appearance in 3,000 BC. This member of the Dravidian family is probably the longest surviving language in the world and also the oldest written language.

Since Tamil is the oldest modern language, it definitely ranks high up on the list of the world’s 10 oldest languages. The literature collection in the Tamil language, which is a classical language, is very vast. Tamil literature and written script are also varied. Tamil is the oldest language of our modern time and is very much a living language and thousands of newspapers are still published in the language. This language is also recognized as the oldest language in the world. Many believe that Tamil dates back to 2500 BC.

It is still a very popular language, and many people speak it across various areas. It is also one of the official language in Singapore, Sri Lanka. In India, native speakers live in some 34 territories and states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Kerala, Delhi, Gujarat, Goa, and Assam.  It is believed that around 78 million people speak Tamil.

Is There A Simple Answer to this Complex Question?

Numerous languages could still make it to this list. The Arabic language, for example, came about 512 CE and is spoken in several countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Syria, and North Africa. Arabic is also the foundation of many English words and phrases. Old Persian and the modern Persian language, which is equally as important as Arabic, can easily be added to this category too.

Lithuanian is another old language that has some similarities to Sanskrit and Farsi. It is still spoken by more than three million people in Europe, Australia, and Canada. Many European languages can also be considered ancient. Like Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic, which date back to the Bronze Age and the 4th century AD.

And what about the extinct Sumerian language? Should it be disregarded in this race since it is no longer spoken?  Even though it was the origin of most of the Tamil words and new language? There’s also Icelandic, which dates back to the 10th Century and has been shaped by many cultures across the world. Then there’s also the unique Basque, which has no connection to any other living language. Yet the language dates back to prehistoric Europe.

Final Thoughts

It is actually difficult to determine which languages are the oldest. Several linguistic scholars lament the scarcity of evidence to make concrete conclusions. With so many languages all vying for a position in the top ranks of the ancients, pinpointing an exact winner would be nearly impossible.

Finding the one language that outdates them all might seem like a never-ending quest. But learning more about the foundations of human language sure is fascinating! We reckon it’s high time research scholars let us in on the best answer here!

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