Top 10 Oldest Languages in the World
Top 10 Oldest Languages in the World, Languages are a powerful force in the human world. They help us communicate, shape our beliefs and build societies. Without them, there would be no civilizations, no cultures, and no humankind.
There are hundreds of languages in the world, and some are more ancient than others. In this article, we’re taking a look at the top 10 oldest languages in the world and their fascinating histories.
Aramaic
Aramaic is the world’s oldest language, stretching back over 3000 years. It is a Northwest Semitic language that is related to Hebrew, Phoenician, and Ugaritic. Aramaic is one of the top 10 oldest languages in the world.
Its initial appearance is estimated to have occurred about the 11th century BCE. Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians all made extensive use of it. For millennia, it was the Fertile Crescent’s lingua franca. It eventually replaced Akkadian as the major language of communication in this region.
Chinese
Chinese, also known as Mandarin, is a language spoken in Asia and belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. It is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, with over a billion speakers.
The majority of Chinese words are formed from native Chinese morphemes. But direct phonetic borrowing of foreign words is common. This process is called romanization.
Greek
It’s no secret that languages play an important role in our world. They shape culture and civilization, and they can die out or mutate in interesting ways.
One language that continues to be spoken today is Greek, which has been around for over 4000 years. Read on to learn more about the language and its history.
Tamil
Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world, having emerged around 3000 BC. It is a Dravidian language and is widely spoken in India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.
The language is agglutinative, meaning it adds suffixes to stems to form words and express grammatical functions. It also has well-defined rules for elision. Which reduces the duration of sounds that come before or after a phoneme.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit is considered to be the oldest language in the world. It is an early ancestor of the Indo-Aryan languages. Which are a branch of the larger Indo-European language family.
The classical literature of Sanskrit is vast and covers four aims of human life known as Purusharthas which are Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
Arabic
Languages have a life cycle, changing and transforming throughout time. They are a fascinating and integral part of our culture.
Arabic is a Semitic language that originated in the Arabian peninsula. Arabic has since become the primary language of the Middle East and North Africa. It is spoken by about 290 million people worldwide.
Persian
Persian, also called Farsi, is an Indo-Iranian language that emerged in 525 BC in ancient Iran. It is now the lingua franca of the Middle East and Central Asia. It is the official language of Iran and Afghanistan.
It is one of the oldest and most influential languages in the world. It has a rich and diverse culture that produces major epics. And Sufi poets, exquisite miniature paintings, fine carpets, and world-class films.
German
German, or Deutsch (pronounced DAH-choo), is the official language of Germany and Austria. It is also spoken in Switzerland and parts of Belgium.
The language has a long history and is a member of the West Germanic group of the Indo-European family of languages. It is closely related to English, Frisian, and Dutch.
Dutch
Dutch is a West Germanic language that originated in Flanders, grew up in Brabant, and matured in the Netherlands. During the 16th century, it became the lingua franca of the Netherlands.
Grammar in Dutch is similar to that of other West Germanic languages. Such as Standard and Low German, but there are some differences. Most importantly, there is a distinction between weak and strong verbs, inherited from Proto-Germanic.
Greek
The Greek language is the oldest attested living Indo-European language. It has a long history and is spoken by over 12 million people around the world today, especially in Greece, Cyprus, Albania, and the Black Sea region.
It has also influenced several other languages including French, Italian, and English. Its roots are widespread and can be found in 60 percent of English words.
Above mention languages are top 10 oldest languages in the world.