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The First & Oldest Languages Ever Spoken: Origins of Human Communication
Buckle up! It's time to go back in time and find out what is the oldest living language on Earth.
There are 7,168 living languages in the world today. Out of these, a third are now endangered. And out of this third, many have less than 1,000 speakers remaining. But what is the oldest of them? What are the oldest languages in the world? What did the first words our ancestors spoke sound like?
As new evidence resurfaces every day, we can’t yet know what’s the first language ever spoken. But linguists and historians agree that these are the oldest languages in the world:
- Akkadian
- Arabic
- Aramaic
- Chinese
- Egyptian
- Elamite
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hittite
- Hurrian
- Irish Gaelic
- Latin
- Mycenaean Greek
- Palaic
- Sanskrit
- Sumerian
- Tamil
Languages have always been fascinating because of the role they played as one of the pillars of civilization on Earth. Imagine a world where beings don’t communicate. What does that world look like? It’s unimaginable. Languages have shaped humanity for ages and continue to do so even today. They are fluid and in a continuous evolution. But their timeless metamorphosis makes it hard for historians and linguists to determine what are the oldest languages in the world.
What was the first language on Earth?
We only know what history tells us. And history says the first spoken language appeared 10,000 years ago. But we can never know for sure because no one was there to confirm. So there is only one way to judge the age of a language: by the earliest proof of its written form. However, this still remains guesswork, as it’s always possible that archaeologists might discover something new tomorrow. Something that could change history as we know it. Furthermore, these ancient languages were surely in use long before they were written in stone or on papyruses. But for how long? It remains a mystery.
Needless to say, the first human languages were likely simple, consisting of basic sounds and gestures used to communicate basic survival needs such as food, water, and shelter. Over time, these early languages evolved and diversified as human societies grew more complex and began to engage in trade, agriculture, and other activities.
While we may never know for sure what the first human language was, current research suggests that language has been a fundamental part of the human experience for thousands of generations and that it continues to evolve and adapt to our changing world.
Ancient languages: the oldest dead languages on Earth
Ancient languages typically refer to old extinct languages that no longer have any speakers. A dead language, on the other hand, is “one that is no longer the native language of any community”, even if it is still in use, like Latin.
The archaeological proof we have today allows us to state that the oldest dead language in the world is the Sumerian language. 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.
Sumerian was gradually replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language around 2000 BC, but it continued to be used as a literary, ceremonial, scientific and sacred language until the 1st century AD. Unknown to the modern world until the 19th century when Assyriologists began deciphering its cuneiform inscriptions, written Sumerian can be divided into several time periods: Archaic Sumerian (31st–26th century BC), Old or Classical Sumerian (26th–23rd century BC), Neo-Sumerian (23rd–21st century BC), Late Sumerian (20th–18th century BC) and Post-Sumerian (after 1700 BC).
Other ancient languages that are now extinct are:
- Hurrian – oldest proof of written Hurrian dates back to the 21st century BC;
- Palaic – attested in cuneiform tablets in Bronze Age Hattusa – circa the 16th century BC;
- Egyptian – its earliest known complete written sentence has been dated to about 2690 BC;
- Akkadian – first attested texts from around the mid-3rd-millennium BC;
- Elamite – the earliest Elamite writings use a pictographic script and date from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC;
- Hittite – the oldest known text in the Hittite language was written by Anitta, a king that reigned in the 17th century BC;
- Mycenaean Greek – the most ancient attested form of the Greek language with the earliest writings dating back to 1450 BC.
10 oldest living languages in the world
The same as everything else in the world, languages have a life cycle. They are born, then grow, sometimes mutate and eventually die. Still, there are languages on Earth that have been on people’s lips for thousands of years and continue to exist to this day.
Here are some of the oldest languages in the world still spoken today.
Sanskrit (cc. 3500 years old)
First attested: 2nd millennium BC
Spoken in: India
Current number of speakers: 5 million
Sanskrit was the lingua franca of ancient and medieval India and the first written record of it can be found in Rigveda, a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns.
Although many believe Sanskrit to be an extinct language, 24,800 people have registered Sanskrit as their mother tongue at the 2011 census. Additionally, it continues to be used as a ceremonial and ritual language in Hinduism and some Buddhist practices.
Greek (cc. 3400 years old)
First attested: 1450 BC.
Spoken in: Greece, southern Italy
Current number of speakers: 13 million
Greek was also mentioned in the “extinct languages” category because Mycenaean Greek is the precursor of Modern Greek. Thus, it’s debatable whether the Greek language we speak today is indeed 3400 years old or not. However, since its roots lie in Mycenaean Greek, we can all agree that Greek is indeed one of the oldest living languages in the world.
The Greek language holds an important place in history thanks to its rich literature that includes epic poems such as Iliad and Odyssey. Additionally, Greek is also the language in which many of the fundamental works in astronomy, mathematics, logic and philosophy (the Platonic dialogues and the works of Aristotle) are composed.
Coptic Egyptian (cc. 2200 years old)
First attested: 2nd century BC
Spoken in: Egypt
Current number of speakers: unknown
Sometime in the 2nd century BC, Egyptian began to be written in the Coptic alphabet (an adaptation of the Greek alphabet), so the Coptic language can be considered the latest stage of the Egyptian language.
Unfortunately, the language will probably soon become extinct since there are only a few people left in the world who continue to use Coptic as their day-to-day vernacular.
Hebrew (cc. 3000 years old)
First attested: 10th century BCE
Spoken in: Israel
Current number of speakers: 9.3 million
The earliest known precursor to Hebrew is the Khirbet Qeiyafa inscription in Ancient Hebrew discovered in 2007, near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, 30 km from Jerusalem.
The fascinating thing about Hebrew is that it had ceased to be an everyday spoken language somewhere between 200 and 400 AD. Then, it continued to be used throughout the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature and poetry. Nevertheless, with the rise of Zionism in the 19th century, it was revived as a spoken and literary language, becoming the main language of the Jewish community and subsequently of the State of Israel.
Chinese (cc. 3200 years old)
First attested: 1250 BC
Spoken in: mainly China, but also other countries around the world
Current number of speakers: 1.3 billion
Old Chinese is the oldest attested stage of Chinese and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BC, during the late Shang dynasty.
Aramaic (cc. 3100 years old)
First attested: 11th century BC
Spoken in: the Middle East and Western Asia
Current number of speakers: cc. 2 million
During its approximately 3,100 years of history, Aramaic has served as a language of divine worship and religious study, administration of empires and as the mother tongue of a number of Semitic people from the Near East.
Historically, Aramaic was the language of the Arameans, the Semitic-speaking people from the region between the northern Levant and the northern Tigris valley.
Arabic (cc. 2800 years old)
First attested: 1st century BC
Spoken in: there are 25 countries that have Arabic as an official or co-official language
Current number of speakers: 335 million
Old Arabic is the ancestor of the Arabic language and it is believed that its earliest inscription is a prayer to the three gods of the Transjordanian Canaanite kingdoms dated to the early 1st millennium BC.
Persian (Farsi) (cc. 2500 years old)
First attested: 522 – 486 BC
Spoken in: Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Russia, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan
Current number of speakers: 65 million
The ancestor of Farsi or Persian is Old Persian, a language that is first attested in the inscriptions of Darius I who ruled between 522 and 486 BC.
Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran, Romania, Armenia, Bahrain, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. However, the most important attestation by far is the Behistun Inscription which is a multilingual inscription that was crucial to the decipherment of cuneiform script because it includes three versions of the same text, written in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a variety of Akkadian).
Tamil – the oldest language in the world?
First attested: widely debated; proposals range between 5320 BC and the 8th century CE
Spoken in: India
Current number of speakers: 83 million
The earliest Tamil writing is attested in inscriptions and potsherds from the 5th century BC. However, with the discovery of Tolkāppiyam, the most ancient Tamil grammar text and the oldest surviving work of Tamil literature, scholars began to debate the true age of Tamil. The author of Tolkāppiyam often mentions “they say so” (or something similar) indicating a rich grammar and literature tradition even before him. Naturally, linguists began to wonder whether we should be dating the Tamil language at least a couple of thousand years before Tolkāppiyam.
Unfortunately, at the moment there is no archaeological evidence to support this claim, so experts stick to the original findings.
Irish Gaelic (1500 years old)
First attested: 4th century AD
Spoken in: Ireland
Current number of speakers: 1.2 million users
The earliest Irish Gaelic writings date to the 4th century AD, in the form of the linear Ogham scripts, in a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish. Then, Primitive Irish transitioned into Old Irish through the 5th century. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words and by the 10th century, it evolved once again into Middle Irish, which was spoken throughout Ireland and in Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Starting in the 12th century, Middle Irish began to develop into Modern Irish in Ireland, Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and the Manx language in the Isle of Man. However, from the 18th century on, the language began to lose ground. But we should ask Claire and Jamie Fraser to tell us more about this story, shouldn’t we?
Having embarked upon an enlightening journey through the realm of both living and ancient languages, let us now revisit the garnered wisdom.
What are the oldest languages still spoken today?
The oldest languages still spoken today are Tamil, Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew, Chinese, Arabic, Coptic Egyptian, Aramaic and Persian.
What are the 5 oldest European languages?
The five oldest European languages are: Greek, Latin, Basque, Lithuanian and Irish Gaelic. Although Latin is considered a dead language, many still study Latin and even speak it fluently.
How many languages are there in the world?
According to Ethnologue, there are 7,168 living languages in the world today.
Why is it important to preserve endangered languages?
Preserving endangered languages is important because they are vital to cultural preservation and identity. When a language disappears, it often takes with it a unique perspective of the world, including knowledge about traditions, stories, medicinal practices and more.
Moreover, endangered languages offer useful insight into linguistics and cognitive science while also contributing to linguistic diversity. All languages, no matter how big or small, offer unique perspectives and ideas about the world we live in.
What is the most widely spoken language in the world now?
The most widely spoken language in the world is Mandarin Chinese with 920 million native speakers. However, if you count both native and non-native speakers, English is the most spoken language with 1.5 billion speakers.
What can we learn from studying the world's oldest languages?
Studying the world’s oldest languages gives us a glimpse into our past, offering insights into the evolution of human communication, social organization, and cultural practices. It allows us to follow the pathways of early human migrations, as the characteristics of languages often bear the marks of historical events and shifts.
Furthermore, as living repositories of human history and wisdom, they also preserve ancient technology, environmental relationships, and philosophical ideologies.
Essentially, exploring ancient languages deepens our understanding of our journey on Earth and the diverse methods we have found to express our thoughts, experiences, and ideas.
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Tamil is said to be 5000 years old. Only 5% of archaeological survey in India and only 17% to 20% archaeological excavation work done in keezhadi. Even in that the result says that each and every person in ancient Tamil Nadu, keezhadi had literated. In sankrit Veda some of the Tamil words and tamil saint Agathiar is mentioned. In Sanskrit skanda purana the writer vyasar says that tamil is born in podhigaimalai and we’re developed by saint Agathiar. When Agathiar is lived back 5000 years ago. Yes the written script found in 20% of excavation shows that Tamizh is 2500 years but it is surely said that is born before 4000 to 5000 years ago.
I am Tamil. It’s sad to see Tamil people keep saying Tamil is the oldest all the time, without knowing what facts we have to support this claim. They are totally unaware of the evidences.
They aren’t saying Tamil isn’t old. They say there are no archaeological proof for that. We don’t have any literary works found, which is older than 2300 years. Oldest written pieces we have got is tholkapiyam, written in 3rd century bc. All these “TAMIL is 5000 years old” speculations are purely based on the stories mentioned in the literary works. Just like how plato described Atlantis in his books and now we are searching for it. They are explaining based on the evidences. If you say Tamil is the oldest of all, and if you say Kumari kandam existed, only you have to prove it. There’s no solid evidence for that. At least we haven’t discovered such evidences if they exist. “Don’t just say Tamil is the oldest without proof”. No offence. We don’t have evidence to support the age mentioned in books of Tamil literature. That’s the truth.
Tamil is oldest language. It’s mother of all languages
The oldest in the world is basque!! Look at these words izarra in basque means star if you divide the word izan to be and ra the god ra it mean the god than come from start, sumeria divide word su fire mer could be mum ia come from basque herria than means country how many countries finish in ia germania Italia hispania franca and more, another prehistoric word aizkora come from harri rock in basque axe in English because was made axe from rock not metal we know its from prehistoric times basque people are come from different species because just positive blood come africa most of basque have negative blood
The Albanian language is the old one
Congrats!
My own written research since 2013 and in illustration art form proves without doubt that Gaelic is the oldest language in the world and the original spoken on The Isles of Britain and Ireland. It arrived from West Africa by boat and its words are original from the Jungle. Lets not confuse this with an evolved State Irish ( commenced 1923). My evidence shows that Gaelic ( language of the boat people) was spoken albeit in primitive form before the arrival of the Celts and became subsumed into the language of the Celts but continued to remain to be known as Gaelic and its words still predominate in what is spoken as Irish today.
No tamil is the oldest language in the world
@John Allen Tamil is oldest. Its not just old but mother of all languages.
1. koreans basically speak tamil words
2. remote cameroon village kids speaks tamil ( video is done by BBC nova)
3. Tamil words in japanese and mandarin.
Its not old when only few 100 speak. Click language probably older in that sense. Copying nature sound is hunter gatherers way.
Half the english words are tamil root words. Here is an example. Mediterrain. Peninsula
Medu (mound-> also came from medu – above ground) +tharai (ground)
Peninsula – This one took some brilliant brain to crack this. Pen in sula. Pregnant woman. One side body rest in water.
Strangest name is an animal called MARSUPIAL. This animal is not in india. How it has tamil word? Mar – chest Supial – sucking,.
There are many many many english words are tamil words. Start with ONE. Onru.<- tamil word
Tamil is the oldest language in the world because for an language grammar book is an regulation work and it will regulate the language we speak so tamil grammar “thol kaapiyam” is more than 5000 years old. So before that the language must be evolved.
Tamil
Yes i agreed
Tamil is the oldest of all. Hypothetical what if “Kumari Kandam” is infact Atlantis.
Dear Friends,
Mother of language “Tamil”
One and only Tamil is the oldest language in the world..!!
Cheer’s 😊
Except for Australian indigenous languages that have been spoken for up to 60000 years?
it’s real. But some bodies can not understand this opinion.
Old bulgarian a.k.a Old church slavonic is the oldest slavic language and the ancestor of all slavic languages spoken today.
Tamil is the oldest language
Slavic oldest
Tamil is the very oldest language in the world
Kannada is been spoken 400 Ce,We have old Kannada,Middle age Kannada,Today it is modern Kannada spoken widely.The oldest language in the world Age 2500 years derived from Tamil but sanskrtized,it is second language of the Dravidians.
Sorry you have wrong notion on Sanskrit which is not belong to Dravidian languages….Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu and kodagu are the languages of Dravidian family….
The debate becomes which one to be oldest among the oldest languages now.
Tamil is undeniably proven with its evidence of first notable one. Its a ‘grammar’ text, with oldest extant long work of its literature alone.
Relate it!. As this one as first book of evidence, which is a grammer test ‘Thoilkappium’!. Then, language could have been original spoken with minimum of 2000 years before the text.
Conclusion: Tamil is the oldest of all!
Tamil is the oldest language
There are sunkan construction off the east coast of Tamilnadu, which were unearthede by S.E.S. of England and N.I.O. of Indian. Dr.Glen Milne after thorough reasearch says it went down before 11,000 years, after the end of last ice age, due to melt water. These construction are there within five kilometers from the coast, at the depth of 120 to 150 feet. Actually Tamil civilisation is an ice age civilisation. Archeological evidence that you were asking is available under water for the full length Tamilnadu east coast and at sounth of capecomorin.
Tamil words are find many languages of world.anakonda is a Tamil word yanaikodan.
Tamil is oldest language .
Above mentioned image temple is also builded by Tamil king.
Sanskrit is not a speaking language but it only use that prayer time of Hindu temple.
Superb
Kannada older than Tamil
😂 😂 😂Kannada is derived from tamil
🤭
The oldest language in the world is unknown to humans. You guys should stop stressing yourselves.
Soooo right! + without any real scientific account nor proof .
Archaeological survey is going on in keeladi, adichanallur and kuthavai… Its dates back to 1145 bc….. But sankrit don’t have standard evidence to proved oldest language only the showing vedas 5000years without standard evidence…..hence sankrit taking words from prakrit and palli
lithuanian!!
The oldest language spoken in the world is the language of love! Period.
This is the language parents speak with their children.
Very well said, Rakesh ❤️
Yes Rakesh you are absolutely correct✅
over smart answer.
Ah, Rakesh, that is nice.
Who said dump tamil,tamil is the 1st oldest langue in world,it has the world’s first grammer book.
Oldest language is sanskrit language of gods
Definitely Tamil is older language, but all languages are great only. In the below video by APJ Abdul Kalam, the then president of India addresses the European parliament and says a line from Tamil poet with the president himself stating it is 3000 years before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE4azJ-wro4
There is a very old saying in Tamil “Kal thondri Man thondraa kaalam mun thondriya Tamil” which means Tamil existed even before creation. But all languages have their own sweetness and charm. So comparing them is not correct. All languages are great to their native speakers. Please dont fight in the name of language. Language is a mode of communication. Before God all languages are equal.
Although I haven’t made so much deep a research, but I believe no man living can accurately tell which language it is the was first spoken and still been used today.
If we believe God speaks, then HE is the source of all information about the oldest language ever spoken before and after creation.
Albanian “Gegnisht” explains words that no other language can explain.
Tamil is the oldest language in earth. A 7100+ years Tamil language was spoken by everyone still exist.
Agathiyar was lived before 5,000+ years and he is a one of the famous writer in yearly past. After this the Tamil language was one of the most oldest language in the world.
John Allen
At the end of Mahabharata war, a lot of South Indians (who supported the Kaurau (or Kuru) Family (who lost the war against the Pandawas)) went to the North East Africa and Middle East. There are a lot of Tamil words in the African languages. Mahabharata (Sanskrit was popular in the North India) was around 5000 years ago. Around 3000 years ago, India had universities and people from many countries near and far came to study there!!!
Brittonic (Welsh) has to be one of the oldest and.up there in the top 10 , the Irish will say Gaelic but Welsh Brythonic was around the same time and definitely spoken as documented by the Romans invasion of Britain . The Welsh are the Britons this has been proven through DNA and why our language is the strongest Celtic derived language in the world today ! Diolch yn fawr
افض طريقة لمعرفة اول لغة تحدث بها البشر هي البحث عن بقاياه في اللغات الاخرى . ابحث عن الكلمات و المصطلحات و الارقام … و
. ستكتشف ان اول لغة تحدث بها الانسان الادمي
هي اللغة العربية 🤔
There are 2 interpretations: “Oldest dead language in the world is the Sumerian language. 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.”
Oldest living language in the world, most likely Tamil.
🙏संस्कृत भाषा सबके जननी है🙏
Tamil (தமிழ்) is the oldest and living language in the world with no religion involved. Very strong grammar and more influence in other global languages.
Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge on the origins of languages. What a great learning experience.
Welsh is older than Irish. They evolved from the same language too and have roots back 4000 years.
The oldest language is spoken on the oldest continent in Africa, called bantu language. From witch the indigenous who went to Australia and amazoni have few similarities in they language.
Pls check out some videos in youtube that many tribes and villages in Africa speak their indigenous languages with so many Tamil words in it..the language which came out of Africa itself was Tamil and Tamil.civilization existed in Lemuria that connected Madagascar, Australia and India…Thus u can also.find Tamil words from indigenous people of Australia also.
Current estimates of Australia’s original inhabitants are around 65,000 years. One assumes they were not mute, so claiming languages 5,000 – 6,000 years old as world’s oldest are clearly nonsense. First Nation Australians still exist and should be recognised in discussions about “oldest languages”.
Actually, Ancient Australian people, Madagaskar, South India which was connected by Land called Lemuria kandam(Continent). Actually, It’s original name was “Kumari Kandam” those details was found on our Tamil Literature and that kumari kandam was destroyed and fall under ocean by “Big Tsunami” and The important thing is peoples who lived in Kumari kandam was Ancient Tamil People. That why? those literatures are found in Tamil and Tamil poet. During those regular Tsunami’s people were splitted to different directions like, Australia, Africa(Madagaskar), South India. If you ask proof? It is still there under the Indian Ocean. Hope! You understand, Brother
Language is a tool to communicate not only thoughts but also emotions. It evolved from signs, sounds, symbols to what we speaking today, like same as how we humans evolved from reptiles, mammals. We don’t argue which species is oldest because we don’t care, as humans (we) a are evolved. The same is for language, each language has its contribution to the development of human civilization. We wouldn’t developed this much if all the humans speak the one language. Each language is developed in different environment by different civilization and each has its own rich heritage, beauty and culture. We are had interest knowing about other civilization, language and history. If we had the same culture and language, we all become bored. We all love arabic songs, african drumbeat and chinese recipes and kungfu. This diversity is what makes this world a even beautiful place. Just learn about each others and cherish (like we love each others food) and fascinate how our ancestor lived and contributed to our development. Unity is what helped our ancestors succeed in every place.So the same for us.
Very well said! ❤️
Love this thought bubble, well said
Guys! I just give an Example Why Tamil(Tamizh) is the Oldest Language in the World. In Ancient Tamil there is no Religion only they Pray with Nature. Nature are considered as God. Just Imagine, In that period Tamil Civilization was already present but, they worship Nature as God!. Actually we had the Trusted Information but, Evidence was lying under the Soil on our Tamilnadu and also on under the Indian Ocean.
I am from Tamilnadu and had opportunities to study and get all information regarding the oldest and continuously spoken language of the in the world-i.e Tamil for more than seven decades!.
It’s origin is of course is from central Africa and people from there gradually moved from there and spread east thru’ Sumer,Elam and Persia to India.The so called Giraaft culture believed to be more than 8000 years old is believed to be an earlier indication of people who migrated
to India.The Mohenjo Daaro and Harappa
(Hariuppiah)and Dholavira excavations and the artifacts found therein are all indication of the so called Dravidian culture and while their scripts are not deciphered so far now for lack of a “Rosetta stone”,there are sufficient linguistic evidences in the form of spoken language in those area(North east of ancient India) that is BRAHUI language which is spoken in those areas has so many Tamil words in their vocabulary and can be indicative of a proto Tamil tongue.
Roughly speaking,the Harappan civilisation is believed to be 3000-5000B.C which is yet to be confirmed by archaeological digs.In Tamil country itself,the present day digs at Keezhadi,
Adhichanallur and Poompuhar there are indications that they can be dated to more than 2000BC!.
All these are indicators that Tamil & various associate Dravidian languages
Could be oldest spoken tongue in the world.
No one is denying Tamil is the oldest.
But, logically, OBVIOUSLY its not. I don’t think we will ever get to know the first ever proper language on earth. There has to be a language way before everything we have ever heard of. Something in the beginning of human evolution. There is no way but a time machine to find out what the first language on the planet was.
right
Tamil is oldest language
Tamil is olders language birth of Tamil language, where ancent Hindu civilization. Which 7000BC to 3000BC . So Tamil 3000BC oldest even Base on the small 10% research done, it is olders language,
there were grammar developed as well
the first language is that of our thoughts. or that of nature. or the universe. or that of nothing at all.
over smart
I found the division of languages very interesting and enlightening… I wasn’t aware languages was even a topic that was so paramount to everyday living and survival…Languages are truly potentially a big way of determining how long we’ve lived…
I’ve always wondered how long we’ve truly lived even though we have many hypothesis that we’ve been taught in school…It’s the same with the wondrous efforts we consistently have to find the answers of many hypothesized items we’ve been tolerating for years… SPACE, THE OTHER FRONTIERS WE CONTINUE
to understand for eons of decades…
I give proof ….come on tamil nadu…your see first temple…temple write tamil language….tamil first language World…
Chera, Chola, Pandya NADAR!!
Tamil is the oldest language in the world. And Tholkappiyam book of Tamil is not just a Tamil grammar book, it also explains how humans should live. It is the first book in human history which explained the list of Six senses.
Marathi is oldest language and is Mother-Father of all languages.
No doubt that – Tamil is the oldest language in the world. But the problems is – there are so many restrictions for Tamils to bring out their history evidence to this world. Only 24,000 Tamil stone inscriptions are documented, still more than 40,000 historical Tamil stone inscriptions are not documents in India. There is so mush opposition to bring out true history of Tamils. But people out side of India think; we Tamils – are being supported by government, which is not true.
Where is tulu
கல் தோன்றி மண் தோன்றா காலத்தே முன் தோன்றிய மூத்த குடி தமிழ் குடி..தமிழ் வாழ்க! தமிழ் குடி வாழ்க! Tamil is mother language of everything she is your mother and my mother evidence is kumarikandam if all researchers research about it means every one knows the truth search about kumarikandam in browser.
Tamil is mother language of everything she is your mother and my mother evidence is kumarikandam if all researchers research about it means every one knows the truth search about kumarikandam in browser.
Hi Diana, that was really interesting! I just want to point out that The people who currently speak Persian are 110 millions not 65 millions and also Arabic language is about 2000 years old (1 CE).
I think most of the commenters, including the authors of this article, are not in current of newly found multidisiplinary scientific facts. More than 30 scientists published on July 2023 the results of their studies in different fields related to very first sources of indoeutopean languages. They base them on linguistic, archeolog8c and ADN analyses that fit and supporto perfectly eact other. The first two oldest languages are now dead ones. The third one is the Albanian language, followed by Armenian (both of them are still living languages), and then by the Ancient Greek, that is is a dead language.
Everyone interested can find this article in the prestigious SCIENCE.
Tamil is NOT the mother language of many many languages. The question which language is the oldest is a silly one. All languages have ancestors going back to mitochondrial Eve, as all human ‘races’ have. Some have changed more than others; Greek is closer to ancient Greek than English is to proto-Germanic, Lithuanian is only relatively recently attested but more conservative than e.g. Danish or Dutch. But of course if you have an old and rich language like Tamil you have every reason to be proud of its tradition without resorting to mythology or absurd ancestry claims…
Sanskrit and Tamil first and oldest languages in world
Age aint nothin but a number everybody..😁..though its when letters become numbers ( & vice versa)in an equation that answers a question triggering more questions having answers possible once another equations numerical factors are then converted alphabetically from acceptable/agreeable result proving rights’ left is following lefts’ right😅…🤔..👁️❤️U.. 🤗
There was a time when humans made up words to simplify living with other humans.