Ask ten linguists what the oldest language in the world is, and you’ll get tens of different answers. That’s because the “oldest language” is not an agreed-upon term to begin with.
Indeed, what are we talking about? Oldest written record? Or oldest still spoken today? As you may have guessed, there are many definitions, and each one leads to a different answer.
So, if you’re curious about this topic, you’re on the right place. This guide will walk through what we already know about it!
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Key Takeaways
- Sumerian generally holds the title of oldest written language in the world, with the cuneiform writing records dating back from 3400 to 3200 BCE.
- Linguists have managed to date ancient languages using several methods such as epigraphy, radiocarbon dating, and comparative linguistics.
- The “Oldest language” topic is generally divided into two categories: oldest written record and oldest language still spoken today, and they rarely share the same answer.
- Tamil, Chinese, Greek, and Basque are old languages all still spoken today, despite roots stretching back thousands of years.
What Does “Oldest Language In The World” Actually Mean?
Talking about the oldest language in the world usually means two things. We’re either talking about the oldest surviving written records of a language, or the oldest language still spoken today in some recognizable form.
And of course, written and spoken language are not the same thing.
Indeed, a language can be old and extinct, like Sumerian, or old and still spoken, like Tamil, Greek, or Chinese.
But here again, a question arises: does a language need to survive intact, or can it evolve and still be considered the same language?
How Do Linguists Tell How Old A Language Is?
To determine how old an ancient language is, linguists rely on a few methods.
For example, epigraphy, the scientific study of writings, estimates a text’s age from its script style, the material used, and the various archaeological components around it.
Similarly, radiocarbon dating can reveal the age of the organic material a text sits on, like wood, bone, or parchment.
On the other hand, comparative linguistics reconstructs how related languages likely diverged over time by studying them in depth and determining shared patterns.
So, for linguists, studying how old a language is actually means studying everything that revolves around it. This helps create correlations and draw conclusions that confirm when they were written and used.
Which Language Has The Oldest Written Records?
The title of the “oldest written language” typically goes to Sumerian.
According to the British Museum, the cuneiform script was first developed by Sumerian scribes in the city of Uruk (in today’s Iraq) originally as a bookkeeping tool for tracking consumable goods. The earliest tablets found by archaeologists date to roughly 3400 to 3200 BCE.
Later, the cuneiform script also went on to record tax, law, poetry, and traditions, and stayed in active use for more than 3,000 years before fading out by the first century CE.
Is Egyptian An Old Language?
Another well-known ancient language that comes right after the Sumerian language is Egyptian. Hieroglyphs, the symbols used to write Egyptian, first appeared around 3250 BCE and had an impressively long run.
The last known hieroglyphic inscription is the graffiti of Esmet-Akhom carved by a priest at the Philae temple in 394 CE.
But unlike Sumerian, the ancient Egyptian language didn’t vanish. As Greek and later Arabic influence spread across Egypt, the spoken language gradually shifted into Coptic, which is written using the Greek alphabet plus a handful of extra letters borrowed from the older demotic script. Coptic survives today as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church in religious texts.
Which Ancient Languages Are Still Spoken Today?
An old language and a dead language are two different linguistic concepts.
While dead languages are no longer spoken, many languages with ancient roots are still spoken and have an official language status. They just evolved quite a bit along the way :
| Language | Earliest evidence found | Status today |
|---|---|---|
| Tamil | Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, roughly 2nd century BCE | Spoken by 75+ million people, mainly in India and Sri Lanka |
| Chinese | Oracle bone script, circa 1250 BCE | Mandarin has over a billion speakers |
| Greek | Mycenaean Linear B tablets, circa 1450 BCE | Still spoken by around 13 million people |
| Sanskrit | Rigveda hymns, composed orally circa 1500 BCE | Not an everyday language anymore, but used liturgically and in modern revival efforts |
| Basque | Unclear origins, predates the arrival of Indo-European languages in Europe | Still spoken in the Basque Country; no known relatives |
It is to be noted that age alone does not mean that a language is dead. For example, despite being a very old language, Chinese historically never really stopped being spoken, and evolved into its modern form spoken by over a billion people today.
FAQs – Oldest Language In The World
Is Sumerian Or Egyptian Older?
Sumerian is generally considered the oldest written language, with cuneiform dating to roughly 3400 to 3200 BCE. Egyptian hieroglyphs appear slightly later, around 3200 BCE, and the two systems likely developed independently.
What Is The Oldest Spoken Language Today?
Tamil and Greek are probably the oldest languages spoken today, and many other languages like Arabic and modern Hebrew are also among the oldest languages in the world.
Why Do Some Ancient Languages Died Out While Others Survived?
A language usually survives based on the political, economic, and social power of the people who speak it. Most ancient languages that went extinct, like Sumerian, likely faded because of environmental crises and foreign invasions, while others like Tamil and Chinese kept getting passed down through conquest and literature, creating a rich linguistic heritage.
What Is The Oldest Language In The World?
Sumerian is generally considered the oldest written language. But many other other languages considered among the oldest in the world are still in use today such as Tamil and Chinese, although they evolved a lot and lost many features of their old forms.
Start Learning Languages With Real History With Ling!
Here you go! Now, you know that the “oldest language” title depends entirely on what is measured, such as written traces or continuity.
If languages with real history speak to you, why not learn old languages that are still very much alive?
The Ling app teaches over 70 languages, several of which with old roots, like Tamil, Chinese, Arabic, or Greek! So keep your curiosity alive and start learning new language today!
