There are many languages in the world, people tend to forget old languages that have been in existence for a very long time and which are still in use today.
Learning a new language can be challenging and, at the same time, fun. These beautiful and age-old languages have long passed, and they’ve improved and have been modified over the centuries and millennia. And today, one can learn to communicate with friends in these languages.
Here’s a brief walk through the timeline of the world’s oldest languages spoken today:
1) Coptic – 2690 BC (4700 years old)
The earliest recognized language ever was a proto-language on the African landmass, and developing the first known proto-writing system. As such, one of the oldest languages originates in Africa –Egypt.
In approximately 2690 BCE (over 4700 years ago), the Egyptians recorded the first complete sentence in Ancient Egyptian.
The Coptic language remains one language in ancient Egypt that is still spoken today, and it’s used mainly as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Catholic Church.
2) Sanskrit – 1500 BC ( 3500 years old)
The oldest texts have this text date back to approximately 1500 BCE. Sanskrit is possibly the second oldest language still in use in today’s present world. However, Sanskrit words and phrases are also frequently used by bureaucratic institutions – from rocket names to school slogans – in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia.
3) Greek – 1450 BC (circa. 3500 years old)
Greek is one of the oldest languages still spoken as day-to-day language. While Modern Greek has developed considerably from the Greek spoken in ancient times, the language of Greece today is an outstanding descendant of the language of Homer and those who came before him.
Evidence proved that the works of Homer were composed between the seventh and eighth centuries BC.
Mycenaean Greek, the early attested iteration of Greek, first occurred in 1450 BCE, about 700 years before The Odyssey hit the scene. And today, modern Greek is being spoken by approximately 13.5 million native speakers.
4) Chinese – 1250 BC (circa. 3300 years old)
Chinese is another known candidate for both the oldest written and spoken languages that are still used today and is certainly both practical and substantiated by a long, vibrant record.
The initial assertion of Old Chinese reaches back to a set of notations on oracle bones dated to roughly 1250 BCE.
Of course, there are various language variations and tongues in China today. So Chinese is a moderately vast representation. But many of the chiefs used diversity (comprising Mandarin and Cantonese) fall within the Sino-Tibetan language family.
Chinese has one valuable and ancient language vastly rich in history and culture.
Subsequently, Mandarin is the most spoken language today, with over 1.1 billion speakers. People all over the world admire and even learn it, as it is a globally spoken language.
5) Aramaic – 1100 BC (circa. 3100 years old)
Aramaic is the language communicated by Arameans in ancient Syria and was first affirmed in 1100 BC; it has survived adequately into its 4th millennium. Of the truth, amongst these oldest languages in use today, maybe more in use than the Coptic or Sanskrit language.
