Words have always been our bridge to express emotions, share messages, and convey thoughts. Whether spoken or written, language is the powerful thread that weaves people from every corner of the globe into a shared human experience.
But have you ever paused to wonder how language came into existence? Who was the first to use words to communicate? It’s a fascinating mystery!
As someone who interacts with languages daily, I’ve often found myself captivated by one question: What is the oldest language in the world?
This curiosity sparked my journey into learning languages. Today, I’m excited to share what I’ve learned so far, insights that I’m sure will intrigue you. And believe me, the answer to the first language ever spoken might just surprise you!
The world of language is far more fascinating than you might imagine. With a little curiosity and a deeper look, you’ll uncover layers of history, culture, and human ingenuity that have shaped how we communicate. Before we discuss the oldest languages still spoken in the world, let’s consider what we have lost!
Language is the thread that weaves together civilisations, cultures, and memories in the tapestry of human history.
Some of the countless tongues that have echoed through time have faded into silence, leaving only fragments of their once-vibrant voices. These are the extinct ancient languages, which shaped empires, recorded the first laws, and gave birth to literature, yet today have no living native speakers.
Within the world of extinct languages, two distinct categories emerge:
Dead languages have no living native speakers and are no longer used in daily communication.
dormant languages, which, though currently without native speakers, hold the potential for revival through dedicated efforts and cultural reclamation.
Each tells a story of human history, loss, and the enduring hope for renewal.
Sumerian: The Dawn of Writing
The story begins in Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers! This is where the Sumerians invented cuneiform, the world’s first known writing system, around 3100 BCE.
Sumerian flourished for centuries as the language of administration, poetry, and myth, its most famous legacy being the Epic of Gilgamesh. However, as empires shifted and new people arrived, Sumerian was gradually replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language around 2000 BCE.
Archaeological and geological evidence suggests that a devastating, centuries-long drought around 4,200 years ago may have hastened the decline of Sumerian culture and language. Though Sumerian remained a written and scholarly language, much like Latin in medieval Europe, it eventually vanished from daily use, surviving only in the clay tablets deciphered by modern scholars.
Akkadian: Empire’s Voice
Akkadian: a Semitic language that became the lingua franca of the Akkadian Empire and later Babylonia and Assyria. It absorbed and eventually replaced Sumerian, becoming the language of diplomacy, law, and literature across the ancient Near East.
Like Sumerian, Akkadian is now extinct, with its last native speakers lost to time. Both languages lingered in written form for centuries after their spoken demise, used in religious, legal, and scholarly contexts until the end of the first millennium CE.
Ancient Egyptian: Hieroglyphs and History
Ancient Egyptian, with its hieroglyphic script, is another of the world’s oldest written languages, dating back to around 3200 BCE.
It evolved through several stages, Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian, and was used for monumental inscriptions, sacred texts, and daily records. Coptic, its descendant, survived as a liturgical language.
Still, the ancient form of Egyptian ceased to be spoken over a thousand years ago, leaving behind the enigmatic pyramids and papyri that continue to fascinate the world.
Other Lost Voices
Beyond these giants, many other ancient languages have vanished. Hurrian, Palaic, Elamite, and Hittite are just a few of the tongues that once echoed across the ancient world, now known only through inscriptions, clay tablets, and the painstaking work of linguists and archaeologists.
As a professional translator, I recently learned Hebrew and Arabic languages, which are actually among the oldest languages in use today! Let’s check out more!
Top 10 Oldest Languages in the World
Let’s talk about the world’s 10 oldest languages!
Yet, before we begin, it’s important to recognise that pinning down the “oldest” languages is not as simple as it may seem. The passage of time, the rise and fall of civilisations, and the evolution of writing make it impossible to declare any single list definitive of the oldest language of the world.
So, as we celebrate the world’s 10 oldest languages- Sumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Tamil, Sanskrit, Greek, Old Chinese, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, let us also marvel at human speech’s dynamic, ever-shifting nature.
Here is a list of the top 10 oldest languages in the world based on the earliest clear written records and historical consensus. The order is approximate and reflects both the antiquity of their written forms and their influence on world history.
| Rank | Language | Approx. First Written Record | Region/Civilisation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sumerian | c. 3200–3100 BCE | Mesopotamia (Iraq) | The oldest attested written language used a cuneiform script and a language isolate. |
| 2 | Egyptian | c. 3200 BCE | Ancient Egypt | Hieroglyphic script evolved through several stages; Coptic is a descendant. |
| 3 | Akkadian | c. 2500 BCE | Mesopotamia (Iraq/Syria) | Semitic language; used cuneiform; lingua franca of the Akkadian Empire. |
| 4 | Elamite | c. 2400 BCE | Elam (Iran) | Attested in cuneiform; language isolate; spoken in ancient Iran. |
| 5 | Hurrian | c. 2300 BCE | Anatolia/Northern Mesopotamia | Attested in cuneiform; language isolate; related to Urartian. |
| 6 | Hittite | c. 1700 BCE | Anatolia (Turkey) | Oldest attested Indo-European language family; used cuneiform and hieroglyphs. |
| 7 | Greek | c. 1450 BCE | Mycenaean Greece | Linear B script evolved into Ancient Greek. |
| 8 | Chinese | c. 1200 BCE | Shang Dynasty (China) | Oracle bone script: the oldest form of Chinese writing. |
| 9 | Sanskrit | c. 1500 BCE (oral), c. 500 BCE (written) | South Asia (India) | The oldest Indo-Aryan language, Rigveda, was orally transmitted and later written in the Brahmi script. |
| 10 | Latin | c. 700 BCE | Ancient Rome (Italy) | The oldest inscriptions are from the 7th century BCE, the ancestor of Romance languages. |
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Which is the Oldest Language in the World That is Still Used Today: 12 Oldest Languages Spoken Today
Now, let’s talk about the oldest spoken language in the world.
| Language | Oldest Written Record | Region(s) Where Spoken Today | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tamil | c. 300 BCE | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore | The oldest living classical language and literature dates back to 300 BCE or earlier. |
| Chinese | c. 1250 BCE | China, worldwide | Old Chinese (oracle bones), Mandarin, and dialects are direct descendants. |
| Greek | c. 1450 BCE | Greece, Cyprus | Mycenaean Greek and modern Greek are direct descendants. |
| Sanskrit | c. 1500 BCE (oral), c. 500 BCE (written) | India (liturgical) | Classical Sanskrit is still used in rituals and hymns, but is not a daily spoken language. |
| Coptic | c. 2690 BCE (ancestral Egyptian) | Egypt (liturgical) | It is the last stage of the Egyptian language and is still used as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox. |
| Hebrew | c. 1000 BCE (Old Hebrew) | Israel | Revived as a modern spoken language, Old Hebrew dates to c. 1000 BCE. |
| Aramaic | c. 800–600 BCE | Syria, Iraq, diaspora | Still spoken in small communities; ancient lingua franca of the Near East. |
| Persian (Farsi) | c. 550 BCE | Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan | Old Persian; modern Persian is widely spoken today. |
| Arabic | c. 4 CE | Middle East, North Africa | Classical Arabic from the early Islamic period; many languages and dialects today. |
| Irish Gaelic | c. 4 CE | Ireland (minority) | Old Irish is now a minority language with revitalisation efforts. |
| Basque | c. 1 BCE | Spain, France (Basque Country) | Language isolate; unrelated to other European languages. |
| Icelandic | c. 1200 CE | Iceland, diaspora | Closely related to Old Norse; not as ancient as others above. |
It’s time to look closely at the oldest languages still spoken today! But before that, which do you think is the best language to learn in Australia?
Which is the Oldest Living Language in the World: Tamil!
The oldest language still in use! Tamil language is a classical language with a continuous spoken and literary tradition dating back over 2,000 years, with some scholars suggesting its origins may be as old as 5,000 years.
Sanskrit
One of the oldest languages on earth is Sanskrit. It dates back to around 2000 BCE and is primarily used in religious and scholarly contexts, especially Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
Chinese (Old Chinese)
The oldest language in world with written records from around 1250 BCE, it continues as a living language through its modern dialects, especially Mandarin.
Greek
Attested from around 1450 BCE, it is spoken in modern Greece and Cyprus as a direct descendant of ancient Greek.
Hebrew
One of the official languages the world still speaks is Hebrew. It dates back to around 1000 BCE, was revived as a modern spoken language, and is now the official language of Israel.
Aramaic
Once the lingua franca of the Near East from about 1100 BCE, it survives in small communities today.
Arabic
With roots tracing back to early inscriptions around the 4th century CE and classical forms from the 7th century CE, it is widely spoken today across the Middle East and North Africa.
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Which is the First Language Ever Written?
Well, one of the oldest languages with a written record is Sumerian! Did you know it originated in ancient southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)? If not, you might not know that the earliest Sumerian writing (cuneiform) evolved from a system of clay tokens used for accounting!
Among all the languages in the world still spoken, if you ever wish to know about language conventions.
Endnote:
Your official language today could be anything-Sanskrit, English, Mandarin, Arabic, or another of the world’s thousands-but remember, it all began when early humans like Homo habilis first discovered and developed primitive, language-like systems, known as proto-language.
Now, I invite you to reflect: How many of the world’s oldest languages do you know? From the ancient cuneiform of Sumerian to the rhythmic hieroglyphs of Egyptian, each language carries a story that spans millennia. Some are still spoken today, while others survive only in inscriptions and sacred texts.
And here’s a question to stir your imagination: What is the most interesting language fact you’ve ever encountered? For me, it’s the sheer diversity: over 7,000 languages exist today, each with unique sounds, scripts, and stories. Did you know that some languages, like Basque, have no known relatives and have survived against all odds? Or did ancient Incas use intricate knotted cords called quipu to record information, blurring the line between language and art?
Language is not just a tool but a living, evolving testament to human creativity and resilience.
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