It is thought that Language originated when early humans started gradually changing their primate communication systems to structured languages. Language is simply a system of communication that consists of a set of sounds and written symbols that are used by the people of a particular country or region for talking or writing.
Languages began thousands of years ago and determining the oldest language is highly debated throughout the world. However, linguists revealed that the following 5 languages are among the oldest living languages around the world, legal translation Dubai will talk about them in detail.
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The five oldest living languages in the world
The five oldest living languages in the world are Arabic, Greek, Tamil, Latin, and Farsi. These languages have been spoken continuously for thousands of years and have rich literary and cultural traditions.
1- Arabic Language
Arabic is one of the oldest spoken languages and it carries a great history and civilization behind it. The earliest example of an Arabic inscription dates back to 512 CE. At present, around 300 million people speak Arabic around the globe.
Arabic belongs to the Semitic language family which includes Aramaic. It is the most commonly spoken Semitic language in fact. The Arabic language can be divided into two versions Modern Arabic and Classical Arabic.
Classical Arabic is the language of the Quran, which is the sacred book of Muslims. Arabic is the official language of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, and many other countries. There are many different dialects and branches of Arabic.
2- Greek Language
The Greek language dates back to around 1500 BC. Though it has evolved considerably from its ancient version it is still spoken by nearly 13 million people. The modern form of Greek is the official language in Cyprus and Greece. It is also an official language in the EU and speaks in Greek communities around the world and in Turkey, Albania, and Italy.
Over a thousand years ago, some of the world’s most respected scholars and philosophers used to communicate in Greek. Many of the foundational documents in Western philosophy, like the works of Aristotle and Plato, logic and mathematics, astronomy, and other branches of science were originally written in the language.
The Greek alphabet originated from the script used by the Phoenicians. Later, it became the source of the Gothic, Coptic, Armenian, Cyrillic, and Latin systems of writing.
3- Tamil Language
Tamil language is a member of the Dravidian language family and was spoken primarily in India. Tamil made its first appearance in 300 BC. The literature collection in Tamil, which is a classical language, is very vast.
It is also varied. Tamil is spoken by nearly 80 million people in southern India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. It can be classified into Modern Tamil, Classical Tamil, and Colloquial Tamil – all three of which are popularly used today.
4- Latin Language
The earliest appearance of this language can be traced back to the days of the Roman Empire, which was formed around 75 BC. The Roman Empire elected to make Latin its formal language, making it an important language at that time.
Latin was the origin of all the Romance languages – Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, and Romanian and many words today, including a number of words in modern-day English. Latin is still the official language of Poland and Vatican City. Latin is taught at several higher education institutions around the world.
5- Farsi / Persian Language
Farsi is the direct descendant of the Old Persian language, which was the official language of the Persian Empire. Persian emerged sometime around 500 BC. Modern Persian emerged around 800 CE, and it has changed sparsely since then. Farsi is the common language spoken in modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.
The language is spoken by more than 110 million people. Though it is almost the same with little variation, it is called Dari in Afghanistan and Tajiki in Tajikistan due to political reasons.
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Conclusion
Several more languages could still make it to this list. Such as Sanskrit which dates back to is from 200 BC and has influenced many modern European languages and Chinese which is more than 3,000 years old and now is the language with the most number of first language speakers. The languages are many and we can count on them as the world is becoming wider than in the past.
Share with us an old language that has survived and is still in use up to date.
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