First Language in the World

Do you ever wonder what was the first language spoken on Earth? We often hear that there is a wide range of languages which different people speak. But aren’t you curious about the oldest languages? Out of the large estimated number of 7,000 national languages, different sources suggest different languages to be the oldest. But the actual lingo which was first spoken on the planet Earth is still unknown. Since languages have been spoken on Earth for a long time now, the first language can be a dead language. To determine that, let’s explore the history of the oldest lingos and analyze them one by one!

History

Historians and linguists are not sure about the old languages. However, according to a consensus, human languages were introduced about 100,000 BC years ago. The earliest written language available on record is a cuneiform script discovered in Mesopotamia in the 8th millennium BC. When there was no trace of languages, human beings used primitive sounds and gestures as their basic means of communication. Structured languages were seen in scriptures that were written about 10,000 years ago. Most linguists say that the starting time duration of a language can be determined by the first time it appears in texts.

Which Is The First Language In The World?

From thousands to thousands of years, tons of spoken languages are introduced. Each language has its native speakers. We can list down some of the oldest lingos that were once part of the language family. Some of them have already vanished, but some still exist for specific purposes. However, some languages might have very few speakers, thanks to the linguists for gathering enough information for us. The list of the oldest and first-ever spoken languages includes:

Latin

Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European language. It was initially spoken in the area around Rome country, known as Latium. Due to the ultimate power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in Italy as well. As a script, Latin first appeared in 75 BC. Later, the old Latin was changed to Classical Latin. The warriors who won old battles with the Italian Peninsula were also native speakers of Old Latin.

An interesting thing about this lingo is that it is considered the origin of all romance languages like Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, and many other modern-day languages. Roots of Latin and ancient Greek languages are used in some words of English for the descriptions of theology. In countries like the Vatican and Poland, Latin has the status of an official language. Therefore, millions of people learn this language in their higher education classes.

Greek 

The Greek language is called the language of philosophers and scholars due to its wide use. It made its first appearance in 1450 BC. Among all other national languages, it has quite a lot of importance. There are about 13 million native speakers of Greece living in different geographical locations. Among all other indigenous languages spoken in Europe, the long history of Greek makes it the oldest. It has its historical significance. The long run of this language can also be predicted from the fact that the foundational documents of Aristotle are also present in the Greek language. It has the status of official language in many states. But there are many countries where people speak Greek, including Turkey, Albania, Italy, and Europe.

Sanskrit 

According to some online resources, Sanskrit is the oldest language spoken by millions of people. It is also called Devbhasha. Linguists, after thorough research, concluded that Sanskrit gives inspiration to all European languages. All the universities and educational institutions consider it as the ancient language. The exaggeration has increased to the extent that some studies show that all languages have their origin somewhere from Sanskrit. Indian people use classic Sanskrit in their daily life.

Currently, Sanskrit is the official language of the Indian Peninsula. The native speaker of this lingo has origins from 2000 BC. The rules and regulations of this language were used during the construction of computer basic language. Its vocabulary consists of 49 letters. People of Uttarakhand in India’s North Himalayan range speak this language. In the areas around Hindu temples, people use this primary language, especially for meditation.

Tamil

People living in today’s world belong to different language families. Some authors and historians consider Tamil as the oldest language because it made its first appearance in 3000 BC. It holds the status of official languages in Singapore and Sri Lanka. Tamil people call it a living language. It is because 1863 newspapers get to publish in Tamil daily. It is the oldest language of the Dravidian family of languages in South Africa. The list of countries where native speakers of Tamil live is very long. Such never-ending lingos travel from generation to generation. People use it as a minority language in South African countries.

Arabic 

Apart from Indo-European languages, another original language is Arabic. Arabic is a Semitic language that Arabs speak. It made its first appearance in 512 CE. Today, about 290 million people consider it their first language. And it has the status of official language in many countries. The lists of countries where people speak Arabic include UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman. Muslim emperors in history used to speak Arabic as their national language. Therefore, many people think that it is the oldest and first language of the world.

Chinese

In terms of all Indigenous languages, it is the most spoken language in our world. It is very common in East Asia. The native speakers of the Chinese language are present all around the world. The first script of this primary language belongs to 1250 BC. Currently, among official languages, it has the greatest number of speakers. According to the latest consensus, this primary language has a language family of 1.24 million people.

In the previous century, about 37 countries speak Chinese as their first language. It has various dialects and variations. Since the language came into existence, there have been many changes in the structure and overall pronunciation undoubtedly. The traces of the origin of this lingo belonged to the late Shang dynasty.

Egyptian

The Egyptian language has the title of the oldest among national languages, as it is already 4,700 years old. It belongs to the Afro-Asiatic family. Autobiographical writing was found on the walls of an Egyptian tomb that dates back to 2600-2000 BC. Proto-hieroglyphs were found in the country 600 years before the complete Egyptian text appeared. According to a post from the temple gate in Philae, the writings are from 396 CE. At the same time, a written record of Tamil also appeared.

Conclusion

To sum up, there is no specific language that you can call the first language on Earth. There are many lingos from language families that different linguists consider the oldest. Apart from the lingos mentioned above, the Korean language and Hebrew language are the ones that can also be found back in history. However, the research has not yet considered one of them as the first. But to an approximation, I hope this article provides all the helpful information you require.