BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

The ability to write their voice, or language, is one of the traits that set humans apart from other animals. Speaking has been a part of humankind for thousands of years. In actuality, several of the world's oldest languages are still in use today.

The Egyptian Experiment

Egypt was controlled by Pharaoh Psamtik I in the seventh century BC. The pharaoh was curious about the beginnings of language in humans. Is it inherited or learned? And which language is the oldest? A test started after that.

Two infants were given to a shepherd by Pharaoh to raise. The youngsters were to be raised in a silent environment. The shepherd actually provided the kids with plenty of milk, but he remained silent the entire time. The kids turned two years old. Then they uttered "bekos," a Phrygian word that means "bread," as their first word. Suddenly Pharaoh realized that the Phrygian language was actually the oldest, not the Egyptian language.

the world's oldest languages

Herodotus makes reference to the Psamtik experiment, and both its veracity and applicability are questioned. Nonetheless, both the general public and scientists in particular have expressed serious worry about the issue. We can identify the earliest written language, yet we cannot tell for sure which was the first language spoken on earth. For instance, Mesopotamian writing first appeared between 3,500 and 3,000 BC (modern Iraq). Egypt is the next nation, where writing first occurred approximately 3,200 BC, at the end of the third millennium. In 1,500 BC, the earliest written texts—those of the Olmecs—appeared on the other side of the globe, in the Americas.

The fact that some of the world's oldest languages are still used today, with small or significant alterations, is astounding.

The pyramids' written language

Egyptian is one of the oldest languages in the world; thus, even if the experiment could not prove it, Psamtik was really close to reality. In 2,690 BC, the first complete sentence in ancient Egyptian was written down. a language that has left behind literary works that resemble paintings. It was Champollion who, in 1822, was able to translate the complex writing system, making the language of hieroglyphics once again more widely recognized.

Coptic is a language that is still spoken today and is descended from the ancient Egyptians. Both the Coptic Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church use it in their worship.

Dev Vani, or Sanskrit, is the language of the gods

The second-oldest language in the world that is still used today is Sanskrit. The earliest Sanskrit writings date from almost 1,500 years before the birth of Christ. On the one hand, because it has not changed, it is regarded as a dead language. Yet, between 12,000 and 14,000 individuals can communicate on a daily basis in Sanskrit. Also, prominent religions like Hinduism and Buddhism use Sanskrit as their language of devotion.

The extensive family of Indo-European languages includes Sanskrit. William Jones, a judge in 18th-century India, was the first to research and identify Sanskrit's similarities to Greek and Latin. He pointed out that Latin and Greek, two of the world's oldest languages, share grammar patterns with Sanskrit.

The Vedas, Sacred Hymns, and Devotional Verse are the oldest works composed in Sanskrit. Sanskrit was also the language used to write the well-known epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, which served as inspiration for many later authors.

There are currently efforts underway to revitalize the Sanskrit language. It is available in schools as an elective topic. Although it may not be useful, knowing Sanskrit can aid in learning other languages like Bengali, Hindi, or Burmese.

The Journey of the Persian Language from Pahlavi to Arabic Script

The Persian language, also known as Farsi, boasts an illustrious history that positions it among the world's oldest languages. Rooted in the ancient tongues of the Achaemenid Empire, its evolution traces back thousands of years, echoing the sophisticated literature, art, and philosophies of the great Persian dynasties. Today's Modern Persian, though still bearing the linguistic richness of its ancestral form, is written in the Arabic script—a departure from its original Pahlavi and earlier alphabets. This shift in script occurred post-Islamization of Persia around the 7th century AD. Despite this change in orthography, the essence and phonetics of the language remain uniquely Persian, standing testament to the resilience and adaptability of a culture and its language through the annals of time.

One of the oldest languages in the world is Chinese

Mandarin is the language that is spoken by the most people worldwide, with 1.1 billion native speakers. But it also offers a second benefit. It is both the oldest spoken and written language still in use today. The earliest manuscripts were composed somewhere around 1250 BC.

Chinese today, of course, refers to a vast linguistic "umbrella" that encompasses a variety of dialects. Mandarin and Cantonese, two of the most common dialects, are the ancestors of Old Chinese.

The Greek language

Greek is the oldest language currently in use for daily communication and one of the oldest languages on the entire planet. The number of people who speak modern Greek is 13,000,000. It is unquestionably a descendant of Homer's language, despite significant changes since Ancient Greek.

The Iliad and the Odyssey, two of Homer's epics, were written in the eighth century BC. The earliest Greek manuscripts, however, were written several years before the founders of Greek and European literature. More specifically, roughly 1450 BC, or 700 years before Homer.

Clay tablets discovered in Pylos and other locations were successfully deciphered in 1952 by two Englishmen named Michael Ventris and John Chadwick. The script found on the tablets, known as Linear B, was from the Mycenaean era. The writing on the tablets had no artistic merit. These were a collection of palatial goods and crafts catalogs. They were also Greek, as was discovered through decipherment. Words with roots in Homer but also in earlier times, such as "ti-ri-po-de" (tripod).

Tamazight: Ancient Echoes in Modern Landscapes of North Africa

The Tamazight language, commonly known as Berber, stands as a testament to the deep-rooted histories and rich cultures of North Africa. With its origins tracing back to ancient times, this language employs the Tifinagh script—a unique and distinctive writing system that historians believe dates back to the 7th century BCE, making it older than even the revered Tamil language. A walk through the modern streets of nations like Morocco, Algeria, or Libya unveils the enduring legacy of the Tamazight language, with official signs and documents proudly showcasing the Tifinagh script. Such evidence not only highlights the language's longevity but also its continued significance in the contemporary landscapes of these nations.

The history of the individuals who spoke the world's earliest languages is not the only thing they preserve. Additionally, they influence other languages, mold the minds of their offspring, and enrich the literary legacy of human civilization.