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Language

The Oldest Languages to Learn

The Oldest Languages to Learn

Since languages have always been a bridge of communication between people we found out about the history of how so many languages have originated, becoming an essential part of our daily lives.

Currently, there are more than 7000 languages spoken all over the world as of today and out of these languages, a few are even on the verge of being extinct because the users of those languages were people from quite old civilizations. Hence there are not many people belonging to those civilizations now who speak those languages.

Why you should learn the oldest languages

Learning other languages, especially the oldest languages in history, can be a good step since not many people today understand the original languages in the ancient works. Even if it is the oldest language in the world, you can benefit a lot from learning about it.

Here you can read about all the old languages spoken by people belonging from different civilizations, social, cultural and regional backgrounds. You can also learn about the many benefits associated with the learning of the oldest languages in the world from our private tutors.

1. Tamil

Being the official language of several states including India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, Tamil is considered as one of the oldest languages spoken in different parts of the world as it is one of the oldest languages in history. Its origin can be traced back to 500 BC whereas as of now there are more than 70 million people who use the tamil language as a source of communication.

The indian state of Tamil Nadu is the main origin place of this Dravidian language. Like other languages of the world, this language also developed in phases to make it the language that it is today being widely spoken in regions like India and Sri Lanka.
These are some of the phases that this language went through

TAMIL

Old/early tamil

This is one of the earliest phases of this language that traces back to its origin of it. This phase of the language has been found to be used around the 6th century. This phase marks the beginning of this widely spoken language.

Mid phased tamil

This phase lasted till the end of the 12th century and during this time the Tamil language started to tighten its roots in the region and developed more than what it was during the early stages of the origin of the language.

Current situation of the language

From the 12th century till today, this language has become one of the most important and widely spoken languages in the world while it is also still considered as one of the oldest languages in the world.
Being the oldest language, the importance of this language can be traced back to the publishing sector of India as one of the oldest books was printed in Tamil and the first language in which printing and publishing began in India was actually the Tamil language. In 1578, after importing the paper from China, the book namely “Thambiraan Vanakkam” was published in the Tamil language being the earliest of the books that were published in India.

Why learn tamil

Learning Tamil will open so many doors to getting to know all the new forms of literature that you wouldn’t be able to understand if you are unaware of the language. So much work or early literature and current work are being done in the Tamil language. Learning this language will help you to be an active part of the Tamil literature world and since people in this particular region still use Tamil as their first language, you will be able to better understand them through good communication.

2. Egyptian

Dating back to 5000 years, the language of the River Nile has been one of the oldest languages spoken in the world. Egyptian civilization is one of the oldest and classic civilizations in the world. It was originally developed around 2690 BC and even today this language is used in some places including the Coptic church based in Egypt. Researchers have identified that there is not a single phase of the Egyptian language, rather there were a few phases in which this language was spoken in different ways and dialects.

EGYPTIAN

Some of these phases include the old, middle, late, and current phases of the language.

Old egyptian

This is considered as one of the oldest phases of this language and ranges mainly from the time period of 2600 BC – 2000 BC. The importance of this phase of Egyptian Language is its descriptions that are found on the tomb and pyramids in Egypt. In this language, the people of Egypt used to write descriptive details on the walls of tombs and pyramids in which the highly ranked and noble people of that time used to be buried. This is how researchers have found the traces of this language being the oldest phase of it.

Middle phased egyptian

This phase of the Egyptian language starts from 2000 BC and ends up around 1300 BC. During this phase, there was a lot of development in the way the language was used, written, and spoken. Literature is quite is a prominent part of this phase as poets started using the Egyptian Language during this phase as a source to convey their poetic message such as praising the pharaoh or gods of that time.

Late egyptian

This phase of the Egyptian Language found its roots in the form of more formal texts. It originated in 1300 BC and moved forward till around 700 BC. Some ancient letters and documents that were found by the researchers showed traces of this phase of the Egyptian Language, making this the latest phase of one of the oldest languages in the world.

Current situation of the language

The Egyptian language is one the oldest languages in the world but still, some people prefer to speak this language if we were to look at some regions in Egypt like the Coptic church which is found in Egypt. People of that region used this language to communicate and understand the ancient works of their ancestors.

Why learn egyptian

In many Arab regions, the Egyptian language is still very popular in the form of Egyptian Arabic, being a dialect of the Arabic language. So if you plan to interact with people belonging to Arabic regional background or if you wish to be part of the Arabic media world, learning this language will help you a lot.

3. Arabic

Having several different dialects and being spoken by more than 200 million people from all over the world, the Arabic language is not only one of the oldest languages in the world, it is also considered as a sacred language by so many Muslims worldwide as this is the language in which the sacred book of Holy Quran was revealed to the world.

Having its origin from the Peninsula, Arabic is currently the third most spoken language in the world right after English and French being the first and second most spoken languages respectively. The Arabic language is widely known as the language of the Islamic and Arab world.

ARABIC

Peninsula origin

People living in the peninsula region were fond of the poetic factor in life but it was not well recorded in written form until the 8th century AD when people used Arabic language to communicate and record their poetic work so that it would not only be saved but it would be read by other people as well.

The classic form of this language is actually before the origin of Islam but it gained even more importance after the Holy Quran was revealed in Arabic and it gained the title of being the language of Islam. After the advent of Islam, the language only gained more popularity in the usage, but it has=d been in use by the residents of the peninsula since long ago.

Current situation of the language

As of today, the Arabic language is spoken in almost 25 states with more than 200 million people speaking the language.

Many other languages have arisen from the origin of Arabic language including Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali that are widely spoken in the sub-continent region. Being the language of the quran, people not only read and speak it, but a lot of people are also moving towards learning the language to better understand the meaning behind the writings in the sacred book.

Why learn arabic

If you are planning on communicating with Arabs or people belonging from regions where Arabic language is spoken widely, you are going to need to learn at least the basic words and sentences related to the Arabic language, but if you wish to learn about the Arab culture and religion that is islam than you will have to get a good grasp over the language so that you can have better knowledge about the matters associated with it all. Learning the language will help you understand the basic meaning of the message of the Holy Quran.

4. Sanskrit

Owing to the religious bases, Sanskrit is not only one of the oldest languages in the world, but it is also one of the most widely used languages in many regions even today. This language was first used around 1500 BC and many of the religious writings related to different religions including Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism are found to be written in Sanskrit. This makes it quite a very important language for many followers of these religions all over the world. Most of the people who still use this language can be found in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal mainly.

SANSKRIT

Origin and history

Even though it is one of the oldest languages in history, Sanskrit is known as one of the most beautiful languages, even the meaning of the word “Sanskrit ” is “well put together” or something that is “perfect”. This language rose as the second most spoken language in the world during early times when there were many users of this language but gradually the popularity decreased as other languages took over, but more than 20 languages spoken in India today all originated somewhere from the Sanskrit language.

Current situation of the language

Even though the popularity of the language decreased from what it was during the early times, it is still used by many people in India as it has been shown by the annual census because many people still choose Sanskrit as their main spoken language. Although it is one of the oldest languages in history, it gradually became less popular around the time of 600 BC.

Not only it has given a base to many other languages being spoken in India, but it also won’t completely fade away as it holds much importance being a widely used religious language. Many old religious scripts and matters related to Hinduism and Buddhism are recorded in Sanskrit so it won’t be quite easy to completely erase the use of this language.

Why learn sanskrit

As this language has given rise to so many other languages, it is evident that so much of the ancient and current work can be rightly understood if one knows about the Sanskrit language. During the translation of the work, much of its meaning of it is lost. Learning Sanskrit will help you gain an insight into the raw form of work and understand the real meaning behind it. Due to religious reasons, a lot of followers of Buddhism and Hinduism still go for learning the language and getting a good grasp over it to better understand their religious associations.

5. Latin

Some might think that the Latin language is long dead but it is not like this because the language is still used by so many people all over the world. The Latin language has evolved to be a very elegant and sophisticated language over time.

LATIN

Origin and history

Dating back to 700 BC, this language found its roots in Roman civilization. Modern Rome which is today known as Italy does not have many people who speak or use the Latin language but the people who were originally called Romans used this language to communicate. It is still an important language as it is one of the oldest languages in the world, standing at number third on the list of oldest languages in the world. Romans were quite good at farming and being heroic soldiers. These professions basically became the base for the spread of the Roman language.

Current situation of the language

Being one of the oldest languages in the world, this language won’t be dying so easily. Even still there are some users of this language as it is currently used in the roman catholic church and other than this the Latin language is still used as the official language in Vatican City.

Why learn latin

Roman culture and political history is a wide area of research that can be done quite well if you know about the Latin language since most of the work that has been done by the Romans, whether it is related to literature or wars, it is found mostly to be in the Latin language. Learning this language will help you navigate the roman work and culture more clearly and with a better vision.

6. Chinese

For over 3000 years, the Chinese language has only increased its popularity in many regions of the world even after being one of the oldest languages in the history. Researchers have found the origins of this language dating back to 1766 BC. Not much of the written versions of the language have been found stating its early source but through some research, imprints of written

Chinese language were found on the shells of turtles. Other than the written imprints, there were also some early audios that were somehow retrieved that gave the impression that the Chinese language has also been spoken for as early as it has been used for the writing purposes.

CHINESE

Current situation of the language

In today’s world, the Chinese language is used by more than 1000 million people all over the world. Other than being a popular language for communication, this language is gaining importance in the learning sector as well. People from all over the world are rapidly moving towards learning the language both in written and spoken form which makes it one of the most famous languages in the world.

Why learn chinese

The Chinese language has been one of the most important languages in history and since its popularity has only increased, learning this language can prove to be very beneficial. People from all over the world are learning this language to improve their communication and professional skills through it. China’s economy is growing day by day, it only makes sense that you learn Chinese to be an active member of the growing economy for a prosperous future ahead.

In Conclusion

Learning a new language is always a good choice because it opens so many new doors of advanced opportunities for you. The language barrier can stop you from achieving the things that you wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. If you are planning on learning a new language, let us help you with it. Contact our private tutors and get to know about all the benefits and perks of learning another language whether it is one of the oldest languages in the history.

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With over 3 years of experience in teaching, Chloe is very deeply connected with the topics that talk about the educational and general aspects of a student's life. Her writing has been very helpful for students to gain a better understanding of their academics and personal well-being. I’m also open to any suggestions that you might have! Please reach out to me at chloedaniel402 [at] gmail.com