Here is a list of the top 10 oldest known languages in the world, based on historical and archaeological evidence. These languages have ancient origins and were used in some of the earliest human civilizations:
1. Sumerian
- Origin: Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)
- Timeframe: Dates back to at least 3100 BCE.
- Details: The first known written language, recorded in cuneiform script. It is now an extinct language but holds historical significance.
2. Egyptian
- Origin: Ancient Egypt
- Timeframe: Dates back to around 2600 BCE.
- Details: The language of the pharaohs, written in hieroglyphics. Evolved into Coptic, which is still used in some religious contexts today.
3. Akkadian
- Origin: Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and Syria)
- Timeframe: Dates back to around 2500 BCE.
- Details: A Semitic language written in cuneiform, used by the Akkadian Empire and later civilizations such as the Assyrians and Babylonians.
4. Elamite
- Origin: Elam (modern-day southwestern Iran)
- Timeframe: Dates back to at least 2700 BCE.
- Details: A language of the ancient Elamite civilization, used in inscriptions and administrative texts.
5. Chinese (Old Chinese)
- Origin: China
- Timeframe: Recorded as early as 1250 BCE during the Shang Dynasty.
- Details: The precursor to modern Chinese languages, written in early logographic scripts. Chinese remains one of the world’s oldest continuous languages.
6. Sanskrit
- Origin: Ancient India
- Timeframe: Dates back to around 1500 BCE.
- Details: The classical language of ancient Hindu texts like the Vedas, and a foundational language for many modern Indian languages.
7. Tamil
- Origin: Southern India and Sri Lanka
- Timeframe: Dates back to at least 500 BCE (spoken earlier).
- Details: Considered one of the world’s oldest living languages, Tamil is still widely spoken today with minimal changes over thousands of years.
8. Mycenaean Greek
- Origin: Ancient Greece
- Timeframe: Dates back to around 1600 BCE.
- Details: An early form of Greek written in Linear B script, which later evolved into Classical Greek.
9. Hebrew
- Origin: Ancient Levant (modern-day Israel and Palestine)
- Timeframe: Dates back to at least 1000 BCE.
- Details: The language of the Hebrew Bible. Revived as a spoken language in the 19th and 20th centuries and is the official language of Israel.
10. Aramaic
- Origin: Ancient Near East
- Timeframe: Dates back to at least 1200 BCE.
- Details: A Semitic language widely used in the Near East, including as the lingua franca during the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Some communities still speak modern Aramaic dialects.
These languages represent humanity’s early steps into structured communication and written expression. Some, like Tamil and Hebrew, have living descendants, while others survive only in ancient texts and inscriptions.