About 7,000 languages are currently spoken around the world. But only 23 of those 7,000 languages dominate the world's population. Although the languages spoken today belong to different language families, their origins date back thousands of years. Did you know that Tamil is among the 10 oldest languages in the world that are still in use today? Do you know which is the oldest language in the world?'
Egyptian (about 4700 years old) was a proto-language on the African continent, and the first known writing system was developed in Nigeria. So, it's no surprise that the oldest language on this list is also from Africa - Egyptian. The first known complete sentence in the ancient Egyptian language was recorded in 2690 BC, making it over 4700 years old.
Sanskrit (about 3500 years old) The oldest texts in the Sanskrit language date back to 1500 BC, making Sanskrit the second oldest language in the world still in use today. Like the language of Egypt, Sanskrit is often used in religious texts and ceremonies, with a place in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. However, Sanskrit words and phrases are frequently used by bureaucratic institutions – from missile names to school mottos.
Greek (about 3500 years old) Greek is the oldest language still spoken as a primary, everyday language. Although modern Greek has developed significantly from the Greek spoken in ancient times, the language of Greece today is a definite descendant of the language of Homer and his predecessors. Today, there are about 13.5 million native speakers of contemporary Greek. All of them date back nearly 3,500 years.
Chinese (about 3300 years old) Another contender for both the oldest written language and oldest spoken language still in use today, Chinese is certainly useful and backed by a long, rich history. The first attested Old Chinese dates back to approximately 1250 BC, with evidence of the Chinese language being spoken. Aramaic (about 3100 years old) Aramaic, a language spoken by Arameans in ancient Syria and first attested in 1100 BC, has survived into its 4th millennium. In fact, among these oldest languages in use today, it is actually a living language more than Sanskrit or Coptic. There are between 800,000 and 1,000,000 speakers of Neo-Aramaic in the world today.
Hebrew (about 3000 years old) Speaking of the Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew was first attested about 1000 BC, 100 years after Aramaic, making it another member of the 'old language still in use' club. Hebrew was primarily used for religious texts, correspondence, and communication between the Jewish people.
Although Persian (about 2500 years old) is not the earliest known language of the Indo-Iranian language family, Farsi is the longest-spoken language in the Iranian language family. It derives its roots from Old Persian, first attested somewhere between 522 and 486 BC. There are still communities of native Farsi speakers in Iran today.
Tamil (about 2300 years old) The Tamil language is recognized as the oldest language in the world and the oldest language of the Dravidian family. The language is said to have been spoken about 5,000 years ago. But Tamil is at number 8 on this list as only evidences are found now that dates back to 2300 years ago. Tamil was spoken in the continent of Lemuria which sank into the ocean. Korean (about 2100 years old) A top 10 list of the world's oldest languages still spoken today would not be complete without Korean, another language that dates back thousands of years. Spoken as the primary language in both North and South Korea, the number of native speakers of Korean today is 77 million. Italian (about 2100 years old) was used in the early Latin Roman Republic, certainly in 75 BC, but much earlier (the Roman Republic was formed in 509 BC). After some deliberation, Italian was listed as a direct modern descendant of Latin.