What Are the World’s Oldest Languages?

Let’s talk about the oldest languages

The English language is about 1,400 years old. Seems old, right? Well, not really. When compared to many other languages in the world, English is on the young side. There are over 6,500 spoken languages in the world, and some of these languages are several thousand years old. But despite their age, many people still use these languages on a daily basis.

We’ve put together this guide to help you learn more about some of the oldest languages in the world.

So let’s get started below!

Arabic

Arabic is thought to be about 1,500 years old. Because of its age, many languages can be traced back to Arabic, including things like Malay and Urdu. There are even several English words that get their origins from Arabic.

Since Arabic is the language of the Quran, many people consider it to be sacred. An estimated 260 million people still speak this language today.

Aramiac

Just like how many languages got their start from Arabic, Aramiac is itself the origin of many Arabic words. In fact, it’s considered one of the oldest languages in the world.

About 1,000,000 people still use Aramiac dialects in many different countries, including Isreal, Syria, Australia, the United States, etc.
Armenian

Most scholars believe this language came about around 450 BC. Despite its age, roughly 5 million people living in places like Russia and Georgia still speak Armenian as their first language.

Chinese

The oldest known script of Chinese characters is dated back to 1250 BC. This makes the language over 3,000 years old. It also happens to be the language with the most speakers around the world—1.2 billion.

However, there are many different dialects of this language. So while many people in the world speak Chinese as their first language, they may not speak the same type. The most common forms of Chinese that are used today are Mandarin and Cantonese.

Egyptian

Some of the writings found in Egyptian tombs are estimated to be about 4,700 years old. In other words, this language dates back to about 2600 BC or 2000 BC, making it the oldest language still spoken in Egypt and one of the oldest languages in the entire world.
On top of that, hieroglyphics are thought to be at least 600 years older than any Egyptian written text.

Farsi

Farsi gets its origins from Old Persian language, and while not as old as this language, it is still about 2,500 years old. This language first formed in 800 AD, and it has stayed much the same ever since. Because of this, the people who speak this language use most of the same words and grammar from nearly 3,000 years ago.

Greek

Greek is a language that is about 3,000 years old, and it’s one of the oldest languages in Europe. It dates back to the year 1450 BC, and it became the source of many other alphabets, including Latin, Armenian, Gothic, etc.

This language is still the official language for Greece, Cyprus, and the European Union, and about 13 million people speak this language today.

Hebrew

Hebrew emerged around 1000 BC, meaning it’s over 3,000 years old, and it’s still Isreal’s official language. Because Hebrew was mainly used for religious writings, it is also considered a holy language.

Over 5 million people still speak this language, but modern Hebrew differs somewhat from the Hebrew of 3,000 years ago.

Icelandic

This language is younger than many of the other options on this list, but it is still over 1,200 years old. It is the official language of Iceland, but there are people in places like Canada, the United States, and Denmark that also use this language. Overall, more than 300,000 still speak Icelandic around the world.

Korean

The Korean language developed from Old Korean to Middle Korean and then to Modern Korean. Because of this, Korean is considered one of the oldest languages in the world.

There are many people in many countries that still use this language, including Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, the United States, etc.

Latin: Third Place for Oldest Languages

The Latin language first developed back in 75 BC. There are many languages that got their origins from Latin, such as Romanian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, etc.

While this language isn’t commonly used as a first language anymore, there are millions of people who still speak it. However, most of these people learned it from classes. Despite this, Latin is still one of the official languages in Poland and the Vatican.

Sanskrit: Old but not Oldest Languages

While Sanskrit is an old language, many scholars aren’t sure of its exact age. Some believe it is 4,000 years old while others believe it’s closer to 6,000 years old. Regardless of the exact age, Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in India.

There aren’t too many people who still use Sanskrit as their first language anymore, but it is still an official language in the Indian Peninsula.

Tamil: The Oldest Languages

Tamil is one of the official languages of India, and it also happens to be the oldest living language in India. Unlike Sanskirt, about 78 million people still use this language every day.
This language dates back to 3,000 BC, making it about 5,000 years old.

Understanding the Oldest Languages in the World

It’s hard to find the exact age of many of these languages, but most of them are several thousand years old. And while the languages have changed over time, they’re still similar (and sometimes almost identical) to their original forms.

As some of the oldest languages in the world, the languages on this list can also be complicated. You might have trouble understanding them if you aren’t an expert.

That’s why you should take a look at our translating services. We can help you understand any language by translating it into another language of your preference.

Make sure you get in touch with us to learn more.