Dating to at least 3500 BCE, Sumerian could well be the oldest written language in the world. The earliest evidence of Sumerian is on a limestone tablet known as the Kish Tablet, found in Iraq. Sumerian was eventually succeeded by Akkadian, with the latter becoming the new vernacular language.
Because the oldest written language is Sumerian followed by Egyptian and the oldest surviving language is Tamil followed by Sanskrit. But there is a small twist. The Egyptian writings leading to around 5200 years ago.
The 1st language is the person's mother language. The 2nd language is the person's native language and The 3rd language is another language that the person knows. Explanation: 1st language is the mother tongue that the person's family language.
Tamil (5000 years)
Tamil language is the world's oldest language which is spoken by 78 million people. This is not only the language in the state of Tamil Nadu but also the official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore.
By order of appearance, the Tamil language (part of the family of Dravidian languages) would be considered the world's oldest living language as it is over 5,000 years old, with its first grammar book having made its first appearance in 3,000 BC.
Its continued growth is due to the global influence of the United States and the United Kingdom, along with the increasing importance of English as a language of science and technology. By 2050, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Hindi are expected to be the most widely spoken languages.
A second language (L2) is a language spoken in addition to one's first language (L1). A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a foreign language.
According to UNESCO, “Mother tongue or mother language refers to a child's first language, the language learned in the home from older family members.” As a linguistic anthropologist who studies language use in diverse communities, I know that multilingualism is part of our general human capacity for language.
The world's 10 oldest languages in the world
This means that words are formed by stringing together various morphemes (the smallest units of meaning) without altering them in spelling or phonetics. This property allows Tamil speakers to create long and complex words by combining roots, suffixes, and prefixes.
LETTER STONE Inscriptions in stone slabs from Egypt, including this specimen dating to almost 3,500 years ago, contain the world's oldest alphabet, which one researcher now argues was an early form of Hebrew. New translations of these inscriptions contain references to figures from the Bible, including Moses.
Here is a list of the top 10 oldest languages in the world based on historical records and linguistic studies:
The Adamic language, according to Jewish tradition (as recorded in the midrashim) and some Christians, is the language spoken by Adam (and possibly Eve) in the Garden of Eden.
Sanskrit is considered to be the mother of all languages because many of the world's languages, including English, Latin, and Greek, have borrowed words and grammar rules from Sanskrit. The language has also had a profound influence on the development of Indian languages such as Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil.
Cryptophasia is the phenomenon of a language developed by twins (identical or fraternal) that only the two children can understand. The word has its roots from the Greek crypto-, meaning secret, and -phasia, meaning speech.
Hindi, one of India's official languages, is the most spoken language in the country, with 52.83 crore speakers. In other words, 43.63% of the total population speaks Hindi. It is followed by Bengali and Marathi in second and third positions respectively.
Mandarin Chinese
Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the writing system is extremely difficult for English speakers (and anyone else) accustomed to the Latin alphabet.
When Bolivia adopted its 2009 constitution, 37 languages were elevated to “official” status.
Powell Alexander Janulus (born 1939) is a Canadian polyglot who lives in White Rock, British Columbia, and entered the Guinness World Records in 1985 for fluency in 42 languages.
Top 10 Most Difficult Languages in the World
Mexico has 69 official languages, including Spanish and 68 indigenous languages (like Nahuatl and Maya), making it incredibly linguistically diverse, though South Sudan is also listed with 69 living languages in some counts, showing many countries have rich linguistic diversity. While Mexico is famous for this, the number refers to recognized languages, with hundreds of variations and dialects existing within them.
Language plays an essential part in education because it is the language that we use to learn, teach, and communicate. Language enables children to make meaning from ideas and engage in critical thinking, as well as communicate ideas within each subject and possible connections across subjects and disciplines.
English – The fastest growing language
English is spoken by an estimated 1.45 billion people globally, including both native and second-language speakers. Around 380 million are native speakers. Its growth is driven by: International business: Over 70% of global business communication is in English.