Which is the world's oldest existing and spoken language?

[hiphopstar 0]

Which is the world's oldest existing and spoken language? Max out your brain and think!

[neuroticmind 0]

Dunno...don't really care...

but I think it's sign language... language also ma..

[Sam 0]

B'coz chinese has more than 5000 years history. 3000 B.C.

LOL.....!

[saffron 0]

Isn't it Mandarin?

[Sam 0]

Isn't it Mandarin?

Yes it is. Mandarin!

[hiphopstar 0]

Dunno...don't really care...

but I think it's sign language... language also ma..

sign language is perhaps one of the oldest language because the primitive used them but it's not considered a spoken language. only hands. talk to my hands. LoL!

[hiphopstar 0]

Chinese is one of the oldest language with a continuous written tradition, i.e. oldest script. but, what about the oldest spoken language that still exists? it's hard even for the archaelogists to find out because in ancient times, there ain't no iPod to record voices. LoL. anyone study archaelogy here?

[Marlene 0]

I think it should be Chinese since there is a 5000 year old record of the language. I once read a book that dissected the chinese characters and found that a lot of them actually spelled out the stories from the Bible in the book of Genesis!

[Cel 0]

I think it's too hard to find the answer to this question. Mandarin may have a long history but it might not be the oldest one. For all we know, it could be some language that we've not even heard of..considering there are soooo many languages in this world (some of which we might not even have heard of)

[lordy 0]

I think it should be Chinese since there is a 5000 year old record of the language. I once read a book that dissected the chinese characters and found that a lot of them actually spelled out the stories from the Bible in the book of Genesis!

wow, this is interesting. Which book is this?

[Azxel 0]

Baby Language (goo goo gaa gaa) would be the oldest right?

Anyway... no options for Hebrew?

I think it should be Chinese since there is a 5000 year old record of the language. I once read a book that dissected the chinese characters and found that a lot of them actually spelled out the stories from the Bible in the book of Genesis!

that would mean that the Chinese language is younger than the Hebrew language now, wouldn't it?

[cossie 0]

is the oldest sound mankind has ever made a cry?

[klaudina 0]

hebrew is the oldest lar

[lordy 0]

umm i always thot hebrew is around 3000 years old. Even though talmud says hebrew go back far longer, i remember reading something bout oldest written record in hebrew is only like 3000 years old or roughly 1000 years old before christ was born.

[Azxel 0]

How many years back would 11th century BC be?

As far as I know the Hebrew language is the oldest. It's usage kinda slowed down when the Babylonians took over those parts of the known world long long ago.

[lordy 0]

11 century would date back to like 3100 years lor. 1 century = 100 years. AD till now 2006, so 2006 + 1100 = 3106

More info on the age of hebrew

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew

Archaic Biblical Hebrew from the 10th to the 6th century BCE, corresponding to the Monarchic Period until the Babylonian Exile and represented by certain texts in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), notably the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5). Also called Old Hebrew or Paleo-Hebrew. Historically, it used a form of the Canaanite script.

Edited November 3, 2006 by lordy

[cossie 0]

11 century would date back to like 3100 years lor. 1 century = 100 years. AD till now 2006, so 2006 + 1100 = 3106

for BC, you'll need to subtract from year zero.

[Cas 0]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_language

[epileatheral 0]

The article says it all. I've seen the documentary before. It depends on how u define oldest.

In short:

Oldest language documented in written form : Sumerian 3200BC

Oldest language spoken language : Sanskrit, Tamil

Oldest language which is still continued today : Chinese

[khai wen 0]

Voted Sanskrit b4 reading...

However, I believe there's more older language as there is alot of pre-historic or legends of past kingdoms such Atlantis, Rama, MU and so on.

[musiclover85 0]

oldest ones got to be sanskrit and mandarin that are still spoken today, i think..

[Venni Vetti Vecci 0]

i rekon its english

[lordy 0]

err actually english is relatively young. Its derived from anglo saxon, latin and deutch. Even magna charter wasnt written in english. English as we now know gained popular use in the 14th century onwards. Before then it was known as anglo saxon, which has mixture of latin, deutch, french and germanic languages. If taking consideration that anglo saxon as the early form of english, then it would just date like around 1000 to 1200 years old.

Edited January 8, 2007 by lordy

[musiclover85 0]

though egyptian and sanskrit are probably the oldest languages in the world, yet they are not used today anymore..

so in a way, chinese is the oldest spoken language in the modern world .

[nygere 0]

I know I know...

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