HISTORY OF LANGUAGE

Dear HIW,

Of all the languages that exist today, which one is the oldest? Elaine Gaddie

Tamil is considered to be the oldest language still in use by people today. Tamil has been spoken for at least 5,000 years, and today is spoken across India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. While you may have heard of many of the world’s languages, you are unlikely to have heard of them all. There are around 6,809 languages spoken in total worldwide but only between 150 and 200 languages that are spoken by over a million people.

This Tamil inscription is written on the wall at Brihadishvara Temple, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, in India