This text is about the most widely spoken languages in the world and how it all started.
- The reading time is 5 minutes.
Where did it all start?
Today there is no answer to the question "What was the first language?" The formation of languages is a complex, uneven and long process, just like the evolution of mankind as a whole.
But we can distinguish the top of the oldest languages:
- Sumerian language (about 4,500 years ago). It was spoken in what is now Iraq.
- Akkadian (about 4,300 years ago). Another ancient language of Mesopotamia.
- Ancient Egyptian (5,400 years ago). It was used in ancient Egypt until the first centuries AD.
- Sanskrit (3,500 years ago). It was used in India.
- Aramaic (3200 years ago). It was also spoken in Mesopotamia. Some parts of the Bible are also written in Aramaic.
- Ancient Greek (3400 years ago). in ancient Greece.
- Tamil (2300 years ago). in the territory of Sri Lanka. It is noteworthy that Tamil is to this day one of the two official languages on the island.
- Hebrew (3200 years ago). Most of Judaism's religious texts are written in Hebrew.
Some of these languages are still alive, i.e. they are spoken in everyday life.
And what happened next?
In the Middle Ages the balance of power changed slightly and the most common languages of the period 5-15th century AD became:
- Latin - the official language of the Roman Empire and the Western Church. It was used in science, literature, law writing.
- Arabic - It is believed that this language became widespread in connection with the Islamic Caliphate . Arabic covered the Middle East, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.
- Old French - in medieval France and England (after the Norman Conquest). The language was mainly used by aristocrats and kings.
- Greek - The Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Church used Greek in philosophy, science, and literature.
- Old German - spread to the territories of present-day Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
- Old Slavonic - spread widely throughout the Slavic lands.
- Middle English - began to develop after the Norman Conquest in England, combining elements of Old English and Old French.
What about today?
Centuries of conquest, cultural mixing, and technological advancement have brought us to a point where the 10 most widely spoken languages in the world (by number of speakers) now look like this:
- English - about 1.5 billion speakers. The language is one of the official languages in a number of countries in Africa, Europe, America and Oceania.
- Chinese (Mandarin) - about 1.1 billion carriers.
- Hindi - about 600 million carriers. Widespread in India.
- Spanish - about 580 million carriers. Spain, Latin America, Easter Island.
- Arabic - About 310 million carriers. Used in North and East Africa, the Middle East and West Asia.
- French - about 280 million carriers. Widespread in Europe: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Monaco; a number of countries in Africa and America.
- Bengali - about 230 million carriers. Bangladesh and India.
- Portuguese - about 220 million carriers. Portugal, Brazil, part of Africa.
- Russian - about 150 million carriers. Widespread in the post-Soviet countries,
- Japanese - about 125 million carriers.
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