whici is the oldest langauge in the world?

India
December 16, 2006 1:18pm CST
whici is the oldest langauge in the world?
5 responses
@freebee19 (212)
• India
16 Dec 06
Linguists agree that there are no such things as "primitive" languages: no traditional human language has a "rudimentary" grammar or a vocabulary unequal to the task of talking about the things its speakers want to discuss. Noam Chomsky and his followers believe that all human languages possess a common deep structure; those structures are shared by all human languages, whatever their superficial differences. It is often claimed that the Pirahã language is an example of rudimentary language, on the grounds that it has no numbers, a very small phoneme inventory, and limited clause structure. On the other hand, one of its primary investigators, Daniel Everett, writes “No one should draw the conclusion... that the Pirahã language is in any way 'primitive'. It has the most complex verbal morphology I am aware of and a strikingly complex prosodic system.” The development of language can be observed in the development of various sign languages, which show the capacity of humans for language, when a critical mass of minds which require a language to communicate are congregated. The spontaneous generation of a language and its development from primitive home sign-like roots to rudimentary pidgin-like LSN (Lenguaje de Signos Nicaragüense) and finally to a more complex form in ISN (Idioma de Señas de Nicaragua) can be observed in the Nicaraguan Sign Language. Moreover, all languages are subject to processes of language change. Languages change inevitably in their vocabulary and phonology as old speakers die and are replaced by younger ones. Some linguists have hypothesized that this process is inevitable; linguistic drift, like genetic drift, could be used to set up a time framework. If linguistic change is inevitable, some have put forth the theory that there might exist a curtain in time behind which the relationships between languages, even if valid, are irrecoverable.
• Nigeria
16 Dec 06
well i think is the most spoken language that has to be English
1 person likes this
• India
16 Dec 06
English being the most spoken need never be the oldest one :)
@perugu (5279)
• India
16 Dec 06
hi, i think greek followed by sanskrit..
1 person likes this
• India
16 Dec 06
may be :) even i am not sure. a historian may be able to help us
@ralevi (1885)
• United States
16 Dec 06
I think is chinese but I am not sure.
1 person likes this
@TerryZ (22076)
• United States
16 Dec 06
I would have to say it is without a doubt English. And it is the only language that I uderstand. I know only words from other languages but that is about it.
• India
16 Dec 06
i dont think its english as english is a derivation of latin