Exploring the world's oldest languages and their origins The world is home to over 7,100 languages today, with nearly 40% endangered. These languages span millennia of human history, making the search for the oldest languages a fascinating endeavor. Early written languages such as Sumerian, Akkadian, and Egyptian, which used cuneiform script, date back at least 4,600 years. Egyptian hieroglyphs, like those in Pharaoh Seth-Peribsen's tomb, contain some of the earliest-known complete sentences. Although these languages are extinct, they hold the title of the oldest with clear written records. Among the oldest still-spoken...