Well an interesting question commonly asked in any question and answer platform. We have several beautiful languages in this world. Every language is unique in it's way and interesting to learn. I'm a big fan of people who can speak multiple language and multiple accent. Being said that I would say that it is kind of a skill and only few people can be really fluent in speaking multiple language. I would like to proudly say that I speak the oldest language in the world. Read further to know more.
Most of the Indian languages are quite old compared to the new languages that emerged from the recent colonies. In my opinion there are two languages that are considered to be the oldest language in the world. Tamil and Sanskrit. I'm quite fortunate that I can speak and understand both the language. There are lots of other languages in the world that were derived from Tamil and Sanskrit.
Tamil
Tamil is one of the oldest language spoken fluently in India and many parts of the world. There is an exclusive state in India where the official language of the state is Tamil. I belong to that state and my school education was in this language along with English as the primary language. We are able to find so many archeological evidences to prove the fact that Tamil is one of the oldest language. Some of the books and documents in Tamil predates Christ and other scholars. Some of the literary work includes Tholkappiyam, Puranaanooru, Aganaanooru, Thirukkural etc. We unfortunately don't know the actual period when these books were authored. The oldest written book belongs to 5th century BC.
These oldest books in Tamil adds great value to our life. There are also so many research works going on these literary works. It is said that people of Tamilnadu destroyed some of these literary works by themselves because of superstitious beliefs and misconceptions. Some of these works were destroyed during British colonization as well. When we speak a lot about Tamil language, it is not just the language that takes the priority but also the culture and tradition that is being followed till today. People from all over the world are fond about the culture and tradition and try to follow the same.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit is considered to be another oldest language in the world. It has been a strong base for so many languages. Many foreign languages also has their language origin from Sanskrit. It is believed that German, Dutch and even Japanese is suspected to have been originated from Sanskrit. There are so many inscriptions in many temples all over the world. People find Sanskrit to be God's language but there have been evidences that clearly says that Sanskrit was commonly used as a communication language in ancient India.
Archeological excavations also shows lots of evidences proving Sanskrit to be the oldest language in the world. The oldest book Rig Veda written in Sanskrit belongs to 10th century AD. Last year we found that Indus valley civilization is officially the oldest civilization in the world. But we have a proof earlier saying that Sanskrit was the language used in Indus valley civilization. This constitutes to the fact that Sanskrit is the oldest language in the world. We are able to find soany Sanskrit scriptures in many museums all over the world. Many countries have been doing research works in Sanskrit and acquiring patents. Some of the famous literary works in Sanskrit include Rig Veda, Ramayana, Mahabharata etc. These books talks about a variety of topics including science tradition, religion, God, purpose of life etc.
Which came first Tamil or Sanskrit?
Some people in India argue saying that Tamil came before Sanskrit and Sanskrit came before Tamil. As I understand the beauty of both the languages, I stay away from this argument completely. According to me both the languages emerged at the same time I would say. They both are not highly relative but both borrows lots of words from each other. I consider both the languages as my two eyes. If you ask me which one is special or which eye came first, it is white difficult to answer and also it kind of becomes a stupid question.
I enjoy the beauty of both the language. Tamil is my mother tongue and Sanskrit is also my mother tongue in a way because as a Brahmin, I use Sanskrit in all my rituals. I almost use Sanskrit every day and both the languages add meaning to my life. Some people who hate Brahmins try to suppress this language. There are so many Sanskrit scriptures all over the world taken from India. Many countries like UK, Italy, Germany etc have so many patients on Indian items that were extracted out of Sanskrit scriptures.
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