Welcome, aspiring polyglot! Throughout the history of the world, old civilizations have used languages and ways of communication that are no longer used today. Today we’ll touch on the top 5 languages that are considered dead languages. A dead language is a language that no longer has any native speakers or is no longer in everyday use for communication.
These languages may have ceased to be spoken due to various reasons such as cultural assimilation, conquests, or societal changes. Dead languages are typically preserved in written texts, historical records, religious texts, or through scholarly study.
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The most common way in which a language dies is when communities become bilingual and gradually shift their allegiance to their second language. This can happen with smaller native languages in which the speakers must learn a more widely spoken language to advance socially or economically. Such circumstances can cause smaller languages to gradually die out over generations.
Dead and extinct languages are often confused. Extinct languages are languages that no longer have any native or second-language speakers. In the early 2000s, there were as many as 7,000 natively spoken languages worldwide. But some estimates suggest that as many as 90% of these languages will be extinct by 2050.
The five examples of dead languages we’ll touch on today include Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, Old Norse, and Aramaic. While these languages are no longer spoken as living languages, they continue to have importance in various fields such as literature, religion, academia, and historical research. In some cases, efforts are made to revive or reconstruct dead languages for cultural or academic purposes.
Latin
Until the 1960s, Latin acted as the Catholic Church's primary tongue for religious services, but the language no longer has any native speakers. Latin was the Western World's most influential language for over a thousand years largely attributed to the Roman Empire’s expansion and the establishment of Christianity in Britain. It continues to be practiced in certain academic or religious settings and Vatican City still records Latin as an official language.
Even though English's core vocabulary is inherited from Proto-Germanic, 60% of English words originate from Latin. Words including vice versa, alter ego, and etcetera are borrowed directly from Latin. Moreover, the French, Italian, Portuguese languages are directly influenced by Latin. Additionally, the works of Roman writers like Virgil are universally studied. So though Latin does not have any native speakers, it remains a largely influential “dead” language.
Studying Latin as a part of your second language acquisition can be greatly beneficial. Especially for those of you that are studying romance languages.
Ancient Greek
At first glance you may question why this language makes the list as the modern world still holds Greek as a popular language. Spoken in Greece, modern Greek is definitely not a dead language. However, Ancient Greek is different enough from what is spoken today that it is considered its own language and not in use anymore.
Ancient Greek was one of the first languages to embrace the written word's potential for individual expression. Where other civilizations around the same time were used mostly for record taking, Ancient Greek was used more artistically.
Ancient Greek can be traced back to 9th century BC, and continues to be taught as the language used by many great philosophers and writers such as Aristotle, Homer, Plato, and Sophocles. Their works are commonly studied by academics at universities all around the world today. So though considered a dead language, much like Latin, this language still has use in specialized cases.
The English language has also pulled plenty of words, base words, and roots from Ancient Greek to name things in our medical and scientific systems and other areas of common parlance. Words such as democracy, hermaphrodite, and marathon all have their roots in ancient Greek. And although the Phoenicians served as a source of inspiration for our alphabet, Greece contributed the first full alphabet, and several letters – including A and B – have stood the test of time.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit is considered the oldest language in the world and it’s been dead in common usage for quite a while. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a direct impact on the world today. It is still used within faith-based communities in South and East Asia. Though it is considered a dead language, it still remains one of India’s official languages.
The majority of the ancient scriptures in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism were all written in Sanskrit. India is proud of this mother tongue and the country wants to protect that heritage. Philosophical works such as the ancient “Vedas” were also produced in Sanskrit. Much like Ancient Greek and Latin, these important ancient texts are widely studied and still have so much influence today.
Old Norse
Dating back to approximately the 9th century, Old Norse morphed from Proto-Norse, and marked the start of the Viking Era. Forming part of the North Germanic family, variants of Old Norse were spoken throughout Scandinavia and in areas conquered by the Vikings. Similarly to Latin and Catholicism, Old Norse held significant spiritual value for Germanic people, and the language presence can be felt in its Scandinavian descendants.
Old Norse eventually died out and lost its spot as a commonly used language, but Old Norse’s descendant languages have split off into many sub-groups, and many of its words can still be heard in today’s languages such as Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish.
There are a great many English words that can be attributed to Old Norse as well. Common words used nowadays include berserk, cake, knife, and Thursday. The connection to English comes through the Germanic language family of which both English and Old Norse are part.
Aramaic
Aramaic is best known as the language that Jesus Christ most likely spoke when he was alive. The language was incredibly widely used during the time of Christ. The history of Aramaic spans 3,000 years, hailing back to an ancient Mesopotamian civilization known as the Arameans. The Aramean civilization actually fell centuries before the language’s rise in use in much of the Middle East. It was not until the 7th century that Aramaic started to fade out in favor of Arabic.
For a time, it looked as though Aramaic would become completely extinct. Modern day linguists and researchers have worked to ensure that extinction does not happen. Even though it doesn’t enjoy anywhere near the influence it once had, Aramaic’s notoriety as Jesus’ language may ensure that its legacy lives on.
The above list is considered nowhere close to covering the large number of languages that are considered dead and it doesn’t even begin to touch on the number of extinct languages there are. It is interesting to see what languages are no longer in common use, yet still provide influence and even lend words and roots used in today’s modern languages.
If you are embarking on or are currently learning a second language, I implore you to do your own research on the origins of your language of study. Learning where your second language roots and influence come from may open your eyes to patterns and foundations in the language that help you in your studies. And if nothing else you may learn some fun facts about your language of interest.
One of the greatest tragedies in the world is a language dying. Fortunately there are many people who are working on not only preserving old languages, but reigniting them. If that sounds like something you would be interested in, comment below or respond to this email and I will put you in touch with some people who are doing the work. Working on a second language is actively doing your part to maintain the communication method upon which millions of people who came before you depended.
As we discuss often around here, creating is vital in second language acquisition. Speaking and practicing with written language will help you in accelerating and enhancing your language learning process, so start having conversations as early on as possible. It will be difficult, but you can do difficult things and be great. So go do some difficult things and become great.
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