What Is The Oldest Language In Europe?
The title of oldest language in Europe is one which is hotly debated. Some people claim that it is Icelandic, others that it is Greek, (this is the oldest recorded language, with it being definitely in use during the second Millennium before Christ’s birth). Academics generally agree that there are three umbrella groups of languages which form the basis of language which is used today. These are Finno-Ugrians, Indo-European and Basque languages. The Basque language is still spoken largely unchanged from its early days. Its claim to be Europe’s oldest language is certainly a strong one, because it has no Greek or Latin influences within it, it is a very separate language. This means that it is very likely to pre-date both these languages and so, it is argued, it existed before them and therefore is Europe’s oldest language. But obviously this theory is extremely hard to prove, either negatively or positively.
