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In India, it ends up being the availability of records that are (a) decipherable and (b) recognizably in that language. Among the so-called Indian "regional" la
by wsxcde 9y ago
In India, it ends up being the availability of records that are (a) decipherable and (b) recognizably in that language. Among the so-called Indian "regional" langauges, the oldest Tamil records date back to about 2300 BC, while the oldest available records of Kannada/Telugu are a few hundreds of years younger. It's quite likely these languages existed long before these written records, but records are what decide the oldness olympics.
- thaumasiotes 9y agoThere are no records recognizably written in any modern language from 2300 BC. They can be recognizably written in an ancestral form of the language, but no language can remain self-intelligible over 4300 years.
- wsxcde 9y agoI made a mistake. I should have said 300 BC not 2300 BC. Also, yes, they are in an older form the language.