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What about languages we can only speculate about? E.g: the several languages of the Khoe-Sān people in South Africa. It is generally assumed that their languag
by diego_moita 3y ago
What about languages we can only speculate about? E.g: the several languages of the Khoe-Sān people in South Africa.
It is generally assumed that their language is, phonetically, the most "different" in the world and therefore we can suppose that it was one of the first to derive from the hypothetical "proto-language".
- parabyl 3y agoBlanking on a source right now, but I recall reading about a study on the 'oldness' of languages and found that the unique sort of phonetics in !Kung and other Khoe or San languages appeared to reduce over time, and simpler hard consonants would emerge in their place - implying that they are indeed some of the oldest languages still around. Interstingly, there are a number of words from these languages that are still widely used in South African slang: Dagga for Marijuana, Eina for "Ouch!", Gogga for Bug or Insect, and Kerrie for Stick, usually used as the neologism Knobkerrie. Very possibly some of the oldest slang in the world!