Let’s start with an interesting question.We see so many varieties of organisms in the planet earth.How did such a variety of living species come about? Science has its own theory and religion has its own theory. In a way both are sort of beliefs only.Similarly,how did so many languages come about?Linguistics has its own theory and Bible has its own story,the Tower of Babel !
The Tower of Babel Story
The Tower of Babel - Story Summary:
Up until this point in the Bible, the whole world had one language - one common speech for all people. The people of the earth became skilled in construction and decided to build a city with a tower that would reach to heaven. By building the tower they wanted to make a name for themselves and also prevent their city from being scattered.
God came to see their city and the tower they were building. He perceived their intentions, and in His infinite wisdom, He knew this "stairway to heaven" would only lead the people away from God. He noted the powerful force within their unity of purpose. As a result, God confused their language, causing them to speak different languages so they would not understand each other. By doing this, God thwarted their plans. He also scattered the people of the city all over the face of the earth.
The story says that one language was spoken by the entire mankind before the fall of the tower of Babel. For the sake of our discussion,let’s call that language as B.B.(Before Babel) language and the multiple languages that appeared after the fall as A.B.(After Babel) languages for easy reference.
The main distinguishing feature of the B.B. language should be THAT SOME OF ITS WORDS WOULD BE FOUND IN ALMOST ALL B.B. LANGUAGES.
Now,let’s check out the Top 10 oldest languages of the world on this parameter.(Top 10 Oldest Languages in the World Maybe - World Blaze)
10-Latin
9-Armenian
8-Korean
7-Hebrew
6-Aramaic
5-Chinese
4-Greek
3-Egyptian
2-Sanskrit
1-Tamil
Hence it is clear that Tamil is the oldest language spoken and surviving till date. Let’s check out whether Tamil is possibly the B.B.language.Let’s find out whether Tamil words are found in other A.B.language families.
Certain key Tamil words are found universally in almost all languages.What are they?
- Terms used to indicate places: Tamil Ur and Thalam are found all over the world.’Ur’ is a place name in Iraq.’Sumerian’ contains’Ur’.The popular English word ’Urban’is derived from Tamil word’Ur’. Kanpur is one Ur in north India.
- Similarly,Tamil word’Thalam’ is used as’Sthalam>Sthan’ in words like Pakistan,Kazhakasthan etc.throughout the world.
- Terms used to indicate ‘King’:The Tamil term ‘Rasa’ used to refer to King ,is used throughout the world in slightly altered forms.Read Athi S Sundar's answer to Is the Tamil word 'Rasa' for 'King' used throughout the world? in this regard.
- Tamil words used globally:Please read Alvaro Hans's answer to Is it true that Tamil words are used by all non-Tamil people globally? for an insight.
- Tamil links with Greek/Latin —-Yes (Read Athi S Sundar's answer to Are Greek and Tamil genetically related? )
- Tamil links with Hebrew-Yes(Read Athi S Sundar's answer to Are Tamil and Hebrew closely related?)
- Tamil links with Korea-Yes(Read https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Korean-envoy-proud-of-his-Tamil-links/articleshow/53277831.cms )
- Tamil links with Japanese-Yes(Read The Astonishing Links Between Tamil and Japanese )
- Tamil links with Egyptian-Yes(Read Tamil Brahmi Script Discovered On Ancient Jars In Egypt And Oman | MessageToEagle.com )
So,all major language families are seen to have links with Tamil. Links with Chinese,Sanskrit,Slavic languages,English have been established as well.(Refer Proto-Indo-European Language: Face Unveiled !: Alvaro Hans: 9781948096324: Amazon.com: Books for more )
In the circumstances, Tamil appears to be the most probable language spoken at the tower of Babel before its fall.
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