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Study identifies ancient 'golden age' of linguistic diversity followed by rapid decline
Key points
- Linguistic diversity peaked 2,000 years ago with up to 75,000 languages.
- A "golden age" of languages occurred 3,000 to 1,000 years ago.
- Diversity declined rapidly over the last two millennia.
- The study modeled language evolution since agriculture began 12,000 years ago.
Reconstructing Linguistic History
Researchers led by Damián Blasi of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona conducted a study to reconstruct humanity's linguistic diversity from the dawn of agriculture, approximately 12,000 years ago. The model was based on data from 171 hunter-gatherer groups, serving as proxies for pre-agricultural populations.
The Pre-Agricultural Linguistic Landscape
Before the advent of agriculture, with a global human population estimated between 4.4 and 7 million, the model suggests humans spoke about 4,500 to 6,000 languages. This number is fewer than the 7,500 languages spoken today, but significant given the smaller global population at that time.
Peak Diversity and Subsequent Decline
The study's models predicted that linguistic diversity peaked around 2,000 years ago, with potentially as many as 75,000 languages spoken worldwide. This period, from 3,000 to 1,000 years ago, is described as a "golden age" of languages. Following this peak, there was an extremely rapid decrease in linguistic diversity, particularly over the last two millennia. This decline is attributed to factors such as the rise of "behemoth languages" and the spread of colonialism over the past 500 years.
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Reporting from
A new study reconstructed humanity's linguistic diversity, finding a "golden age" with tens of thousands of languages between 3,000 and 1,000 years ago. This period was followed by a rapid decrease in linguistic diversity, especially over the last two millennia, driven by the rise of dominant languages and colonialism. The research provides insight into the historical evolution and loss of global languages.