Ancient & Dead Languages
This language of ancient Mesopotamia was written in wedge-shaped characters on clay tablets.
What is Sumerian?
The Cherokee syllabary was invented by this 19th-century man, allowing his people to write their own language.
Who is Sequoyah?
The !Kung language, known for its “click” consonants, is spoken in this region of Africa.
What is the Kalahari Desert / Southern Africa?
This “language of the gods” in classical Indian culture was also used in royal decrees and religious hymns.
What is Sanskrit?
This language has over 30 distinct words for different types of snow, reflecting its cultural and environmental significance.
What is Inuktitut?
This ancient Indo-European language, used in Vedic texts, is considered the oldest attested form of Sanskrit.
What is Vedic Sanskrit?
This South Asian script, used in Sri Lanka, descends from Brahmi and is one of the oldest continuously used writing systems.
What is Sinhala?
Kalaallisut is the main language of this vast Arctic territory.
What is Greenland?
The medieval Scandinavian runes were often carved into these materials to survive the climate.
What is wood bone?
This language spoken in the Amazon is famous for lacking numbers and exact counting?
What is Pirahã
This language of the Roman Empire, once spoken in North Africa, survives only in inscriptions and some religious texts.
What is Punic?
This Japanese writing system uses phonetic symbols called kana and was adapted from Chinese characters
What is Hiragana / Katakana?
Ainu, nearly extinct, is a language isolate spoken on this northern island of Japan.
What is Hokkaido?
During the colonial period, this African-based Creole was used as a lingua franca across the Caribbean and West African coasts.
What is Krio / Pidgin English
On the island of La Gomera, this language is whistled to communicate across deep mountain valleys.
What is Silbo Gomero
The Anatolian empire, wrote their laws and treaties in this Indo-European language using cuneiform.
What is Hittite?
Rongorongo, an undeciphered script found on Easter Island, may represent a writing system or mnemonic device. The island is part of this country today.
What is Chile?
Livonian, now nearly extinct, was historically spoken in this Baltic country.
What is Latvia?
This 9th-century Christian monk created the Glagolitic alphabet, considered the oldest Slavic script, to translate liturgical texts from Greek.
Who is Saint Cyril?
Spoken in the Caucasus, this language has a unique script where all consonants are pronounced, making direct transliteration nearly impossible.
What is Georgian?
This dead North American language is considered a linguistic isolate with no known relatives.
What is Natchez?
This ancient script remains undeciphered despite thousands of inscriptions found on seals and pottery.
What is the Indus script?
This nearly extinct language of Siberia is known for its complex system of evidentiality, marking how the speaker knows something happened.
What is Evenki?
The Kiunguja dialect, spoken in this island city-state, became the basis for standard Swahili taught across East Africa.
What is Zanzibar?
This language spoken in Vanuatu features over 100 words for different kinds of pig, reflecting the animal’s central role in local culture and economy.
What is Mwotlap?