deep-techno wrote:
Keeno wrote:
Aramaic, Sanskrit, Zend, Gothic, Old Church Slavonic.
Where are those languages used? Is Gothic meant to be Old English? I know Aramaic is the language used in the Bible and spoken by Jesus.
These are all ancient languages, which is why they are key for etymology and studying the relationships between languages. They are all dead languages, apart from probably Aramaic.
Aramaic was spoken in large areas of the Middle East, including Israel, Syria and Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). It had loads of different dialects. I understand vestiges of it still survive today in the Assyrian Neo-Aramaic and Chaldean Neo-Aramaic languages, spoken respectively by the Assyrian and Chaldean people who both mostly live in Iraq.
Sanskrit is the ancestor of Hindi, Urdu, and maybe Punjabi and Gujarati as well. Was spoken on the Indian sub-continent.
Zend is an ancient language of Persia, related to Persian. Zend is normally known today as Avestan.
Gothic is not Old English, but was related to German. Was spoken all over Europe (the continent at least) by the Visigoths and Ostrogoths.
Old Church Slavonic was the liturgical language of the Eastern Orthodox Church. IIRC it was the earliest known Slavic language. It was important in Russia and other countries until the 19th century. Closest modern language to it is probably Bulgarian.