Trecerea la viața sedentară a schimbat radical limbajul uman. Mii de limbi au dispărut de-a lungul istoriei

A recent study suggests that the number of languages spoken worldwide was significantly higher in the past, peaking around 2,000 years ago. Researchers estimate that there were tens of thousands of languages at that time, nearly ten times more than at the end of the last Ice Age. Currently, over 7,500 distinct languages are in use. The study indicates that the rise of agriculture and stable communities contributed to linguistic diversity. As people settled into smaller, isolated communities, dialects began to separate, leading to the emergence of distinct languages. The analysis reveals that linguistic diversity peaked around 2,000 years ago and has been declining since, challenging the notion that modern globalization is the primary cause of language loss.