Languages Once Far More Than Today | Science News

Two thousand years ago, humanity may have spoken tens of thousands of languages — a linguistic golden age that peaked as agriculture fueled population growth. But with the rise of empires like Rome, many languages vanished, setting a trend that continues today. New computer modeling challenges the idea that language loss is mostly a colonial-era phenomenon, suggesting even ancient societies homogenized speech. Yet skeptics caution that reconstructing such distant linguistic diversity is fraught with uncertainty. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/a657598bfc7465b2