Study shows world spoke tens of thousands more languages in antiquity than today

Researchers estimate that between 30,000 and over 75,000 languages were spoken globally at the peak during the first millennium BC and first millennium AD.

The study, led by Claire Bowern of Yale University, used mathematical modeling and anthropological data to estimate language numbers dating back 12,000 years.

Around 12,000 years ago, when human populations were small and dispersed as hunter-gatherers, an estimated 4,500 to 6,200 languages were spoken.

The decline from the peak is attributed to language replacement driven by the expansion of large empires and European colonialism.

Today, about 7,500 languages are used worldwide, with roughly half considered endangered, and 90% of the population speaks only 10% of languages.