Why Sanskrit is called the mother of all languages?

As a linguistic expert with a deep understanding of the evolution of languages and their interrelations, I can shed some light on the statement that "Sanskrit is called the mother of all languages." It's important to clarify that this claim is not entirely accurate, but it does have a basis in historical and linguistic research. Sanskrit is an ancient language of the Indo-European language family, which is one of the largest language families in the world. It is the classical language of India and has played a significant role in the development of many languages in the region, including Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, and others. The influence of Sanskrit on these languages is profound, which has led some to refer to it as the "mother" of these languages. However, to claim that Sanskrit is the mother of all languages is an overstatement. The term "mother language" typically refers to a proto-language, which is the hypothesized common ancestor from which a group of languages evolved. For the Indo-European family, this hypothetical proto-language is called Proto-Indo-European (PIE), not Sanskrit. Sanskrit is one of the many descendant languages that evolved from PIE. The similarity between Sanskrit and other classical languages like Latin and Greek is indeed striking. This is because they all share a common ancestry in PIE. The similarities can be observed in vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. For instance, the Sanskrit word for "mother" is "mātṛ," which is similar to the Latin "mater" and Greek "mētēr." These similarities have led to extensive study and comparison among these languages, contributing to the field of historical linguistics. It's also worth noting that not all languages in India are part of the Indo-European family. For example, Tamil is a Dravidian language, which is a separate language family. The Dravidian languages are considered to be indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and are not directly descended from PIE. This further illustrates that the claim of Sanskrit being the mother of all languages is not universally applicable. In conclusion, while Sanskrit has had a significant impact on many languages and can be considered the mother of several Indo-Aryan languages, it is not accurate to say that it is the mother of all languages. The diversity of languages across the globe is vast, with each having its own unique history and development. The study of these languages and their relationships is a fascinating field that continues to reveal the rich tapestry of human communication and culture.

Sanskrit is a part of Indo-European languages family and has striking similarity between Latin and Greek. ... So, to say that Sanskrit is the mother of all languages would be incorrect; But one can say, Sanskrit is the mother of most of the living languages. Tamil belongs to another language tree Dravidian languages.Mar 14, 2018