Here's why:
* Language is constantly evolving: Languages change over time, with new words being added, old words disappearing, and grammar shifting. This means that languages we know today are simply the latest iteration of a long evolutionary process.
* No written records: The earliest languages were spoken, and we have no written records from that far back in time. We can only speculate about the origin of languages based on evidence like:
* Linguistic relationships: Studying how different languages are related can help us trace them back to common ancestors.
* Archaeological evidence: Tools and artifacts can sometimes provide insights into the cognitive abilities and social structures of early humans, giving us clues about the potential presence of language.
While we can't say definitively which language came first, we can say that language likely emerged alongside the development of human cognition, perhaps as far back as 100,000 years ago. This means that any attempt to pinpoint a single "first language" is likely to be inaccurate.