Elamite is an extinct language isolate that was spoken by the ancient Elamites in what is now southwestern Iran, attested in written records from about 2600 BC to AD 330. It was recorded across several historical phases, Old Elamite, Middle Elamite, Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid Elamite, using multiple scripts including the fully deciphered Elamite cuneiform and the earlier, still only partly understood Linear Elamite. Elamite has no demonstrable relatives; proposed connections to the Dravidian languages and to Brahui have been suggested but have not gained acceptance among mainstream linguists, and its lack of established relatives continues to make the language difficult to interpret.
Facts
RegionSouthwestern Iran, the historical territory of ancient Elam, attested from about 2600 BC to AD 330 2 Speaker Count Proto-Language StatusNo proto-language: Elamite is a language isolate, with no demonstrated relationship to any other known language 2 Compare
Number of Languages Connections
In the Other Atlases
Cases Where Used
Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.
Source Persepolis Fortification Archive (Wikipedia)Languages listtier 2Quote, Languages list
the remains of more than 15,000 original records in the Elamite language, in cuneiform script
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Glottolog
Sources
1. Glottolog: Elamite (languoid record)
GlottologLanguoid record: level and categoryQuote, Languoid record: level and category
"level": "language", "bookkeeping": false, "category": "Spoken L1 Language"
2. Wikipedia: Elamite Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, paragraph 1: region and time span sentence
It was recorded in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to AD 330.
Lead section, paragraph 1: language isolate sentence
Elamite is generally thought to have no demonstrable relatives and is usually considered a language isolate.
Lead section, paragraph 1: extinct language clause
Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Scythic, Median, Amardian, Anshanian and Susian, is an extinct language
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