> Would you claim that Basque and Spanish are equally old?
Think. How could it possibly be otherwise?
> If people have been speaking Language A for 2 millennia, it's 2 millennia old. If they've been speaking Language B for 15 centuries, it's 15 centuries old. Just because A and B are both spoken today doesn't make them equally old.
But you just made that up. As has already been pointed out, all modern languages have been spoken for exactly the same period of time, with a few rare exceptions. The fact that two languages are both spoken today is sufficient to conclude that they are equally old, unless you happen to know exactly when one of them originated.
Ah, I think I'm beginning to understand what you're saying. So Spanish might have have evolved from Vulgar Latin after the Romans brought it to the Iberian peninsula in 210BC, but in your eyes, its the same age as Latin itself. So although the Romans conquered Gaul (France) in 50BC, beginning the evolution of French, you reckon that French and Spanish are the same age.
Let me know if I've understood you correctly. If I have, then I think that's a perfectly valid way of looking at it.
Think. How could it possibly be otherwise?
> If people have been speaking Language A for 2 millennia, it's 2 millennia old. If they've been speaking Language B for 15 centuries, it's 15 centuries old. Just because A and B are both spoken today doesn't make them equally old.
But you just made that up. As has already been pointed out, all modern languages have been spoken for exactly the same period of time, with a few rare exceptions. The fact that two languages are both spoken today is sufficient to conclude that they are equally old, unless you happen to know exactly when one of them originated.