What Dead Language Did You Speak in a Past Life?

By: Emily Maggrett
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
What Dead Language Did You Speak in a Past Life?
Image: Harald Nachtmann / Moment / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Who were you in a past life? Your present-day life may offer you some hints. For instance, are there any cultures that you feel a mysterious kinship to? Have you ever experienced a flash of déjà vu while reading about a historic event, such as the sinking of the Titanic or the destruction of Pompeii? Or are you strangely good at an outdated skill, such as hunting or foraging for mushrooms?

In this quiz, you're going to discover the truth about one of your past lives ... including learning about the now-extinct language you used to speak! Such languages, which are also known as "dead languages," include Latin, Sumerian, Olmec, Powhatan, Latin, Pictish and many others. Even in the 21st century, languages are going extinct every year in cultures all over the world. 

However, our focus today is on ancient dead languages (and the people who spoke them). So, are you ready to find out who you used to be — and what you used to sound like? Do you want to know whether you wrote with hieroglyphics, an Aramaic alphabet, Chinese characters or Norse runes? If you're eager to learn the truth about your past, say yes to your curiosity and take this quiz! 


2 Warriors If you had to guess, which of these jobs do you think you held in a past life?
Trader
Teacher
Nobleman
Warrior

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3 Plastic Which modern inventions do you consider to be a waste of time?
"Fast" fashion
Anything plastic
Toaster ovens
Computers

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4 Halloween Hey, it's Halloween! What are you going as?
A pharaoh
Julius Caesar
A cricket player
Aragorn

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5 Country Woman Are you a city person, a town person or a country person?
Not only am I a city person; only big cities will do!
I dig cities.
Town person, all the way
I keep it country.

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6 Gym Class Flash back to the elementary school PE class. Which activities were you particularly good at?
Running
Frisbee
Yoga
Rope-climbing

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7 Sweet Potatoes Do you like cooking food from scratch?
No. That's what food trucks are for.
It's a good way to save money.
Not if I can help it!
I really enjoy cooking, actually.

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8 Servant Be honest: Do you ever wish you had servants?
I wouldn't mind having a housekeeper.
No. I'm against the very idea of servants.
Heck yes! I would love to have a household of servants.
Ugh, no. I think you should do things yourself so you don't get soft.

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9 Flight You entered a raffle and won free plane tickets to the destination of your choice. Where are you going?
Cairo
Istanbul
Hyderabad
Oslo

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10 Architecture On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you care about architecture?
9. I almost became an architect myself.
7. I can't help it; I find well-made houses thrilling.
4. Architecture is cool, but I care more for other arts.
1. What can I say? My main response to it is "meh."

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11 Compass If you were dropped off in a city on another continent with only $20 and a compass, do you think you could survive?
Yes ... but only if I spoke the language.
Er, probably not. My survival skills aren't great.
Yes, of course. I'm good with people and fluent in several languages.
I could survive in the woods, but not in a city.

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12 Reading How many books are you currently reading on Goodreads, and what are they about?
One. It's a business book about building your personal brand.
Four. There's a novel, a history of spice-trading, a language manual and a graphic novel.
Two. They're both books of poetry.
I don't have a Goodreads account (I'm not much of a reader, frankly.)

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Um ... no.
It's OK, I guess.
I'm actively against it, to be honest.
I'd camp every weekend if I could!

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1 Speaking Which languages do you speak currently?
English and Arabic
English and a little Spanish
English and Hindi
English and German

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14 Mysterious Has anyone ever called you "mysterious"?
Yes
No
All the time
I wish!

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15 Diet Your doctor wants you to go on an "ancient foods" diet. Which one of these ancient diets sounds the most appealing?
Whole grain salads, fresh vegetables and toast with honey
Roasted game, bread and plenty of fruit
Milk, savory vegetarian stews, cheese, rice
Salted meat, lots of fish, pickled vegetables

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16 Tut What's your favorite historical TV show?
"Tut"
"Rome"
"Buddha"
"Vikings"

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17 Wedding Let's say one of your siblings is getting married. What role are YOU playing in the wedding?
I'm catering it.
I'm officiating the ceremony.
I'm hosting the rehearsal dinner.
I'm the life of the party at the wedding reception.

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18 Outfit What's your typical weekday outfit?
Whatever's trendy at the moment
I like loose, hippie-ish clothing.
Fitted, formal clothes in long-lasting fabrics
I pick up whatever's on my bedroom floor and throw it on!

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19 Family Crest Imagine that you come from an ancient royal family with its own crest. What kind of animal do you think would be on it?
A cat
A wolf
A bull
A deer

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20 Tying Knot What's your coolest "old-timey" skill?
I know how to tie complex knots.
I can tell which direction I'm traveling in without a compass.
I know how to make soap.
I can track animals.

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21 Shakespeare In your opinion, what's Shakespeare's best play?
"Antony and Cleopatra"
"Julius Caesar"
"Romeo and Juliet"
"Hamlet"

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22 Angry Think back to a low point in your life. What was your worst quality back then?
I acted greedy.
I let self-doubt paralyze me.
I was self-centered.
I let my anger get the best of me.

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23 Antique Store A cutie invites you on a date to an antique store. How long do you two spending browsing?
An hour at least
Half an hour or so
Three to four hours; I love antiquing!
Ten minutes (less if I can help it)

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24 Ancient India If you could take a time machine back to a bygone era, which one would you visit?
I'd like to go back to an era when all the pyramids were standing.
I'd love to see the Roman empire.
To tour ancient India is my dream.
I want to sail to America with Leif Erikson.

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25 Braveheart Not to be negative, but which historical movie do you consider totally overrated?
"Tales of the Kama Sutra"
"Braveheart"
"Cleopatra"
"Gladiator"

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26 King Imagine you've just been transported into your favorite fantasy story. Are you a magician, a warrior, a wise elder or a king?
Obviously a magician
Obviously a wise elder (or somebody else who gets to stay at home!)
Obviously a king
Obviously a warrior!

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27 Skydiving When you do something brave, what kind of theme music do you hear playing?
Epic prog rock
Thrilling classical music
An intense chorus of a hundred voices
Death metal

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28 Horseback Riding At the end of the day, would you rather ride a horse, walk, drive or use a personal jetpack?
Drive
Walk
Use a jetpack
Ride a horse

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29 Stonehenge In your opinion, which one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world is the most inspiring?
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Taj Mahal
Stonehenge

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30 Ancient Scholar Would you rather be a famous ancient scholar, a wealthy Mesopotamian merchant, a well-born Indian noble or an ordinary modern person with access to Flamin' Hot Cheetos?
A wealthy Mesopotamian merchant
A famous ancient scholar
A well-born Indian noble
An ordinary modern person with access to Flamin' Hot Cheetos

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