Many students study a second language in school, often French or Spanish. However, there are those who opt for studying Latin, a so-called “dead language.” Learning an ancient language can be peculiar for many as pronunciations are often unknown. Equator AI, a YouTube channel, aims to unravel history by utilizing AI to revive ancient languages.

Their videos showcase artificially generated portraits of individuals donning attire from various historical periods, delivering ancient texts employing the most plausible pronunciation. Although the exact manner of speech in these languages remains uncertain, these clips effectively bring distant cultures to life. Their video repertoire encompasses not only Latin and Ancient Greek, but also Old English, Akkadian, Sumerian, Ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, and Etruscan.

In one of their videos, the AI characters read the written text on one side of the screen, allowing viewers familiar with the text or those curious about it to follow along. Commenters quickly noticed the similarity between certain ancient languages and their modern counterparts. One person remarks, “The ancient Greek at the end is surprisingly easy to understand. It sounds like someone we would meet today, despite being from almost two thousand years ago.” Another commenter adds, “The pronunciation of Latin as a Proto-Italic language sounds really cool. We learned and spoke Latin in a less rhythmic and more rigid manner at school.”

However, not all ancient languages are familiar. Old English, which might be expected to be easier to understand, sounds dramatically different from modern English. The Great Vowel Shift, which occurred between 1400 and 1700, is one of the reasons for this remarkable change. English speakers during this period changed the pronunciation of their long vowels and some consonant sounds.

Equator AI also offers a stunning glimpse into other ancient sounds: