The oldest words in the English language include "I" and "who", while words like "dirty" could die out relatively quickly, British researchers said Thursday.

Dirty? That seems like such a useful word.

'amongst' versa 'oldest'? Scientists have a wonderful time studying history...but their hypothesis is just that; a supposition. Keep studying and searching; it's fun, interesting and insightful. But we need to be careful about our conclusions. Honestly, we don't have a clue. History is a lonnnnng period of time. We can only be circumspect since no one was there to observe the eons of time.

I suspect the absolute oldest word (still in use) might be mom, mamma, ma, etc. I recall that syllable combination being similar across many languages as well.

I think Rustee is right. Any form of mother has got to be the oldest. As for speaking the English language itself just imagine if someone started speaking like they did in Victorian times. That would probably sound very funny or strange to our ears.