Scythian languages

Pontic Scythian
Pontic Scythian
Native to	Sarmatia, Scythia, Sistan, Scythia Minor, Alania
Region	Central Asia, West Asia, Eastern Europe
Ethnicity	Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans
Era	Classical antiquity, late antiquity
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranic Iranic Eastern Iranic Pontic Scythian; ; ; ;
Dialects	(Western) Cimmerian †; (Western) Pontic Scythian †; (Western) Alanian; (Eastern) Scytho-Khotanese †;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	; xsc – Scythian
Linguist List	xsc Scythian
Glottolog	sogd1247 Sogdic-Ossetic; saka1303 Saka-Wakhi
	The approximate distribution of Eastern Iranic languages and peoples in 100 BC appears in green.
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Scythian
Scythian
Geographic; distribution	Central Asia, West Asia, Eastern Europe
Ethnicity	Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans
Linguistic classification	Indo-European Indo-Iranic Iranic Eastern Iranic Scythian; ; ; ;
Subdivisions	(Western) Cimmerian †; (Western) Pontic Scythian †; (Western) Alanian; (Eastern) Scytho-Khotanese †;
Language codes
Glottolog	sogd1247 (Sogdic-Ossetic); saka1303 (Saka-Wakhi)
	The approximate distribution of Eastern Iranic languages and peoples in 100 BC appears in green.
Notes	ISO 639-3 codes xsc: Scythian; xln: Alanian; oos: Old Ossetian;

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The Scythian languages (/ˈsɪθiən/ or /ˈsɪðiən/ or /ˈskɪθiən/) are a group of Eastern Iranic languages of the classical and late antique period (the Middle Iranic period), spoken in a vast region of Eurasia by the populations belonging to the Scythian cultures and their descendants. The dominant ethnic groups among the Scythian-speakers were nomadic pastoralists of Central Asia and the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Fragments of their speech known from inscriptions and words quoted in ancient authors as well as analysis of their names indicate that it was an Indo-European language, more specifically from the Iranic group of Indo-Iranic languages.

Most of the Scythian languages eventually became extinct, except for modern Ossetian (which descends from the Alanian dialect of Scytho-Sarmatian), Wakhi (which descends from the Khotanese and Tumshuqese forms of Scytho-Khotanese), and Yaghnobi (which descends from Sogdian). Alexander Lubotsky summarizes the known linguistic landscape as follows:^[1]

Unfortunately, we know next to nothing about the Scythian of that period [Old Iranian] – we have only a couple of personal and tribal names in Greek and Persian sources at our disposal – and cannot even determine with any degree of certainty whether it was a single language.

^ Lubotsky 2002, p. 190.

[1] Lubotsky 2002, p. 190.

[1]

Scythian
Geographic distribution	Central Asia, West Asia, Eastern Europe
Ethnicity	Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans
Linguistic classification	Indo-European Indo-Iranic Iranic Eastern Iranic Scythian
Subdivisions	(Western) Cimmerian † (Western) Pontic Scythian † (Western) Alanian (Eastern) Scytho-Khotanese †
Language codes
Glottolog	`sogd1247` (Sogdic-Ossetic) `saka1303` (Saka-Wakhi)
The approximate distribution of Eastern Iranic languages and peoples in 100 BC appears in green.
Notes	ISO 639-3 codes `xsc`: Scythian `xln`: Alanian `oos`: Old Ossetian