The Scythian languages are a group of Eastern Iranic languages of the classical and late antique period, spoken across a vast region of Eurasia by the populations belonging to the Scythian cultures and their descendants. The dominant ethnic groups among Scythian speakers were nomadic pastoralists of Central Asia and the Pontic-Caspian steppe. Fragments of their speech, known from inscriptions and words quoted by ancient authors as well as analysis of personal names, indicate the language was Indo-European, more specifically from the Iranic group of the Indo-Iranic languages.
Facts
Partially Attested
Speaker CountScythian proper became extinct; Ossetian, its closest surviving relative within Eastern Iranic, is treated by this source as a separate modern language rather than a speaker count for the Scythian group itself. RegionCentral Asia, West Asia and Eastern Europe 1 Proto-Language StatusNo single reconstructed Scythian proto-language attested; classified within the Eastern Iranic languages alongside Ossetian 1 Sources
1. Scythian languages, Wikipedia
Infobox, Geographic distribution field
Geographic distribution: Central Asia, West Asia, Eastern Europe
History section
Most of the Scythian languages eventually became extinct, except for modern Ossetian
Classification section
The vast majority of Scythological scholars agree in considering the Scythian languages a part of the Eastern Iranic languages too.
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