The Scythian languages ( /ˈsɪθiən/ or /ˈsɪðiən/) are the Eastern Iranian languages of the classical and late antiquity period, spoken in a vast region of Eurasia named Scythia. The Scythian languages belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.
The location and extent of Scythia varied by time, but generally it encompassed the part of Eastern Europe east of the Vistula river and much of Central Asia. The dominant ethnic groups among the Scythians 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 of the Indo-European language family, was Indo-Iranian, Iranian and more specifically Eastern Iranian. Further classification is uncertain and elusive. Alexander Lubotsky summarizes the known linguistic landscape as follows:
| “ | Unfortunately, we know next to nothing about the Scythian of that period – 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. | ” |
Read more about Scythian Languages: Classification, History, Alanic
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“No doubt, to a man of sense, travel offers advantages. As many languages as he has, as many friends, as many arts and trades, so many times is he a man. A foreign country is a point of comparison, wherefrom to judge his own.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)