Ossetian language

Ossetian
Ossetian
ирон ӕвзаг (iron ævzag); дигорон ӕвзаг (digoron ævzag)
Pronunciation	[iˈron ɐvˈzäɡ]; [digoˈron ɐvˈzäɡ]
Native to	Ossetia
Region	Caucasus
Ethnicity	700,000 Ossetians
Native speakers	490,000 (2020 census)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Scythian Ossetian; ; ; ; ;
Standard forms	Ossetian; Standard Ossetian;
Dialects	Digor; Iron; Jassic †;
Writing system	Greek (First documented written records); Cyrillic (Ossetian alphabet); Georgian (c. 1938–1954); Latin (1923–1937);
Official status
Official language in	Russia North Ossetia–Alania ; Georgia Provisional Administration of South Ossetia ; Partially recognized states:; South Ossetia
Language codes
ISO 639-1	os
ISO 639-2	oss
ISO 639-3	oss
Glottolog	osse1243
Linguasphere	58-ABB-a
	Ossetian is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Ossetian (/ɒˈsɛti.ən/ oss-ET-ee-ən, /ɒˈsiːʃən/ oss-EE-shən, /oʊˈsiːʃən/ oh-SEE-shən),^[3]^[4] commonly referred to as Ossetic and rarely as Ossete^[5] (Ossetian: ирон ӕвзаг, romanized: iron ӕvzag pronounced [iˈron ɐvˈzäɡ] southern; [iˈron ɐvˈʒäɡ] northern), is an Eastern Iranian language that is spoken predominantly in Ossetia, a region situated on both sides of the Greater Caucasus. It is the native language of the Ossetian people, and a relative and possibly a descendant of the extinct Scythian, Sarmatian, and Alanic languages.^[6]

The northern half of the Ossetia region is part of Russia and is known as North Ossetia–Alania, while the southern half is part of the de facto country of South Ossetia (recognized by the United Nations as Russian-occupied territory that is de jure part of Georgia). Ossetian-speakers number about 614,350, with 451,000 recorded in Russia per the 2010 Russian census.^[7]

Despite Ossetian being the official languages of both North and South Ossetia, since 2009 UNESCO has listed Ossetian as "vulnerable" due to large scale efforts by the Russian government to Russify the region. In the 2010 Russian census only 36% of North Ossetians claimed to be fluent in Ossetian, with the number decreasing year by year.^[8]

^ Ossetian at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
^ "World Atlas of Languages: Ossetian". www.unesco.org. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved Mar 3, 2021.
^ AHD:Ossetian
^ OED:Ossetian.
^ Dalby 1998.
^ Lubotsky, Alexander (2010). Van Sanskriet tot Spijkerschrift Breinbrekers uit alle talen. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-9089641793.
^ "Ossetic". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
^ Fuller, Liz (28 May 2015). "One Nation, Two Polities, Two Endangered Ossetian Languages?". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

[e26-1] Ossetian at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)

[2] "World Atlas of Languages: Ossetian". www.unesco.org. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved Mar 3, 2021.

[ahd-3] AHD:Ossetian

[FOOTNOTEOED:Ossetian-4] OED:Ossetian.

[FOOTNOTEDalby1998-5] Dalby 1998.

[bbuat-6] Lubotsky, Alexander (2010). Van Sanskriet tot Spijkerschrift Breinbrekers uit alle talen. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-9089641793.

[Ethnologue-7] "Ossetic". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-01-08.

[8] Fuller, Liz (28 May 2015). "One Nation, Two Polities, Two Endangered Ossetian Languages?". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

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Ossetian
ирон ӕвзаг (iron ævzag) дигорон ӕвзаг (digoron ævzag)
Pronunciation	[iˈron ɐvˈzäɡ] [digoˈron ɐvˈzäɡ]
Native to	Ossetia
Region	Caucasus
Ethnicity	700,000 Ossetians
Native speakers	490,000 (2020 census)^[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Scythian Ossetian
Standard forms	Ossetian Standard Ossetian
Dialects	Digor Iron Jassic †
Writing system	Greek (First documented written records) Cyrillic (Ossetian alphabet) Georgian (c. 1938–1954) Latin (1923–1937)
Official status
Official language in	Russia North Ossetia–Alania Georgia Provisional Administration of South Ossetia Partially recognized states: South Ossetia
Language codes
ISO 639-1	`os`
ISO 639-2	`oss`
ISO 639-3	`oss`
Glottolog	`osse1243`
Linguasphere	`58-ABB-a`

Ossetian is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger^[2]
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.