Umbrian language

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This article is about the ancient language. See Umbrian language (Romance) for the modern Italian dialect.

Languages in Iron Age Italy, 6th century BC

Umbrian, an Italic language, is a dead language formerly spoken in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Its speakers were known as the Umbri.

Umbrian is known from about 30 inscriptions. The by far largest one of them is called the Tabulae Iguvinae (Iguvium = modern Gubbio), seven bronze plates which contain some notes on the ceremonies and statutes for priests. These are written in the Old Italic alphabet. The inscriptions are dated from the 7th through 1st centuries BC.

Currently, the term is used to indicate a regional dialect of the Italian language; it is not very distinctive as compared say to Sicilian or Milanese.

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