DISCOVER OSCAN
An ancient Italian language spoken over 2,000 years ago by the Romans and their neighbors
Oscan is an extinct Indo-European Sabellic language that thrived in central Italy from the 5th century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. It was widely used by groups such as the Samnites and in regions such as Campania before Latin became more dominant with the Roman conquest of Italy. Oscan shares many parallels with Latin and other ancient Italian languages such as Umbrian.
What is Oscan?
Oscan was a major language of ancient Italy and can be found in many remnants of the ancient world from funeral inscriptions to graffiti in Pompeii. The founder of Roman poetry Ennius even boasted that he had three hearts due to his knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Oscan. While Latin and Greek are more popular ancient languages due to their usage by the Roman elite like emperors or philosophers, Oscan allows us to more closely examine the common person’s ancient world
Why learn Oscan?
Where to learn Oscan?
You can start here! We offer many resources for exploring the Oscan language, discovering more about the Oscan-speaking peoples and civilizations, and more.