Iron (dialect)
Encyclopedia
Iron is one of the two main dialect
s of the Ossetic language
, spoken in the Caucasus
. The majority of the Ossetians
speak Iron, notably in the East, South and Central parts of North Ossetia-Alania
, while in the West the Digor dialect is more prevalent. The Iron dialect is the basis of the Ossetian written language.
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s of the Ossetic language
Ossetic language
Ossetian , also sometimes called Ossete, is an East Iranian language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains....
, spoken in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. The majority of the Ossetians
Ossetians
The Ossetians are an Iranic ethnic group of the Caucasus Mountains, eponymous of the region known as Ossetia.They speak Ossetic, an Iranian language of the Eastern branch, with most also fluent in Russian as a second language....
speak Iron, notably in the East, South and Central parts of North Ossetia-Alania
North Ossetia-Alania
The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania is a federal subject of Russia . Its population according to the 2010 Census was 712,877.-Name:...
, while in the West the Digor dialect is more prevalent. The Iron dialect is the basis of the Ossetian written language.