Tyrsenian languages
| Tyrsenian | |
|---|---|
| Tyrrhenian | |
| Geographic distribution | Italy, Switzerland, France (Corsica), Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Greece (island of Lemnos) |
| Extinct | 1st century AD (Etruscan) |
| Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None |
Approximate area of Tyrsenian languages | |
Tyrsenian (also Tyrrhenian or Common Tyrrhenic) is a language family of closely related extinct ancient languages, proposed by linguist Helmut Rix in 1998, that has gained acceptance in scholarship. It is named after the Tyrrhenians (Ancient Greek, Ionic: Τυρσηνοί Tyrsenoi), an exonym used by the ancient Greeks to refer to the Etruscans.
The family would consist of the Etruscan language of northern, central and south-western Italy, and eastern Corsica; the Raetic language of the Alps, in northern Italy and Austria, named after the Rhaetian people; and the Lemnian language attested in Lemnos in the northern Aegean Sea. Camunic in northern Lombardy, between Etruscan and Raetic, may belong to the family as well, but evidence of such is limited. The Tyrsenian languages are Pre-Indo-European languages, and more specifically Paleo-European.