The Ossetian language is an Eastern Iranian language spoken primarily in North Ossetia-Alania and South Ossetia, regions located in the Caucasus. It is part of the Indo-European language family and has two main dialects: Iron and Digor. Ossetian uses the Cyrillic script, which was adopted in the 20th century, although earlier forms used the Latin and Georgian scripts. Ossetian has a rich oral tradition and is influenced by neighboring languages, including Russian and Georgian. The language is recognized as a minority language in Russia and has been the subject of various cultural and educational initiatives to promote its use and preservation.