The language of the ancient Umbrians is an Indo-European language like Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and the Germanic languages. Apart from Latin, it is the best-documented language in ancient Italy; in fact, the Iguvine Tables, the longest and most articulated text written in that language, are written in Umbrian. Their interpretation has allowed us to better understand the functioning of an Indo-European language and to grasp the value of some Etruscan signs, as about a hundred words are transcribed in both the Latin alphabet and the local alphabet of Etruscan derivation.
