an Italic language or dialect, closely related to Umbrian and Oscan and more distantly related to Latin and Faliscan. Spoken in central Italy by the Volsci people, neighbours of the Oscan-speaking Samnites, Volscian was replaced by Latin in the 3rd century BC as the Volsci became Romanized after their submission to Rome (304 BC). Modern knowledge of the language is mostly derived from a single inscription from Velitrae (modern Velletri), Italy, dating from the early 3rd century BC; although information about Volscian is slight, it appears to be quite similar to the Umbrian language.