Zazaki Language - Classification

Classification

Zazaki is an Iranian language in the Indo-European family. From the point of view of the spoken language, its closest relatives are Mazandarani, Hewrami, Gilaki and other Caspian languages. However, the classification of Zazaki has been an issue of political discussion. A minority of linguists classify it as a subdialect of Kurdish language. There are many Zazaki-speakers who identify themselves as ethnic Kurds while others do not.

Ethnologue favors the following hierarchy:

• Northwestern Iranian languages
  • Zaza-Gorani language group
    • Dimli/Zazaki
    • Gorani language
    • other sublanguages/dialects of Zazaki-Gorani group
  • Caspian languages group
    • Mazandarani
    • Gilaki
    • others

The US State Department "Background Note" lists the Zazaki language as one of the major languages of Turkey, along with Turkish (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Greek, and Arabic. Linguists connect the word Dimli with the Daylamites in the Alborz Mountains near the shores of Caspian Sea in Iran and believe that the Zaza have immigrated from Deylaman towards the west. Zazaki shows many connections to the Iranian dialects of the Caspian region, especially the Gilaki language.

The Zazaki language shows similarities with (Hewrami or Gorani), Shabaki and Bajelani. Gorani, Bajelani, and Shabaki languages are spoken around Iran-Iraq border; however, it is believed that they are also migrated from Northern Iran to their present homelands. These languages are sometimes put together in the Zaza-Gorani language group.