View source for Zaza language

{{Short description|Northwestern Iranian language spoken in Turkey}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Redirect|Dimili|the village in Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India|Dimili, Visakhapatnam district}}
<!-- there is also a village in Srikakulam district -->
{{Infobox language
| name             = Zaza
| altname          = 
| nativename       = {{lang|diq|Zonê ma}}
| image            = 
| imagecaption     = 
| states           = [[Turkey]]
| region           = [[Eastern Anatolia region|Eastern Anatolia]], [[Kurdish diaspora]], [[Kurdistan]]
| script           = [[Latin script]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|1.48300|2}} million
| date             = 2019
| ref              = e25
| dia1             = Dersim
| dia2             = Ovacik
| dia3             = Hozat
| dia4             = Varto
| dia5             = Sivereki
| dia6             = Kori
| dia7             = Hazo
| dia8             = Motki (Moti)
| dia9             = Dumbeli
| dia10            = Central Zazaki
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3             = [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]
| fam4             = [[Western Iranian languages|Western]]
| fam5             = [[Northwestern Iranian languages|Northwestern]]
| fam6             = [[Zaza–Gorani languages|Zaza–Gorani]]<ref name=e25/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://linguistlist.org/multitree/|title=Multitree &#124; The LINGUIST List|website=linguistlist.org|accessdate=20 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Glottolog 4.5 - Zaza |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/zaza1246 |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=glottolog.org}}</ref>
| iso2             = zza
| lingua           = 58-AAA-ba
| iso3             = zza
| lc1              = kiu
| ld1              = [[Kirmanjki]] (Northern Zaza)
| lc2              = diq
| ld2              = [[Dimli]] (Southern Zaza)
| glotto           = zaza1246
| glottorefname    = Zaza
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{{col-end}}
| map2             = 
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Zaza is classified as Vulnerable by the [[UNESCO]]<br> ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
}}

'''Zaza''' ([[endonym]]: {{lang|diq|Zazakî}}, {{lang|diq|Dimlî}}, {{lang|diq|Dimilkî}}, {{lang|diq|Kirmanckî}}, {{lang|diq|Kirdkî}}, or {{lang|diq|Zonê ma}}, {{Literal translation|Our language}})<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kenstowicz |first1=Michael J. |title=Studies in Zazaki Grammar |date=2004 |publisher=MITWPL }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lezgîn |first=Roşan |date=26 August 2009 |title=Kirmanckî, Kirdkî, Dimilkî, Zazakî |language=diq |work=Zazaki.net |url=http://www.zazaki.net/haber/kirmanck,-kirdk,-dimilk,-zazak-148.htm |url-status=live |access-date=23 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126210820/http://www.zazaki.net/haber/kirmanck,-kirdk,-dimilk,-zazak-148.htm |archive-date=26 January 2021}}</ref> is a [[Western Iranian languages|Northwestern Iranian]] language spoken primarily in eastern Turkey by the [[Zazas]], who are mostly considered as [[Kurds]], and in many cases identify as such.<ref name="leezenberg">{{cite journal |author1=Michiel Leezenberg |date=1993 |title=Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing? |url=https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/620/1/X-1993-03.text.pdf |journal=ILLC - Department of Philosophy, University of Amsterdam |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Minority Rights Group International (MRG)-Minorities-Kurds |url=https://minorityrights.org/minorities/kurds-2/ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview |isbn=9781138869745 |last1=Kreyenbroek |first1=Philip G. |last2=Sperl |first2=Stefan |date=7 May 2015 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref> The language is a part of the [[Zaza–Gorani languages|Zaza–Gorani]] language group of the [[Northwestern Iranian languages|northwestern]] group of the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] branch. The [[glossonym]] Zaza originated as a pejorative.<ref name="Arakelova">{{Cite journal |last=Arakelova |first=Victoria |date=1999 |title=The Zaza People as a New Ethno-Political Factor in the Region |journal=Iran & the Caucasus |volume=3/4 |pages=397–408 |doi=10.1163/157338499X00335 |jstor=4030804}}</ref> According to [[Ethnologue]], Zaza is spoken by around 1.48 million people, and the language is considered threatened due to a declining number of speakers, with many shifting to Turkish.<ref name="e25" /> Nevins, however, puts the number of Zaza speakers between two and three million.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Anand |first1=Pranav |title=Proceedings of the 14th Semantics and Linguistic Theory Conference held May 14–16, 2004, at Northwestern University |last2=Nevins |first2=Andrew |date=2004 |publisher=Cornell University |editor-last=Young |editor-first=Robert B. |location=Ithaca, NY |page=36 |chapter=Shifty Operators in Changing Contexts |volume=14 |doi=10.3765/salt.v14i0.2913 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Classification ==
The Zaza language is considered a branch of the Kurdic subgroup within the [[Northwestern Iranian languages]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=A working classification |url=https://www.iranatlas.net/index.html?module=module.classification |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=[[Atlas of the Languages of Iran]] |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mohammadirad |first=Masoud |last2=Öpengin |first2=Ergin |date=2024-11-11 |title=Lenition of voiced stops in Kurdish |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/flin-2024-2049/html |journal=Folia Linguistica |language=en |doi=10.1515/flin-2024-2049 |issn=1614-7308|doi-access=free }}</ref> The varieties of Kurdic do not directly descend from any known [[Middle Iranian languages]], such as Middle Persian or Parthian, or from [[Old Iranian languages]], such as Avestan or Old Persian.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mohammadirad |first=Masoud |last2=Öpengin |first2=Ergin |date=2024-11-11 |title=Lenition of voiced stops in Kurdish |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/flin-2024-2049/html |journal=Folia Linguistica |language=en |doi=10.1515/flin-2024-2049 |issn=1614-7308|doi-access=free }}</ref> Zaza is considered a [[ISO 639 macrolanguage|macrolanguage]], consisting of Southern and Northern Zaza.<ref name="e25" /> [[Glottolog]] database classifies Zazaki under the [[Old Azeri|Adharic]] branch of Northwestern Iranian languages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glottolog 5.1 - Zaza |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/zaza1246 |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=glottolog}}</ref>

Linguistically, the classification of Zazaki as either a Kurdish dialect or a distinct language is a topic of debate among scholars.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge History of the Kurds |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021 |editor-last=Bozarslan |editor-first=Hamit |pages=669 |editor-last2=Gunes |editor-first2=Cengiz |editor-last3=Yadirgi |editor-first3=Veli}}</ref> Some, such as Ludwig Paul, do not consider Zazaki and [[Gorani language|Gorani]] to be Kurdish dialects. According to him, they can only be classified as Kurdish dialects in a political and ethnic context, and it would be more accurate to refer to them as Kurdish languages.<ref name=":2">Paul, Ludwig (2008). "[https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-language-i Kurdish language I. History of the Kurdish language]". In [[Ehsan Yarshater|Yarshater, Ehsan]] (ed.). ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]''. London and New York: Routledge. [https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?rev_t=20111204130713&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iranicaonline.org%2Farticles%2Fkurdish-language-i Archived] from the original on 4 December 2011.</ref> The differences between them arise from the Kurdish adoption of [[Persian language|Persian]] linguistic features due to historical contact.<ref>Elfenbein, J. (2000). Zazaki: Grammatik und Versuch einer Dialektologie. By Ludwig Paul. pp. xxi, 366.</ref> Other scholars contend that the classification of Zazaki as a separate language from Kurdish is based on insufficient data, and a detailed comparison between Zazaki and [[Kurmanji]] in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon reveals a significant degree of shared features, suggesting that Zazaki and Kurmanji are dialects of the same language.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge History of the Kurds |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021 |editor-last=Bozarslan |editor-first=Hamit |pages=669–675 |editor-last2=Gunes |editor-first2=Cengiz |editor-last3=Yadirgi |editor-first3=Veli}}</ref>

Furthermore, arguments regarding the classification of both Zazaki and Gorani highlight that the distinction between a dialect and a language is a social construct influenced by factors such as shared identity, history, beliefs, and living conditions, rather than being based solely on linguistic evidence. Therefore, Kurdish can be seen as a socio-cultural umbrella that encompasses both recognized Kurdish dialects (such as Kurmanji, [[Sorani]], and [[Southern Kurdish]]) as well as the Zaza and Gorani languages. The term "Kurdic" is used to refer to this broad grouping.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge History of the Kurds |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021 |editor-last=Bozarslan |editor-first=Hamit |pages=606–607 |editor-last2=Gunes |editor-first2=Cengiz |editor-last3=Yadirgi |editor-first3=Veli}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mohammadirad |first=Masoud |last2=Öpengin |first2=Ergin |date=2024-11-11 |title=Lenition of voiced stops in Kurdish |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/flin-2024-2049/html |journal=Folia Linguistica |language=en |doi=10.1515/flin-2024-2049 |issn=1614-7308|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Larson |first=Richard K. |title=Advances in Iranian linguistics |last2=Moradi |first2=Sedigheh |last3=Samiian |first3=Vida |date= |publisher=John Benjamins publishing company |others= |year=2020 |isbn=978-90-272-0716-6 |series= |location= |pages=48–49}}</ref>

German linguist [[Jost Gippert]] has demonstrated that the Zaza language is very closely related to the [[Parthian language]] in terms of phonetics, morphology, syntax and lexicon and that it has many words in common with the Parthian language. According to him, the Zaza language may be a residual dialect of the [[Parthian language]] that has survived to the present day.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=30 April 2024 |author=Jost Gippert |date=4 May 1996 |format=pdf |language=tr |title="Historical Development of Zazaki" |url=https://www.zazaki.de/index.php/tr/yazilar/makaleler/zazacanin-tarihsel-gelisimi |website=Zazaki.de}}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

== Endangerment ==
Many Zaza speakers resided in conflict-affected regions of [[eastern Turkey]] and have been significantly impacted by both the current and historical political situations. Only a few elderly monolingual Zaza speakers remain, while the younger generation predominantly speaks other languages. [[Turkish law system|Turkish laws]] enacted from the mid-1920s until 1991 banned Kurdish language, including Zazaki, from being spoken in public, written down, or published. The Turkish state’s efforts to enforce the use of Turkish have led many Zaza speakers to leave Turkey and migrate to other countries, primarily [[Germany]], [[Sweden]], [[Netherlands]] and the [[United States]], and [[Australia]].<ref name="e25" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-20 |title=Status of Education and Minorities Rights in Turkey |url=https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2020/12/20/status-of-education-and-minorities-rights-in-turkey/ |website=[[Georgetown Journal of International Affairs]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Zaza |url=https://www.elalliance.org/languages/zaza |website=[[Endangered Language Alliance]]}}</ref>

Efforts to preserve and revitalize Zazaki are ongoing. Many [[Kurdish population|Kurdish]] writers in Turkey are fighting to save Zazaki with [[Children book|children’s books]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-06 |title=Kurdish writer in Turkey fights to save Zazaki dialect with children’s books |url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/06042021 |website=[[Rudaw Media Network]]}}</ref> and others with [[Newspaper|newspapers]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-01 |title=First newspaper in Zazaki is shut down |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/12215-First-Kurdish-newspaper-in-Zazaki-dialect-is-shut-down |website=[[Kurdistan 24]]}}</ref> but the language faces an uncertain future.

The decline of Zazaki speakers could also lead the [[Zazas]] to lose their identity and shift to a [[Turkish people|Turkish]] identity. According to a study led by [[Dr. Nadire Güntaş Aldatmaz]], an academic at [[Ankara University]], 402 people aged between 15 and 75 from [[Tunceli|Mamekîye]] in [[Tunceli Province|Dersim province]], were interviewed. Respondents younger than 18 mostly stated their ethnicity as ‘[[Turkish people|Turk]],’ their mother language as ‘[[Turkish language|Turkish]],’ and their religion as ‘[[Islam]],’ despite having some proficiency in Zazaki.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-01 |title=Younger Zazas in Dersim reluctant to learn Zaza language, increasingly identify as 'Turks' |url=https://bianet.org/haber/study-younger-zazas-in-dersim-reluctant-to-learn-zaza-language-increasingly-identify-as-turks-240130 |website=[[Bianet]]}}</ref>

== History ==
Writing in Zaza is a recent phenomenon. The first literary work in Zaza is ''Mewlîdu'n-Nebîyyî'l-Qureyşîyyî'' by [[Ehmedê Xasi]] in 1899, followed by the work ''Mawlûd'' by [[Osman Efendîyo Babij]] in 1903. As the Kurdish language was banned in Turkey during a large part of the Republican period, no text was published in Zaza until 1963. That year saw the publication of two short texts by the Kurdish newspaper ''Roja Newe,'' but the newspaper was banned and no further publication in Zaza took place until 1976, when [[Periodical literature|periodicals]] published a few Zaza texts. Modern Zaza literature appeared for the first time in the journal ''Tîrêj'' in 1979 but the journal had to close as a result of the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état|1980 coup d'état]]. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most Zaza literature was published in [[Germany]], [[France]] and especially [[Sweden]] until the ban on the Kurdish language was lifted in Turkey in 1991. This meant that newspapers and journals began publishing in Zaza again. The next book to be published in Zaza (after ''Mawlûd'' in 1903) was in 1977, and two more books were published in 1981 and 1986. From 1987 to 1990, five books were published in Zaza. The publication of books in Zaza increased after the ban on the Kurdish language was lifted and a total of 43 books were published from 1991 to 2000. As of 2018, at least 332 books have been published in Zaza.{{Sfnp|Malmîsanij|2021|pp=675–676}}

Due to the above-mentioned obstacles, the standardization of Zaza could not have taken place and authors chose to write in their local or regional Zaza variety. In 1996, however, a group of Zaza-speaking authors gathered in [[Stockholm]] and established a common alphabet and [[Orthography|orthographic]] rules which they published. Some authors nonetheless do not abide by these rules as they do not apply the orthographic rules in their oeuvres.{{Sfnp|Malmîsanij|2021|pp=676–677}}

In 2009, Zaza was classified as a vulnerable language by [[UNESCO]].{{Sfnp|Malmîsanij|2021|p=681}}

[[Council of Higher Education (Turkey)|The institution of Higher Education]] of Turkey approved the opening of the Zaza Language and Literature Department in [[Munzur University]] in 2011 and began accepting students in 2012 for the department. In the following year, [[Bingöl University]] established the same department.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Erdoğmuş |first1=Hatip |last2=Orki̇n |first2=Şeyhmus |date=2018 |title=Bingöl ve Munzur Üniversitesinde Açılan Zaza Dili ve Edebiyatı Bölümleri ve Bu Bölümlerin Üniversitelerine Katkıları |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/kent/377296 |journal=Kent Akademisi |language=tr |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=164}}</ref> [[TRT Kurdî]] also broadcast in the language.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tabak |first=Husrev |title=The Kosovar Turks and Post-Kemalist Turkey: Foreign Policy, Socialisation and Resistance |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78453-737-1 |location=London |pages=35}}</ref> Some TV channels which broadcast in Zaza were closed after the [[2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt|2016 coup d'état attempt]].{{Sfnp|Malmîsanij|2021|p=679}}

==Dialects==
[[File:Zaza DialectsMap-5.gif|thumb|
{{color box|#2980b9}} Northern Zazaki<br>
{{color box|#f03b14}} Central Zazaki<br>
{{color box|#1004a3}} Southern Zazaki]]

There are three main Zazaki dialects:<ref name="Prothero19">{{Cite book |last=Prothero |first=W. G. |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11768/view/1/19/ |title=Armenia and Kurdistan |publisher=H. M. Stationery Office |year=1920 |location=London |page=19 |access-date=2013-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502005630/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11768/view/1/19/ |archive-date=2014-05-02 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''Northern Zazaki''' <small>[[ISO 639|<nowiki>[kiu]</nowiki>]]</small> is spoken mainly in [[Aşkale]], [[Hozat]], [[Hınıs]], [[Kelkit]], [[Nazımiye|Nazimiye]], [[Ovacık, Tunceli|Ovacık]], [[Pülümür]], [[Tekman]], [[Tercan]], [[Varto]], and [[Yayladere]].

* '''Central Zazaki''' <small>[[ISO 639|<nowiki>[diq]</nowiki>]]</small> is spoken mainly in [[Çemişgezek]], [[Genç, Bingöl|Genç]], [[Karakoçan]], [[Karlıova]], [[Mazgirt]], [[Mutki]], [[Pertek]], and [[Solhan]].

* '''Southern Zazaki''' <small>[diq]</small> is spoken mainly in [[Alacakaya]], [[Arıcak]], [[Çermik]], [[Çüngüş]], [[Dicle]], [[Ergani]], [[Eğil]], [[Hani, Turkey|Hani]], [[Kovancılar]], [[Kulp, Turkey|Kulp]], [[Lice, Turkey|Lice]], [[Palu, Elazığ|Palu]], and [[Siverek]].

Zazaki shows many similarities with other [[Iranian languages|Northwestern Iranian languages]]:
* Similar personal pronouns and use of these<ref name="johansonbulut" />
* [[Enclitic]] use of the letter "u"<ref name="johansonbulut">{{Cite book |last1=Johanson |first1=Lars |title=Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects |last2=Bulut |first2=Christiane |date=2006 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=3-447-05276-7 |page=293}}</ref>
* Very similar ergative structure<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ludwig Windfuhr |first=Gernot |title=The Iranian Languages |date=2009 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7007-1131-4 |location=London |page=32}}</ref>
* Masculine and feminine [[ezafe]] system<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kahnemuyipour |first=Arsalan |date=7 October 2016 |title=The Ezafe Construction: Persian and Beyond |url=http://www.iub.edu/~celcar/ConCALL2016/images/pdf/PS1%20-%20Arsalan%20Kahnemuyipour.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123140434/http://www.iub.edu/~celcar/ConCALL2016/images/pdf/PS1%20-%20Arsalan%20Kahnemuyipour.pdf |archive-date=23 November 2018 |access-date=23 May 2019 |via=iub.edu}}</ref>
* Both languages have nominative and oblique cases that differs by masculine -î and feminine -ê
* Both languages have forgotten possessive enclitics, while it exists in such other languages as Persian, Sorani, Gorani, Hewrami or Shabaki
* Both languages distinguish between aspirated and unaspirated [[voiceless stop]]s
* Similar vowel phonemes

Ludwig Paul divides Zaza into three main dialects. In addition, there are transitions and edge accents that have a special position and cannot be fully included in any dialect group.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paul |first=Ludwig |title=Zazaki – Versuch einer Dialektologie |date=1998 |publisher=Reichert Verlag |location=Wiesbaden |language=de}}</ref>

== Grammar ==
As with a number of other [[Iranian languages]] like [[Talysh language|Talysh]],<ref>Mirdehghan, M., & Nourian, G. Ergative Case Marking and Agreement in the Central Dialect of Talishi.</ref> [[Tati language (Iran)|Tati]],<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://iranicaonline.org/ |accessdate=20 May 2023 |website=iranicaonline.org}}</ref><ref>Ergative in Tāti Dialect of Khalkhāl, Jahandust Sabzalipoor</ref> central Iranian languages and dialects like [[Semnani language|Semnani]], Kahangi, Vafsi,<ref>Koohkan, Sepideh. The typology of modality in modern West Iranian languages. 2019. PhD Thesis. University of Antwerp.</ref> [[Balochi language|Balochi]]<ref>Agnes Korn. The Ergative System in Balochi from a Typological Perspective. Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 2009, 1, pp.43-79. ffhal-01340943</ref> and [[Kurmanji]], Zaza features [[split ergativity]] in its [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], demonstrating [[ergativity|ergative]] marking in [[past tense|past]] and [[Perfective aspect|perfective]] contexts, and [[Nominative-accusative language|nominative-accusative]] alignment otherwise. Syntactically it is nominative-accusative.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Haig |first=Geoffrey L. J. |title=Alignment in Kurdish: A Diachronic Perspective |date=2004 |degree=Habilitation |publisher=Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel |url=http://kurdishacademy.org/sites/default/files/KurdAlignment_0.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129135720/http://kurdishacademy.org/sites/default/files/KurdAlignment_0.pdf |archive-date=29 January 2013 |access-date=13 November 2012}}</ref>

=== Grammatical gender ===
Among all Western Iranian languages Zaza, [[Semnani language|Semnani]],<ref>Mohammad- Ebrahimi, Z. et. al. (2010). "The study of grammatical gender in Semnani dialect". Papers of the First International Conference on Iran’s Desert
Area Dialects. Pp. 1849-1876.</ref><ref>Seraj, F. (2008). The Study of Gender, its Representation & Nominative and accusative cases in Semnani Dialect. M. A. thesis in Linguistics, Tehran: Payame- Noor University.</ref><ref>Rezapour, Ebrahim (2015). "Word order in Semnani language based on language typology". IQBQ. 6 (5): 169-190</ref> [[Sangsari language|Sangsari]],<ref>Borjian, H. (2021). Essays on Three Iranian Language Groups: Taleqani, Biabanaki, Komisenian (Vol. 99). ISD LLC.</ref> [[Tati language (Iran)|Tati]],<ref>Vardanian, A. (2016). Grammatical gender in New Azari dialects of Šāhrūd. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 79(3), 503 511. </ref><ref>A Morpho-phonological Analysis of Vowel Changes in Takestani-Tati Verb Conjugations: Assimilation, Deletion, and Vowel Harmony</ref> central Iranian dialects like Cālī, Fārzāndī, Delījanī, Jowšaqanī, Abyāne'i<ref>H. Rezai Baghbidi (ed.), Exploring grammatical gender in New Iranian languages and dialects, proceedings of the First Seminar of Iranian Dialectology, 29 April-1 May 2001, Tehran, Department of Dialectology, Academy of Persian Language and Literature, 2003.</ref> and [[Kurmanji]] distinguish between masculine and feminine [[grammatical gender]]. Each noun belongs to one of those two genders. In order to correctly [[inflection|decline]] any noun and any [[grammatical modifier|modifier]] or other type of word affecting that noun, one must identify whether the noun is feminine or masculine. Most nouns have inherent gender. However, some [[Nominal (linguistics)|nominal]] roots have variable gender, i.e. they may function as either masculine or feminine nouns.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Todd |first=Terry Lynn |url=http://www.zazaki.de/english/T.L.Todd-AGrammarofDimli.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128213242/http://www.zazaki.de/english/T.L.Todd-AGrammarofDimli.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 January 2012 |title=A Grammar of Dimili (also Known as Zaza) |publisher=Electronic Publication |year=2008 |pages=33}}</ref>

==Phonology==
=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|- align="center"
! rowspan="2" |[[Close vowel|Close]]
| rowspan="2" |{{IPAlink|i}}
| rowspan="2" |{{IPAlink|ɨ}}
|{{IPAlink|u}}
|- align="center"
|{{IPAlink|ʊ}}
|- align="center"
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPAlink|e}}
|{{IPAlink|ə}}
|{{IPAlink|o}}
|- align="center"
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|{{IPAlink|ɑ}}
|
|}
The vowel {{IPA|/e/}} may also be realized as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} when occurring before a consonant. {{IPA|/ɨ/}} may become lowered to {{IPA|[ɪ]}} when occurring before a velarized nasal {{IPA|/n/}} {{IPA|[ŋ]}}, or occurring between a palatal approximant {{IPA|/j/}} and a palato-alveolar fricative {{IPA|/ʃ/}}. Vowels {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/ɨ/}}, or {{IPA|/ə/}} become nasalized when occurring before {{IPA|/n/}}, as {{IPA|[ɑ̃]}}, {{IPA|[ɨ̃]}}, and {{IPA|[ə̃]}}, respectively.

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" |[[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Palato-alveolar consonant|Palato-<br>alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
![[Pharyngealization|<small>phar.</small>]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPAlink|m}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|n}}
|
|
|({{IPAlink|ŋ}})
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|p}}
|{{IPAlink|t}}
|{{IPAlink|tˁ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|
|{{IPAlink|k}}
|{{IPAlink|q}}
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPAlink|b}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}
|
|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|f}}
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|{{IPAlink|sˤ}}
|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}
|
|{{IPAlink|x}}
|
|{{IPAlink|ħ}}
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPAlink|v}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|z}}
|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}
|
|{{IPAlink|ɣ}}
|
|{{IPAlink|ʕ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
!<small>[[Flap consonant|tap/flap]]</small>
|
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|ɾ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Trill consonant|trill]]</small>
|
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
!<small>central</small>
|
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|l}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Velarization|velarized]]</small>
|
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|ɫ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
|{{IPAlink|w}}
| colspan="2" |
|
|{{IPAlink|j}}
|
|
|
|
|}
{{IPA|/n/}} becomes a velar {{IPA|[ŋ]}} when following a velar consonant.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ludwig |first=Paul |title=Zazaki |publisher=London & New York: Routledge |year=2009 |location=The Iranian Languages |pages=545–586}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Todd |first=Terry Lynn |title=A Grammar of Dimili (also Known as Zaza) |date=2008 |publisher=Iremet |location=Stockholm}}</ref>

=== Alphabet ===
[[File:Mewlıd_(Ehmedê_Xasi)_Seyfa.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Zaza text in Arabic letters, written in 1891 and printed in 1899.]]
Zaza texts written during the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman era]] were written in [[Arabic letters]]. The works of this era had religious content. The first Zaza text, written by Sultan Efendi, in 1798, was written in Arabic letters in the Nesih font, which was also used in [[Ottoman Turkish]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zazaki.de/turkce/makaleler/Dehqan-Diyarbakirdanbirzazacaalevimetni.pdf |title=Sultan Efendi'nin Zazaca El Yazması |access-date= 20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131160411/http://zazaki.de/turkce/makaleler/Dehqan-Diyarbakirdanbirzazacaalevimetni.pdf|archive-date=31 January 2020}}</ref> Following this work, the first Zaza language Mawlid, written by the Ottoman-Zaza cleric, writer and poet Ahmed el-Hassi in 1891-1892, was also written in Arabic letters and published in 1899.<ref>{{Citation | last = Varol| first = Murat| title = Zazalarda Mevlid ve Siyer Geleneği| publisher = II. Uluslararası Zaza Tarihi ve Kültürü Sempozyumu/Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları | volume = 1| issue = 1| year = 2012| pages = 93–114| url = http://acikerisim.bingol.edu.tr:8080/handle/20.500.12898/261}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| last = Keskin| first = Mesut| title = Zaza Dili| publisher = Bingöl Üniversitesi Yaşayan Diller Enstitüsü Dergisi| volume = 1| issue = 1| year = 2015| pages = 93–114| url = https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/220224}}</ref> Another Mawlid in Zaza language, written by another Ottoman-Zaza cleric Osman Esad Efendi between 1903-1906, was also written in Arabic letters.<ref>{{cite book |last=Özer |first=Osman | year=2016 |title=Mevlid Ahmed-i Hasi |publisher=Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları |location=İstanbul |isbn=978-605-65457-0-2}}</ref> After the Republic, Zazaki works began to be written in Latin letters, abandoning the [[Arabic alphabet]]. However, today Zazaki does not have a common alphabet used by all Zazas. An alphabet called the Jacabson alphabet was developed with the contributions of the American linguist C. M Jacobson and is used by the Zaza Language Institute in Frankfurt, which works on the standardization of Zaza language.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jacobson |first=C.M. | year=1993 |title=Rastnustena Zonê Ma -Handbuch für die Rechtschreibung der Zaza-Sprache |publisher= Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft |location=Bonn}}</ref> Another alphabet used for the language is the [[Kurdish alphabets#Hawar alphabet|Bedirxan alphabet]]. The Zaza alphabet, prepared by Zülfü Selcan and started to be used at Munzur University as of 2012, is another writing system developed for Zazaki, consisting of 32 letters, 8 of which are vowels and 24 of which are consonants.<ref>{{Citation| last = Selcan| first = Zülfü| title = Zazaca Alfabe ve alfabetik sıralama| publisher = Bingöl Üniversitesi I. Uluslararası Zaza Dili Sempozyumu| volume =| issue = | year = 2011| pages =263–270| url = https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/220224}}</ref> The '''Zaza alphabet''' is an extension of the [[Latin alphabet]] used for writing the Zaza language, consisting of 32 letters, six of which (ç, ğ, î, û, ş, and ê) have been modified from their Latin originals for the phonetic requirements of the language.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Çeko Kocadag |title=Ferheng Kirmanckî (zazakî – Kurmancî) – Kurmancî – Kirmanckî (zazakî) |date=2010 |publisher=Weşanên Komkar |isbn=978-3-927213-40-1 |location=Berlin}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; table-layout:fixed; margin:1em auto; font-size:85%;"
|+ Zaza alphabet
|-
![[Upper case]]
|[[A]]||[[B]]||[[C]]||[[Ç]]||[[D]]||[[E]]||[[Ê]]||[[F]]||[[G]]||[[Ğ]]||[[H]]||[[I]]||[[Î]]||[[J]]||[[K]]||[[L]]||[[M]]||[[N]]||[[O]]||[[P]]||[[Q]]||[[R]]||[[S]]||[[Ş]]||[[T]]||[[U]]||[[Û]]||[[V]]||[[W]]||[[X]]||[[Y]]||[[Z]]
|-
![[Lower case]]
|a||b||c||ç||d||e||ê||f||g||ğ||h||i||î||j||k||l||m||n||o||p||q||r||s||ş||t||u||û||v||w||x||y||z
|-
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] [[phonemes]]
|{{IPAlink|a}}
|{{IPAlink|b}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|{{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|ɛ}}
|{{IPAlink|e}}
|{{IPAlink|f}}
|{{IPAlink|g}}
|{{IPAlink|ɣ}}
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|[[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel|ɪ]]
|{{IPAlink|i}}
|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}
|{{IPAlink|k}}
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|{{IPAlink|o}}
|{{IPAlink|p}}
|{{IPAlink|q}}
|{{Nowrap|{{IPAlink|r}}, {{IPAlink|ɾ}}}}
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|{{IPAlink|ʃ}} 
|{{IPAlink|t}}
|{{IPAlink|ʊ}}
|{{IPAlink|u}}
|{{IPAlink|v}}
|{{IPAlink|w}}
|{{IPAlink|x}}
|{{IPAlink|j}}
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|}

<References group="upper-alpha"/>

==Vocabulary==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; font-size:85%;"
|- bgcolor="#F2F2F2"
!Pronoun
!Zaza
!Talysh<ref>Wolfgang, Schulze: Northern Talysh. Lincom Europa. 2000. (page 35)</ref>
!Tati<ref>مفيدي روح اله. تحول نظام واژه بستي در فارسي ميانه و نو.</ref><ref>Sabzalipour, J., & Vaezi, H. (2018). The study of clitics in Tati Language (Deravi variety).</ref>
!Semnani<ref>احمدی پناهی سمنانی، محمد (۱۳۷۴). آداب رسوم مردم سمنانی. نشر پژوهشگاه علوم انسانی و مطالعات فرهنگی. ص. ۴۰–۴۴.</ref>
!Sangsari<ref>Pierre Lecoq. 1989. "Les dialectes caspiens et les dialectes du nord-ouest de l'Iran," Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Ed. Rüdiger Schmitt. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. Pages 296–314.</ref>
!Ossetian<ref>Oranskij, Iosif Mikhailovich. "Zabānhā ye irani [Iranian languages]". Translated by Ali Ashraf Sadeghi. Sokhan publication (2007).</ref>
!Persian
!''English''
|-
|1SG || ez || əz/āz || āz || ā || ā || æz (az) || man || ''I''
|-
|2SG || tı || tı || ti || ti || ti || dɨ (di) || to || ''you''
|-
|3SG.M || o/ey || rowspan=2 | əv/ay || rowspan=2 | u || un || no || wuiy || rowspan=2 | ū, ān || ''he''
|-
|3SG.F || a/ay || nā || una || na ||''she''
|-
|1PL || ma || ama|| amā || hamā || mā || max || mā ||''we''
|-
|2PL || şıma || şımə || shūmā || shūmā || shūmā || shimax || shomā ||''you''
|-
|3PL || ê, i, ina, ino || əvon/ayēn || ē || e || ey || idon/widon || ēnan, ishān, inhā || ''they''
|-
|}

== Literature ==
Zaza literature consists of oral and written texts produced in the Zaza language. Before it began to be written, it was passed on through oral literature types. In this respect, Zaza literature is very rich in terms of oral works. The language has many oral literary products such as deyr (folk song), kilam (song), dêse (hymn), şanıke (fable), hêkati (story), qesê werênan (proverbs and idioms). Written works began to appear during the Ottoman Empire, and the early works had a religious/doctrinal nature. After the Republic, long-term language and cultural bans caused the revival of Zaza literature, which developed in two centers, Turkey and Europe, mainly in Europe. After the loosened bans, Zaza literature developed in Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bozbuğa |first=Rasim |date=2014 |title=Bilinmeyen Halk: Zazalar |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2237911 |journal=Akademik Hassasiyetler |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–50}}</ref>

=== Ottoman period ===
The first known written works of Zaza literature were written during the Ottoman period. Written works in the Zaza language produced during the Ottoman period were written in Arabic letters and had a religious nature. The first written work in Zazaki during this period was written in the late 1700s. This first written text of the Zaza language was written by İsa Beg bin Ali, nicknamed Sultan Efendi, an Islamic history writer, in 1212 Hijri (1798). The work was written in Arabic letters and in the [[Naskh (script)|Naskh]] script, which is also used in [[Ottoman Turkish]]. The work consists of two parts III. It includes the Eastern Anatolia region during the reign of [[Selim III]], the life of Ali (caliph), Alevi doctrine and history, the translation of some parts of [[Nahj al-balagha]] into Zaza language, apocalyptic subjects and poetic texts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dehqan |first=Mustafa |date=2022 |title=Diyarbakır'dan bir Zazaca Alevi Metni |url=https://www.zazaki.de/index.php/tr/tarih/zaza-tarihi/diyarbakirdan-bir-zazaca-alevi-metni |website=Zazaki.de}}</ref> About a hundred years after this work, another work in the Zaza language, Mevlit (Mewlid-i Nebi), was written by the Ottoman-Zaza cleric, writer and poet [[Ehmedê Xasî|Ahmed el-Hassi]] (1867-1951) in 1891-1892. The first Mevlit work in the Zaza language was written in Arabic letters and published in 1899.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last=Varol |first=Murat |date=2012 |title=Zazalarda Mevlid ve Siyer Geleneği |url=http://acikerisim.bingol.edu.tr:8080/handle/20.500.12898/261 |journal=II. Uluslararası Zaza Tarihi ve Kültürü Sempozyumu |publisher=Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları |publication-date=2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217001013/http://acikerisim.bingol.edu.tr:8080/bitstream/handle/20.500.12898/261/Zazalarda%20Mevlid%20ve%20Siyer%20Gelene%c4%9fi.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |archive-date=17 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Keskin |first=Mesut |date=2015 |title=Zaza Dili (Zaza Language) |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/220224 |journal=Bingöl Üniversitesi Yaşayan Diller Enstitüsü Dergisi |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=93–114}}</ref> The mawlid, written using the [[Arabic prosody]] (aruz), resembles the mawlid of [[Süleyman Çelebi (poet)|Süleyman Çelebi]] and the introduction includes the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the details of Allah, tawhid, munacaat, ascension, birth, birth and creation, etc. It includes religious topics and consists of 14 chapters and 366 couplets.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":0" /> Another written work written during this period is another Mevlit written by Siverek mufti [[Osman Efendîyo Babij|Osman Esad Efendi]] (1852-1929). The work called Biyişa Pexemberi (Birth of the Prophet) consists of chapters on the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Islamic religion and was written in Zaza language in Arabic letters in 1901 (1903 according to some sources). The work was published in 1933, after the author's death.<ref>{{cite book |last = Özer | first = Osman | year = 2016 | title = Mevlid Ahmed-i Hasi |publication-place = İstanbul | publisher = Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları | ISBN=978-605-65457-0-2 | url = https://www.bingol.edu.tr/documents/Academic/ZAZACA%20MEVL%C4%B0D-OSMAN%20%C3%96ZER.pdf}}</ref> Apart from Zaza writers, non-Zaza/Ottoman writers/researchers such as Peter Ivanovich Lerch (1827-1884),<ref name=":10">Arslanoğulları, M. (2014). Lerch’in zazaki derlemelerinin çevrimyazımı ve türlerine göre sözcüklerin tahlili (Master's thesis, Bingöl Üniversitesi).</ref><ref name="Lerch-russian">Lerch, Peter, Forschungen über die Kurden und die Iranischen Nordchaldaer - Band I, St. Petersburg (Петр Лерх, Изслѣдованія об иранских курдах и их предках, сѣверных халдеях: Введеніе и подробное исчисленіе курдских племен) I-II-III, продаеця у Коммисіонеров Императорской академіи наук : И. Глазунова, 1856/57/58</ref> Robert Gordon Latham (1812-1888) Dr. Humphry Sandwith (1822-1881),<ref name=":11">Robert Gordon Latham, "On a Zaza Vocabulary", ''Transactions of The Philological Society'', London, 1856, ss. 40-42</ref><ref name=":12">Robert Gordon Latham, "On a Zaza Vocabulary", ''Opuscula: Essays, Chiefly Philological and Ethnographical'', Williams & Norgate, London, Edinburg, Leipzig, 1860, s.242&nbsp;</ref> Wilhelm Strecker (1830-1890), Otto Blau (1828-1879),<ref name="Blau">Blau, Otto (1862),"Nachrichten über kurdische Stämme-III, Mittheilungen über die Dusik-Kurden", Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Steiner in Komm, 1862, s.621-627</ref> Friedrich Müller (1864) and Oskar Mann (1867-1917)<ref name=":13">O. Mann, Nachlaß in der Staatsbibliothek Berlin (W), Briefe; vgl. auch ebenda, Vortrag vom 4. Juli 1909 und 20. Jan. 1909, p. 11.</ref> included Zaza content (story, fairy tales dictionary) in their works in the pre-Republican period.<ref name=":0" />

=== Post-Republic Zaza literature ===
Post-Republican Zaza literature developed through two branches, Turkey-centered and Europe-centered. During this period, the development of Zaza literature stagnated in Turkey due to long-term language and cultural bans. Zaza migration to European countries in the 1980s and the relatively free environment enabled the revival of Zaza literature in Europe. One of the works in the Zaza language written in post-Republican Turkey are two verse works written in the field of belief and fiqh in the 1940s. Following this work, another Mevlit containing religious subjects and stories was written by Mehamed Eli Hun in 1971. Zaza Divan, a 300-page manuscript consisting of Zazaki poems and odes, started to be written by Mehmet Demirbaş in 1975 and completed in 2005, is another literary work in the divan genre written in this period.<ref>Ahmet Kayıntu, ''"Molla Mehmet Demirtaş’ın Zazaca Divanı"'', II. Uluslararası Zaza Tarihi ve Kültürü Sempozyumu, Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları, 04-06 Mayıs 2012.</ref> Mevlids and sirahs of Abdulkadir Arslan (1992-1995),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arslan |first=Mehmet |date=2020 |title=Molla Abdulkadir Muşeki'nin Mewlidê Nebi Adlı Eserinin Şekil, İçerik ve Edebi Sanatlar Açısından İncelenmesi |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1739852 |journal=Bingöl Üniversitesi Yaşayan Diller Enstitüsü Dergisi |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=59–74}}</ref> Kamil Pueği (1999), Muhammed Muradan (1999-2000) and Cuma Özusan (2009) are other literary works with religious content.<ref name=":14" /> Written Zaza literature is rich in mawlid and religious works, and the first written works of the language are given in these genres.<ref name=":14" /> The development of Zaza literature through magazine publishing took place through magazines published by Zazas who immigrated to Europe after 1980 and published exclusively in the Zaza language, magazines that were predominantly in the Zaza language but published multilingually, and magazines that were not in the Zaza language but included works in the Zaza language. Kormışkan, Tija Sodıri, Vate are magazines published entirely in Zaza language. Apart from these, Ayre (1985-1987), Piya (1988-1992) and Raa Zazaistani (1991), which were published as language, culture, literature and history magazines by Ebubekir Pamukçu, the leading name of Zaza nationalism, are important magazines in this period that were predominantly Zaza and published multilingually. Ware, ZazaPress, Pir, Raştiye, Vengê Zazaistani, Zazaki, Zerq, Desmala Sure, Waxt, Çıme are other magazines that are Zazaki-based and multilingual. In addition to these magazines published in European countries, Vatı (1997-1998), which is the first magazine published entirely in Zaza language and published in Turkey, and Miraz (2006) and Veng u Vaj (2008) are other important magazines published in Zaza language in Turkey. Magazines that are mainly published in other languages but also include works in Zaza language are magazines published in Kurdish and Turkish languages. Roja Newé (1963), Riya Azadi (1976), Tirêj (1979) and War (1997) are in the Kurdish language; Ermin (1991), Ateş Hırsızı (1992), Ütopya, Işkın, Munzur (2000), Bezuvar (2009) are magazines in Turkish language that include texts in Zaza language.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Söylemez |first=İsmail |date=2011 |title=Geçmişten Günümüze Zazaca Dergiler |url=https://www.academia.edu/19680126 |journal=I. Uluslararası Zaza Dili Sempozyumu |publisher=Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları.}}</ref> Today, works in different literary genres such as poetry, stories and novels in Zaza language are published by different publishing houses in Turkey and European countries.{{fact|date=June 2024}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
IndoEuropeanTree.svg|Partial tree of Indo-European languages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=worldhistory|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1028/indo-european-language-family-tree/ |access-date=2021-12-19 |website=worldhistory.com by Multiple authors}}</ref>
Iranian_tongues_de.svg|Gippert, Jost (1999), Iranische Sprachen / Iranian Languages<ref>{{cite web |title=worldhistory|url=https://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/karteng/iran/irann.htm |access-date=2022-02-20 |website=titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de}}</ref>
Iranian_Family_Tree_v2.0.png|Position of Zaza language in Iranian Languages
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
* {{cite thesis |last=Arslan |first=İlyas |year=2016 |url=https://docserv.uni-duesseldorf.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-39270/Arslan_Dissertation_Submit_Bib_A1.pdf |title=Verbfunktionalität und Ergativität in der Zaza-Sprache |trans-title=Verb functionality and ergativity in the Zaza language |degree=PhD |publisher=Universität Düsseldorf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223032708/http://docserv.uni-duesseldorf.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-39270/Arslan_Dissertation_Submit_Bib_A1.pdf |archive-date=2016-12-23}}
* {{cite book |last=Blau |first=Joyce |chapter=Gurânî et Zâzâ |editor-first=Rüdiger |editor-last=Schmitt |title=Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum |publisher=Reichert |location=Wiesbaden |year=1989 |isbn=3-88226-413-6 |pages=336–340}} (About Daylamite origin of Zaza-Guranis)
* Gajewski, Jon. (2004)  ''"Zazaki Notes"'' Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
*{{cite speech |last=Gippert |first=Jost |date=1996-05-04 |url=https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/personal/jg/pdf/jg1996f.pdf |title=Die historische Entwicklung der Zaza-Sprache |lang=de |event=Mannheim Zaza Book Festival |location=University of Frankfurt}} (not original published speech)
** {{cite speech |last=Gippert |first=Jost |date=1996-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621113452/http://home.arcor.de/fidemes/zaza-tarih.pdf |archive-date=2006-06-21 |url=http://home.arcor.de/fidemes/zaza-tarih.pdf |event=Mannheim Zaza Book Festival |location=University of Frankfurt |title=Zazaca'nın tarihsel gelişimi |translator-first=Hasan |translator-last=Dursun |lang=tr}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Haig |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Öpengin |first2=Ergin |url=http://www.tplondon.com/journal/index.php/ks/article/viewFile/405/314.pdf |title=Introduction to Special Issue - Kurdish: A critical research overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022151912/http://www.tplondon.com/journal/index.php/ks/article/viewFile/405/314.pdf |archive-date=22 October 2014 |journal=Kurdish Studies |volume=2 |issue=2}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Keskin |first=Mesut |title=Zur dialektalen Gliederung des Zazaki |year=2008 |url=http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-62849 |publisher=Goethe-Universität |location=Frankfurt am Main}}
* {{cite conference |last1=Larson |first1=Richard K. |last2=Yamakido |first2=Hiroko |url=http://semlab5.sbs.sunysb.edu/~rlarson/lsa06ly.pdf |title=Zazaki "Double Ezafe" as Double Case-Marking |conference=LSA |location=Albuquerque, NM |date=2006-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903194234/http://semlab5.sbs.sunysb.edu/~rlarson/lsa06ly.pdf |archive-date=2006-09-03}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Todd |first=Terry Lynn |year=1985 |title=A Grammar of Dimili (Also Known as Zaza) |publisher=University of Michigan |hdl=2027.42/160737}}
* {{Cite book |last=Malmîsanij |first=Mehemed |title=The Cambridge History of the Kurds |date=2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-62371-1 |editor-last=Bozarslan |editor-first=Hamit |location=Cambridge |chapter=The Kirmanjki (Zazaki) Dialect of Kurdish Language and the Issues it Faces |pages=663–684 |doi=10.1017/9781108623711.027 |s2cid=235541104 |editor-last2=Gunes |editor-first2=Cengiz |editor-last3=Yadirgi |editor-first3=Veli}}
* {{cite book |last=Paul |first=Ludwig |year=1998 |chapter-url=http://www.azargoshnasp.net/languages/zazaki/zazakipositionof.pdf |chapter=The Position of Zazaki Among West Iranian languages |pages=163–177  |editor-first=Nicholas |editor-last=Sims-Williams |title=Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies held in Cambridge, 11th to 15th September 1995. |volume=I: Old and Middle Iranian Studies |location=Wiesbaden |publisher=Ludwig Reichert}}
* {{cite report |last=Werner |first=Brigitte |year=2007 |url=http://www.zazaki.de/englisch/articels/TermpaperBilingualismWS06.pdf |title=Features of Bilingualism in the Zaza Community |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229215827/http://www.zazaki.de/englisch/articels/TermpaperBilingualismWS06.pdf |archive-date=29 December 2009 }}

== See also ==
* [[Zazas]]
* [[Zaza nationalism]]

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Werner |first=Eberhard |chapter=Orality and Folklore: Reflections on the Folktale Tradition of the Zaza People |title=Kurdish Art and Identity: Verbal Art, Self-definition and Recent History |editor=Alireza Korangy |pages=169-190 |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter |date=2020 |doi=10.1515/9783110599626-008}}

;Folktale collections:
* {{cite book |last=Hayig |first=Rosan |title=Mahmeşa: Vızêr ra Ewro Istanıkê Zazayan |trans-title=Mahmesha: Zaza Folktales: Then and Now |editor1=Eberhard Werner |editor2=Brigitte Werner |location=Istanbul |publisher=Vêjiyaişê Tiji & SIL International |date=2007 |isbn=978-975-8277-36-0 |lang=Zaza, German and English}} 
* [https://www.hamburg.de/resource/blob/148464/d85a2e4b03b9dd7e3522b45972400534/henarek-granataepfelchen-publikation-data.pdf Henarek – Granatäpfelchen: Welat Şêrq ra Sonîk | Märchen aus dem Morgenland]. Gesammelt und verfasst von Suphi Aydin. Hamburg: Landeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2022. {{ISBN|978-3-929728-89-7}}.

== External links ==
{{interwiki|code=diq}}
{{Incubator|diq|Wiktionary}}
{{Incubator|code=kiu|language=Kirmanjki}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.zazaki.net/ Zaza People and Zazaki Literature]
* [http://dersiminfo.com/ News, Articles and Columns] {{in lang|zza}}
* [http://www.kirmancki.com/ News, Folktales, Grammar Course] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129173536/http://www.kirmancki.com/ |date=29 January 2016 }} {{in lang|zza}}
* [http://www.kirdki.com/ News, Articles and Bingöl city] {{in lang|zza}}
* [http://www.zazaki.de/ Center of Zazaki] {{in lang|zza|de|tr|en}}
* [http://www.zazaki-institut.de/ Website of Zazaki Institute Frankfurt]
* {{Cite web |title=Zaza a Northwestern Iranic language of eastern Turkey |url=http://elalliance.org/languages/iranic/zaza/ |publisher=Endangered Language Alliance}}

{{Iranian languages}}
{{Languages of Turkey}}
{{Portal bar|Kurdistan|Languages|Turkey}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Languages of Kurdistan]]
[[Category:Languages of Turkey]]
[[Category:Northwestern Iranian languages]]
[[Category:Vulnerable languages]]
[[Category:Zaza language]]
[[Category:Zazas]]