Zaza language
Zaza or Zazaki (Zazaki: Zazakî, Kirmanckî, Kirdkî, Dimilkî) is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken primarily in eastern Turkey by the Zazas, who are commonly considered as Kurds, and in many cases identify as such. The language is a part of the Zaza–Gorani language group of the northwestern group of the Iranian branch. The glossonym Zaza originated as a pejorative and many Zazas call their language Dimlî.
| Zaza | ||
|---|---|---|
| Zazakî / Kirmanckî / Kirdkî / Dimilkî | ||
| Native to | Turkey | |
| Region | Provinces of Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Erzurum, Erzincan, Elazığ, Muş, Malatya, Adıyaman and Diyarbakır | |
| Ethnicity | Zazas | |
Native speakers | 3–4 million (2009) | |
| Dialects |
| |
| Latin script | ||
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-2 | zza | |
| ISO 639-3 | zza – inclusive codeIndividual codes: kiu – Kirmanjki (Northern Zaza)diq – Dimli (Southern Zaza) | |
| Glottolog | zaza1246 | |
| ELP | Dimli | |
| Linguasphere | 58-AAA-ba | |
The position of Zazaki among Iranian languages
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Zaza is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | ||
According to Ethnologue, Zaza is spoken by around three to four million people. Nevins, however, puts the number of Zaza speakers between two and three million. Ethnologue also states that Zaza is threatened as the language is decreasing due to losing speakers, and that many are shifting to Turkish, as well as mentioning that there are a few monolingual speakers mostly the elderly. This is causing a decline as the language is increasingly not being passed down to younger generations, with most choosing to speak Turkish. Some also speak Kurmanji.