Zaza language

Zaza (endonym: Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, or Template:Lang, Template:Literal translation)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> is a 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">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="Arakelova">Template:Cite journal</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>Template:Cite book</ref>

Macrolanguage

Zaza language is classified as a macrolanguage by international linguistic authorities. SIL International classifies Zaza language as a macrolanguage, including the varieties of Southern Zaza (diq) and Northern Zazaki (kiu).<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref> Other international linguistic authorities, the Ethnologue and the Glottolog, also classify the Zaza language as a macrolanguage composed of two distinct languages: Southern Zaza and Northern Zaza.<ref name=":32">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="e25" />

Classification

The Zaza language is considered a branch of the Kurdic subgroup within the Northwestern Iranian languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Mohammadirad">Template:Cite journal</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 name="Mohammadirad"/> Zaza is considered a macrolanguage, consisting of Southern and Northern Zaza.<ref name="e25" /> Glottolog database classifies Zazaki under the Adharic branch of Northwestern Iranian languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Linguistically, the classification of Zazaki as either a Kurdish dialect or a distinct language is a topic of debate among scholars.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some, such as Ludwig Paul, do not consider Zazaki and 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). "Kurdish language I. History of the Kurdish language". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. London and New York: Routledge. Archived from the original on 4 December 2011.</ref> The differences between them arise from the Kurdish adoption of 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>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Mohammadirad"/><ref>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite web</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 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>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Efforts to preserve and revitalize Zazaki are ongoing. Many Kurdish writers in Turkey are fighting to save Zazaki with children's books<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and others with newspapers,<ref>Template:Cite web</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 identity. According to a study led by Dr. Nadire Güntaş Aldatmaz, an academic at Ankara University, 402 people aged between 15 and 75 from Mamekîye in Dersim province, were interviewed. Respondents younger than 18 mostly stated their ethnicity as 'Turk', their mother language as 'Turkish', and their religion as 'Islam', despite having some proficiency in Zazaki.<ref>Template:Cite web</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 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 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.Template:Sfnp

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 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.Template:Sfnp

In 2009, Zaza was classified as a vulnerable language by UNESCO.Template:Sfnp

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>Template:Cite journal</ref> TRT Kurdî also broadcast in the language.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some TV channels which broadcast in Zaza were closed after the 2016 coup d'état attempt.Template:Sfnp

Dialects

File:Zaza DialectsMap-5.gif

Template:Color box Northern Zazaki
Template:Color box Central Zazaki
Template:Color box Southern Zazaki

There are three main Zazaki dialects:<ref name="Prothero19">Template:Cite book</ref>

• Northern Zazaki [kiu] is spoken mainly in Aşkale, Hozat, Hınıs, Kelkit, Nazimiye, Ovacık, Pülümür, Tekman, Tercan, Varto, and Yayladere.
• Central Zazaki [diq] is spoken mainly in Çemişgezek, Genç, Karakoçan, Karlıova, Mazgirt, Mutki, Pertek, and Solhan.
• Southern Zazaki [diq] is spoken mainly in Alacakaya, Arıcak, Çermik, Çüngüş, Dicle, Ergani, Eğil, Hani, Kovancılar, Kulp, Lice, Palu, and Siverek.

Zazaki shows many similarities with other Northwestern Iranian languages:

• Similar personal pronouns and use of these<ref name="johansonbulut" />
• Enclitic use of the letter "u"<ref name="johansonbulut">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Very similar ergative structure<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Masculine and feminine ezafe system<ref>Template:Cite web</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 stops
• 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>Template:Cite book</ref>

Grammar

In terms of grammar, genetics, linguistics and core vocabulary the Zaza language is closely related to Old Azeri, Tati of Iran, Talysh, Sangsari, Semnani, Mazandarani and Gilaki languages spoken on the shores of the Caspian Sea and northern Iran.<ref name=":152">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":52">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite book</ref> The language also has grammatical similarities with the Parthian language,<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> which is an extinct northwestern Iranian language. Zaza language with Talysh, Tati, Semnani, Sangesari, Gilaki and some other central Iranian dialects, forms a belt of northwestern Iranian languages among northwestern Iranian languages. This belt is geographically divided by speakers of Persian, Azerbaijani and Kurdish into two parts: Zaza, Talysh and Tati languages in the western part and Semnani, Sangesari, Gilaki (and other Caspian/Central dialects) in the eastern part. The Zaza language, along with Tati, Talysh and some northwestern dialects, has strongly preserved its Northwestern Iranian isogloss roots and is quite distant from Persian and Kurdish. Overall, from Zaza, Tat and Talysh downward to Kurdish and Persian, the western Iranian languages are successively less "archaic".<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Zaza language, along with Talysh and Tati, is located at the westernmost part of the northwestern Iranian languages while Persian and Kurdish are positioned at the easternmost part:<ref name=":52" />

Proto Indo-European	Parthian	Azeri/Tati	Zaza	Talysh	Semnani	Caspian lang./dial.	Central dia.	Balochi	Kurdish	Persian
*ḱ/ĝ	s/z	s/z	s/z	s/z	s/z	s/z	s/z	s/z	s/z	h/d
*kue	-ž-	-ž-	-ĵ-	-ž	-ĵ, ž-	-ĵ-	-ĵ-, ž, z	-ĵ-	-ž-	-z-
*gue	ž	ž (y-)	ĵ	ž	ĵ,ž	ĵ	ĵ, ž, z	ĵ	ž	z
*kw29	?	isb	esb	asb	esp	s	esb	?	s	s
*tr/tl	hr	(h)r	(hi)r	(h)*r	(h)r	r	r	s	s	s
*d(h)w	b	b	b	b	b	b	b	d	d	d
*rd/*rz	r/rz	r/rz	r/rz	rz	l/l(rz)	l/l	l/l(rz)	l/l	l/l	l/l
*sw	wx	h	w	h	x(u)	x(u)	x(u), f	v	x(w)	x(u)
*tw	f	u	w	h	h	h	h(u)	h	h	h
*y-	y	y	ĵ	ĵ	ĵ	ĵ	ĵ (y)	ĵ	ĵ	ĵ

Like most other languages of the belt, the Zaza language shows a two-case system in the nouns with an oblique ending generally going back to the Old Iranian language genitive ending *-ahya.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> Linguist W. B. Henning demonstrated about a 100 years ago that Zaza, Talysh, Tati/Azeri, Semnani and Gilaki, and Caspian dialects derive their present stem from the same old Iranian present participle ending in *-ant-.<ref>Henning, W. B. The Ancient Language of Azerbaijan”, TPhS 157-77, 1954. Mitteliranisch", in Handbuch der Orientalistik, 1(1), 20-130.</ref> Zaza, Talyshi, Azeri, Semnani, Gilaki and some other Caspian dialects derive their present stem from the same old Iranian present participle ending in *-ant:<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":152" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

English	Zaza	Semnani	Gilaki	Tati/Azeri	Talyshi
"to go"	ši-n-	še-nn-	šu-n-	še-nd-	še-d-
"to come"	ye-n-	ā-nn-	ā-n-	āmā-nd-	ome-d-
"to do"	ke-n-	ke-nn-	kū-n-	kö-nd-	kerd-ed-
"to say"	vā-n-	vā-nn-	gū-n-	ot-n-	vot-ed-
"to see"	vīn-en-	?	ī-n-	vīn-n-	vīn-d-

English	Zaza	Semnani	Gilaki	Sangesari	Tati/Azeri	Talyshi
"I go"	ez ši-n-a	a še-nn-ī	man šu-n-em	a šu-nd-ī	men še-nd-en	ez še-d-am

In contrast to these languages, in Kurdish and Persian languages the present tense is formed by adding the prefix می mî- (mi-ravam), -di (di-çim) (I go), as a modal prefix to the present stem.

Morphologically, like most of the languages of the belt, the dialects of the Zaza language show two-case system of nouns. In Zaza language, the oblique ending -ī (that going back to the Old Iranian language genitive ending *-ahya) is only attached to masculines. In Southern Zaza (Çermik-Siverek dialects) there is an ending -e(r) attached to feminine nouns in the oblique case and its origin is the old stem expansion in *-a(r) of relationship terms. Zaza -e(r) actually denoting the oblique case of relationship terms of both genders, probably have started spreading to feminines in general later. Just like Zaza, in Tati dialects, the oblique case of relationship terms -r also has spread from relationship terms to other terms. Same with Zaza language, other members of the belt, Talysh, Semnani, Tati also have the same oblique case of relationship terms:<ref name=":3" />

	father	father (obl.)
Zaza	pī	pēr
Talysh	pə	pār
Semnani	pia	piär
Tati/Azeri	pia	piar

Additionally, mother (nom.) and mother (obl.) are mā -> mār in Zaza, mâ -> mâr in Tati, mā -> moār in Talysh and brother (nom.) and brother (obl.) are bıra -> bırar in Zaza, bera -> berar in Tati and bäre -> bärār in Semnani.<ref name=":3" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":18">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Henning also demonstrated that Harzandi dialect of the Tati language has many common linguistic features with and Zaza and Talysh language and the positioned it between the Talysh and Zaza.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Zaza language, as with a number of other Iranian languages like Talysh,<ref>Mirdehghan, M., & Nourian, G. Ergative Case Marking and Agreement in the Central Dialect of Talishi.</ref> Tati,<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Ergative in Tāti Dialect of Khalkhāl, Jahandust Sabzalipoor</ref> central Iranian languages and dialects like Semnani, Kahangi, Vafsi,<ref>Koohkan, Sepideh. The typology of modality in modern West Iranian languages. 2019. PhD Thesis. University of Antwerp.</ref> 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 eatures split ergativity in its morphology, demonstrating ergative marking in past and perfective contexts, and nominative-accusative alignment otherwise. Syntactically it is nominative-accusative.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Grammatical gender

Among all Western Iranian languages Zaza, 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,<ref>Borjian, H. (2021). Essays on Three Iranian Language Groups: Taleqani, Biabanaki, Komisenian (Vol. 99). ISD LLC.</ref> 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 decline any noun and any 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 roots have variable gender, i.e. they may function as either masculine or feminine nouns.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Among all northwestern Iranian languages, in Zaza, Semnani, Sangsari and Tati languages, grammatical gender is marked on verbs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":17" /><ref name=":18" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Unlike other northwestern Iranian languages, Zaza and some Tati dialects do distinguish gender in second singular too.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In addition to nouns, adjectives and verbs, in Zaza and Semnani, grammatical gender is marked on demonstrative pronouns too:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

	Zaza	Semnani
this (masc.)	eno	en
this (fem.)	ena	ena
these	enê	eni

Tenses

The infinitive ending is formed with (-ene) in the north dialect and -(enı) in the south dialect of the Zaza language. The basic stem of the verb is formed by deleting this ending.

The present tense is formed by taking the present stem of the verb, adding the present participle ending and conjugating it. Zaza, Semnani, Talysh, Tati/Azeri and Gilaki derive their present stem from the same old Iranian present participle ending in *-ant-.<ref name=":3" /> For example, the present stem of the verbs şiyaene 'to go'" and vınderdene "to stop":<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break

	1st	2nd fem.	2nd masc.	3rd fem.	3rd masc.
Zaza	ez şı-n-a(n)	tı şı-n-a(y)	tı şı-n-ê	a şı-n-a	o şı-n-o
English	i go	you (fem.) go	you (masc.) go	she goes	he goes

	1st	2nd fem.	2nd masc.	3rd fem.	3rd masc.
Zaza	ez vınd-en-an	tı vınd-en-ay	tı vınd-en-ê	a vınd-en-a	o vınd-en-o
English	i stop	you (fem.) stop	you (masc.) stop	she stops	he stops

The present continuous is used in several instances. Its most common use is to describe something that is happening at the exact moment of speech. Present continuous can also describe an event planned in the future when combined with a time indicator for the future.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":4" /> The present continuous in Zaza language is formed by conjugating the copula in accordance with the subject and conjugating the verb in accordance with the present tense:<ref name=":4" />

	1st	2nd fem.	2nd masc.	3rd fem.	3rd masc.
Zaza	ezo şına (ezan şınan)	tıya şına(y)	tıyê şınê	aya şına	oyo şıno
English	i am going	you (fem.) are going	you (masc.) are going	she is going	he is going

Number

Nouns in Zaza language are unmarked for the singular and marked with the unstressed -i in the plural.<ref name=":5" /> For instance, kerg (hen) kergi (hens), verg (wolf) vergi (wolves), merdım (man) merdımi (men), vaş (grass) vaşi (grasses), estor (horse) estori (horses). Just like Zaza, in Semnani, another member of the belt, nouns are marked with -i in the plural.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name=":17">Template:Cite web</ref> For example, trees/horses = dari/estori in Zaza and dåri/asbi in Semnani.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":17" />

Unlike other Iranian languages, the number three in Zaza and closely related languages listed below is cognate with Parthian hry.<ref name=":20" /> In these languages, the v -> b and s -> h consonant change (vist and das in Zaza vs. bist and dah in Persian and Kurdish) is also clearly evident. Cardinal numerals in Zaza and other closely related languages are as follows:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

	one	two	three	four	five	six	seven	eight	nine	ten	twenty
Zaza	yō	di	hīrē	čihār	panǰ	šaš	haut	hašt	nau	das	vist
SemnaniTemplate:Efn	i	do	heré	čār	panǰ	šaš	haft	hašt	na	das	vist
SemnaniTemplate:Efn	i	do	heyré	čār	panǰ	šaš	haft	hašt	na	das	vist
SemnaniTemplate:Efn	i	dū	häirä	čāhār	pahānǰ	šāš	hāft	hāšt	nā	dās	vist
TatiTemplate:Efn<ref name=":19" />	i	de	heri	ču	pinǰ	šaš	hoft	hašt	nov	da	vist
Tati<ref name=":19">Template:Cite book</ref>	i	de	here	čö	pinǰ	šoš	hoft	hašt	növ	doh	vist

Word derivation

The stressed suffix "-ıj" added to nouns of place in Zaza language denotes origin or relationship.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite book</ref> Just like Zaza language, in Tati and Talysh languages of the belt, suffix ""-ij" and -ıj", respectively, added to nouns to denote origin or relationship.<ref name=":15">Template:Cite journal</ref> This suffix is thought to be a relic of Daylami language. The word "dehche" in the Daylami language had the meaning of peasant, someone from village, and the farmer. Its derivation was deh (village) + che (the suffix denoting origin or relationship). The suffix "-che", that is the same as the modern "-ij" in Caspian dialects. "-ij" is a suffix for attributing to a place, such as Yoshij, someone from Yosh.<ref name=":16">Template:Cite book</ref>

For instance; Soyreg -> Soyreg-ıj- in Zaza,<ref name=":9" /> Lankon -> Lankon-ıj- in Talysh,<ref name=":15" /> Teron -> Teron-ij in Tati<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Yosh -> Yosh-ij- in Caspian dialects<ref name=":16" /> (someone from Soyreg, Lankon, Tehran and Yosh respectively) and dew -> dew-ıj- (village -> villager) in Zaza,<ref name=":9" /> di -> div-oj- (village -> villager) in Talysh.<ref name=":15" />

	Place	From/of
Zaza	Soyreg	Soyregıj
Talysh	Lankon	Lankonıj
Tati	Teron	Teronij
Caspian	Yosh	Yoshij

Vocabulary

Pronoun	Zaza	Talysh<ref>Wolfgang, Schulze: Northern Talysh. Lincom Europa. 2000. (page 35)</ref>	Semnani<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	Tati<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	Ossetian<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	English
1sg	ez	əz (āz)	a	az	əz	I
2sg	tı	tı	tö	tə	dɨ	you
3sg.m	o	əv (ay)	u	a (av)	wɨj	he
3sg.f	a		una	ava		she
1pl	ma	ama	hamâ	âmâ	maχ	we
2pl	şıma	şımə	šema	šâmâ	sɨmaχ	you
3pl	ê, i, inan, ino	əvon/ayēn	uni	avə	wɨdon	they

Phonology

Distinctive (diachronic) phonological changes of Western Iranian languages in terms of their historical evolution:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":20">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":52" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break

v -> b

	wind	snow	willow	twenty	see
Zaza	va	vore	viale	vist	vin
Semnani	va	vara	via	vist
Sangsari	ve	varf	vi	vist	vin
Talysh	vā	vār	vi	vist	vin
Tati	vör	vohor	via	vist	vin
Gilaki	vā	varf	vi
Mazanderani	vo(t)	varf			vīn
Persian	bād	barf	bid	bist	bin
Kurdish	ba	berf	bi	bist	bin

v -> g

	wolf	flower	grass
Zaza	verg	vıle	vaš
Semnani	verg	vala	vāš
Sangsari	varg	vala
Talysh	varg	vıl	vāš
Tati	vorg	vile
Gilaki	verg		vāš
Mazandarani	varg	vel
Persian	gorg	gol	geyā
Kurdish	gur	gul	giya

m -> v

	eye	name	winter	guest
Zaza	çım	name	zımıstan	meyman
Sangsari	čašm	noum	zemestun	memoun
Talysh	čam	nom	zımıston	meymun
Tati	čam	nom	zimeston
Persian	češm	nām	zemestān	mehmān
Kurdish	çav	nav	zivistan	mivan

h/x -> k

	donkey
Zaza	har
Semnani	xar
Sangsari	xar
Talysh	har
Tati	har
Gilaki	xar
Mazandarani	xar
Persian	xar
Kurdish	kar

r -> l

	year
Zaza	sēri
Semnani
Sangsari
Talysh	sār
Tati	sār
Gilaki	sāl
Mazandarani	sāl
Persian	sāl
Kurdish	sāl

b -> d

	door
Zaza	bar
Semnani	bar
Sangsari	bar
Talysh	bar
Tati	bar
Gilaki
Mazandarani
Persian	dar
Kurdish	dari

b -> g

	cry
Zaza	barm
Semnani	barm
Sangsari	burme
Talysh	bāme
Tati	berām
Gilaki	barmā
Mazandarani	barm
Persian	gerya
Kurdish	girin

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
			Template:IPA link
Mid	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Open		Template:IPA link

The vowel Template:IPA may also be realized as Template:IPA when occurring before a consonant. Template:IPA may become lowered to Template:IPA when occurring before a velarized nasal Template:IPA Template:IPA, or occurring between a palatal approximant Template:IPA and a palato-alveolar fricative Template:IPA. Vowels Template:IPA, Template:IPA, or Template:IPA become nasalized when occurring before Template:IPA, as Template:IPA, Template:IPA, and Template:IPA, respectively.

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar		Palato- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyngeal	Glottal
			plain	phar.
Nasal		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link				(Template:IPA link)
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Fricative	voiceless	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Rhotic	tap/flap		Template:IPA link
	trill		Template:IPA link
Lateral	central		Template:IPA link
	velarized		Template:IPA link
Approximant		Template:IPA link				Template:IPA link

Template:IPA becomes a velar Template:IPA when following a velar consonant.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Alphabet

File:Mewlıd (Ehmedê Xasi) Seyfa.jpg

Zaza text in Arabic letters, written in 1891 and printed in 1899

Zaza texts written during the 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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</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>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite book</ref> Another alphabet used for the language is the 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>Template:Citation</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>Template:Cite book</ref>

Zaza alphabet

Upper case	A	B	C	Ç	D	E	Ê	F	G	Ẍ/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	ẍ/ğ	h	i	î	j	k	l	m	n	o	p	q	r	s	ş	t	u	û	v	w	x	y	z
IPA phonemes	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	ɪ	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:Nowrap	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link

<References group="upper-alpha"/>

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>Template:Cite journal</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, 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>Template:Cite web</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 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">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> The mawlid, written using the Arabic prosody (aruz), resembles the mawlid of 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 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>Template:Cite book</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 </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>Template:Cite journal</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>Template:Cite journal</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.Template:Citation needed

Gallery

• Partial tree of Indo-European languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  Partial tree of Indo-European languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Gippert, Jost (1999), Iranische Sprachen / Iranian Languages<ref name="worldhistory">Template:Cite web</ref>
  Gippert, Jost (1999), Iranische Sprachen / Iranian Languages<ref name="worldhistory">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Position of Zaza language in Iranian Languages
  Position of Zaza language in Iranian Languages

See also

• Zazas
• Zaza nationalism

notes

Works cited

• Template:Cite thesis
• Template:Cite book (About Daylamite origin of Zaza-Guranis)
• Gajewski, Jon. (2004) "Zazaki Notes" Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Template:Cite speech (not original published speech)
  • Template:Cite speech
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite thesisTemplate:Dead link
• Template:Cite conference
• Template:Cite thesis
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite report

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

Folktale collections

• Template:Cite book
• Henarek – Granatäpfelchen: Welat Şêrq ra Sonîk | Märchen aus dem Morgenland. Gesammelt und verfasst von Suphi Aydin. Hamburg: Landeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2022. Template:ISBN.

External links

• Zaza People and Zazaki Literature
• News, Articles and Columns Template:In lang
• News, Folktales, Grammar Course Template:Webarchive Template:In lang
• News, Articles and Bingöl city Template:In lang
• Center of Zazaki Template:In lang
• Website of Zazaki Institute Frankfurt
• Template:Cite web
• Zazaki Program at Halbuki