Zaza language is classified as amacrolanguage by international linguistic authorities.SIL International classifies Zaza language as amacrolanguage, including the varieties ofSouthern Zaza (diq) andNorthern Zaza (kiu).[47] Other international linguistic authorities, theEthnologue and theGlottolog, also classify the Zaza language as a macrolanguage composed of two distinct languages:Southern Zaza andNorthern Zaza.[48][3]
The first linguist to linguistically study and analyze the Zaza language was the German linguistOskar Mann [de]. Commissioned by the Prussian Academy of Sciences in 1905/1906 to document and linguistically analyze Western Iranian languages, Oskar Mann conducted extensive Zaza compilations and language records in the Bingöl and Siverek regions. He analyzed the Zaza language from phonological, morphological, lexical and etymological aspects and demonstrated that Zaza is a northwestern Iranian language in its own right, among the Iranian languages. His work was subsequently published byKarl Hadank, who also classified Zaza as a distinct northwestern Iranian language.[49] Since then, the language has been classified as a distinct northwestern Iranian language within the Northwest Iranian languages and is classified as a distinct northwestern Iranian language by international linguistic authorities.[50][3][47] The Ethnologue classifies Zaza within a genetic subgroup called Zaza-Gorani, along with Gorani, within the Northwestern Iranian languages.[3] This classification is contested. There are significant linguistic differences between the Zaza and Gorani languages, despite some similarities.[49][51] Zaza shares many linguistic features with theCaspian languages that are not found in Gorani. No unifying characteristics have been found from Zaza and the Gorani group to demonstrate that they constitute a group on their own in contrast to other Northwestern language groups.[52]
TheGlottolog database proposes a more detailed classification and classifies Zaza within theAdharicsubgroup (related toOld Azeri), along with languages such asTalysh,Tati and its dialects such asHarzandi,Kajali andKilit, spoken on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea.[50] Belgian philologist and IranologistPièrre Lecoq classifies Zaza within theMedo-Caspian subgroup along with languages such asTati,Talysh,Gilaki,Semnani andBalochi.[53] German linguistJost Gippert, has demonstrated that the Zaza language is very closely related to theParthian 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 theParthian language that has survived to the present day.[54] He classifies Zaza within theHyrcanian subgroup, referring to the historicalHyrcania region south of the Caspian Sea, and includes languages such asSangsari andBalochi in the same subgroup as Zaza.[55] Gippert also demonstrated that the Zaza language is genetically very close toSemnani and suggested that both languages may have originated from a common ancestor.[56] According to linguistLudwig Paul [de] the Zaza language is a northwestern Iranian language in its own right within the Northwestern Iranian languages and it is linguistically close toTati and its dialects (modernAzeri dialects),Talysh and Gorani. Instead of grouping the Zaza language with another language, he classified Zaza as a standalone language within the Northwestern Iranian languages.[57]Encyclopædia Iranica classifies the Zaza language within theCaspiansubgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages, along withTalysh,Tati dialects,Harzandi,Gilaki,Mazanderani,Gurani andSemnani dialects and states that historically all of these Caspian dialects are related to theParthian language.[58]
TheGlottolog database proposes the following phylogenetic classification:[50]
The Zaza language is considered a branch of the Kurdic subgroup within theNorthwestern Iranian languages in a study.[52][59] The varieties of Kurdic do not directly descend from any knownMiddle Iranian languages, such as Middle Persian or Parthian, or fromOld Iranian languages, such as Avestan or Old Persian.[59] Zaza is considered amacrolanguage, consisting of Southern and Northern Zaza.[3]Glottolog database classifies Zaza under theAdharic branch of Northwestern Iranian languages.[60] Linguistically, the classification of Zazaki as either a Kurdish dialect or a distinct language is a topic of debate among scholars.[61] Some, such as Ludwig Paul, do not consider Zazaki andGorani 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.[62] The differences between them arise from the Kurdish adoption ofPersian linguistic features due to historical contact.[63] 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 andKurmanji 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.[64] 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, andSouthern Kurdish) as well as the Zaza and Gorani languages. The term "Kurdic" is used to refer to this broad grouping.[65][59][66]
Many Zaza speakers resided in conflict-affected regions ofeastern 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, primarilyGermany,Sweden,Netherlands and theUnited States, andAustralia.[3][67][68]
Efforts to preserve and revitalize Zazaki are ongoing. ManyKurdish writers in Turkey are fighting to save Zazaki withchildren's books[69] and others withnewspapers,[70] but the language faces an uncertain future.
The decline of Zazaki speakers could also lead theZazas to lose their identity and shift to aTurkish identity. According to a study led byDr. Nadire Güntaş Aldatmaz, an academic atAnkara University, 402 people aged between 15 and 75 fromMamekîye inDersim 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 Zaza.[71]
Writing in Zaza is a recent phenomenon. The first literary work in Zaza isMewlîdu'n-Nebîyyî'l-Qureyşîyyî byEhmedê Xasi in 1899, followed by the workMawlûd byOsman 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 newspaperRoja Newe, but the newspaper was banned and no further publication in Zaza took place until 1976, whenperiodicals published a few Zaza texts. Modern Zaza literature appeared for the first time in the journalTîrêj in 1979 but the journal had to close as a result of the1980 coup d'état. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most Zaza literature was published inGermany,France and especiallySweden 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 (afterMawlûd 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.[72]
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 inStockholm and established a common alphabet andorthographic rules which they published. Some authors nonetheless do not abide by these rules as they do not apply the orthographic rules in their oeuvres.[73]
In 2010, Zaza was classified as a "vulnerable" language byUNESCO.[74]
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 unaspiratedvoiceless 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.[82]
In terms of grammar, genetics, linguistics (diachronic) and core vocabulary the Zaza language is closely related toOld Azeri,Tati of Iran,Talysh,Sangsari,Semnani,Mazandarani andGilaki languages spoken on the shores of theCaspian Sea and northern Iran.[1][57][38][83][84] Zaza also has distinctive and significant grammatical similarities withParthian[42][41] andBactrian[85] languages, which are two Iranian languages of late antiquity. Zaza, along withTalysh,Tati,Semnani,Sangesari,Gilaki and some other central Iranian dialects, formsa 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". Zaza, along with Talysh and Tati, is located at the westernmost part of the Western Iranian languages while Persian and Kurdish are positioned at the easternmost part:[38][57]
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 theOld Iranian language genitive ending *-ahya.[86] LinguistW. B. Henning demonstrated about a 100 years ago that Zaza, Talysh,Tati/Azeri, Semnani and Gilaki, andCaspian dialects derive their present stem from the same old Iranian present participle ending in *-ant-.[87] Zaza, Talyshi,Azeri, Semnani, Gilaki and some other Caspian dialects derive their present stem from the same old Iranian present participle ending in *-ant:[86][1][88]
In contrast to these languages, inKurdish andPersian 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, the oblique ending-ī (that going back to theOld 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, inTati dialects, the oblique case of relationship terms-r also has spread from relationship terms to other terms. Like Zaza, other members of the belt, Talysh, Semnani, Tati also have the same oblique case of relationship terms:[86]
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 inSemnani.[86][89][90]
The grammatical gender forms ofOld Iranian -except for the neuter form- remain largely the same in the Zaza language. The distinction between masculine and feminine forms is present in the entire morphology of the Zaza language, including nouns, adjectives, pronouns, cases and verb conjugations.[97] In the Old Iranian era, the Old Iranian languages likeAvestan,Old Persian featured a grammatical gender system that included masculine, feminine, and neuter.[98] And in Zaza, the feminine suffix of Old Iranian –ā remained as the unstressed suffix –e [-ə] in the northern dialect and as -ı in the southern dialect of Zaza.[97][99]
Along with Zaza, the Semnani and Tati languages also exhibit the same feminine suffix form. For example, the word fordonkey her in Zaza and xar in Semnani and Tati:[100]
her (Zaza), xar (Semnani and Tati)
here (Zaza) xára (Semnani and Tati)
While the words her and xar refer tojack orjackass, a male donkey in Zaza, Semnani and Tati; feminine forms of the words her and xar, respectivey, the word with unstressed suffix –e, here in Zaza and xára in Semnani and Tati refer to ajenny orjennet, a female donkey.
Among all Western Iranian languages, Zaza,Semnani,[101][102][103]Sangsari,[104]Tati dialects,[105][106] Hazārrūdi, Cālī,Tākestāni,Kajali, Khalkhali,Karani, Lerdi, Diz, Sagzābādi,Eštehārdi,Ashtiani, Amorei,Alviri, Abyānei and central Iranian languages like Jowšaqāni, Abuzeydābādi, Fārzāndī, Delījanī and Kurmanji distinguish between masculine and femininegrammatical gender.[107][108][109] In Zaza, each noun belongs to one of those two genders. In order to correctlydecline any noun and anymodifier or other type of word affecting that noun, one must identify whether the noun is feminine or masculine. Most nouns have inherent gender. However, somenominal roots have variable gender, i.e. they may function as either masculine or feminine nouns.[110]
As a unique linguistic feature, among all Northwestern Iranian languages, only in Zaza, Semnani, Sangsari and Tati languages, grammatical gender is marked onverbs.[111][112][90][113][114] And unlike other Northwestern Iranian languages, Zaza and someTati dialects do distinguish gender in second singular person too.[115] In addition to nouns, adjectives and verbs, in Zaza, Semnani and Tati dialects grammatical gender is marked on demonstrative pronouns too. For instance:[116][117][118][119][120]
The Zaza verbal forms are based on three stems: subjunctive, present, and past. The subjunctive and past stems generally continue inherited Iranian present stems, while the present stems are derived from the Zaza subjunctive stems by the formant -(e)n.
Another feature of the Zaza language dating back to the Old and Middle Iranian era is that the passive stem (diathesis) is formed synthetic. The Old Indo-Iranian passive stem -iiā/-i and its reflection in Pahlavi -īh- is still preserved in Zaza, Tati, Talysh, Semnani, Central and Judeo-Iranian dialects. The old passive stem appears as -i- in Zaza and the passive stem is derived by adding -i to the verb stem.[100] Just like Zaza, in other members of thebelt, inTati dialects (e.g. Eštehārdī,Ashtiani,Alviri, Čālī, Čarza etc.) andTalysh (e.g. Asālem)[123] andSemnani[f][124] the passive stem is formed by adding the -i to the verb stem[125][126][127] and -i/-y to the verb stem inCentral plateau andJudeo-Iranian languages[128][129] and -ī to the verb stem in EasternBalochi.[130] Examples of passive voices are:nan weriyeno: bread (masc.) is being eaten,şıt şımiyeno: milk (masc.) is being drunk,nuşte nuşiyeno: the text (masc.) is being written,keye viniyeno: the house (masc.) is being seen. The causative stem is derived by -n,[100] which derives from the causative suffix -ēn of the Middle Iranian period.[131] Examples of the causative voice are:veşneno: (he) burns,vurneno: (he) changes,musneno: (he) teaches. The causative stem -n- of Zaza appears as -(e)n inSemnani,[132] -en- inTati[133] andTalysh, -en(d)- inMazanderani[134], -an inGilaki[135] and -ēn inBalochi.[136]
Theinfinitive 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. Thepresent tense is formed by taking the present stem of the verb, adding the present participle ending and conjugating it. Zaza,Semnani,Talysh,Tati/Azeri andGilaki derive their present stem from the same old Iranian present participle ending in *-ant-.[86] Grammatical gender is marked onverbs, similiar to Semnani and Tati/Azeri. For example, the present stem of the verbsşiyaene 'to go'" andvınderdene "to stop":[137][138]
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
Thepresent 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.[139][137] The present continuous in Zaza is formed by conjugating the copula in accordance with the subject and conjugating the verb in accordance with thepresent tense:[137]
Nouns in Zaza are unmarked for the singular and marked with the unstressed -i in the plural.[139] 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, inSemnani, another member of the belt, nouns are marked with the plural suffix -i in the nominative plural.[140][112] For example, trees/horses = dari/estori in Zaza and dåri/asbi in Semnani.[141][112] In addition to mutual nominative plural suffix -i in two languages, both in Zaza and Semnani nouns are marked with the plural suffix -un in the oblique plural.[142][141] For instance:[143]
Among all Western Iranian languages, only in Zaza and closely related languages like Semnani (and its dialects likeSorkhei,Lasgerdi,Biyabunaki) and Tati (and its dialects likeHarzandi,Kilit) listed below, the numberthree is cognate withParthianhry/hrē. Old Iranian *θr further became *hr, in initial position acquired a supporting vowel here.[1][144] In these languages, thev ->b ands ->h consonant change (vist anddas in Zaza, Semnani, Tati, Parthian vs.bist anddah in Persian and Kurdish) is also clearly evident. As a unique linguistic feature, only in Zaza and Semnani the numberone takes both masculine and feminine forms. InAvestan, which is an extinctOld Iranian language, numbers took gender specific forms.[145] Cardinal numbers in Zaza and other closely related languages are as follows:[146][147][148]
The cardinal numbers from 10 to 20 and numbers in tens in Zaza exhibit strong similarities withAvestan, which, together withOld Persian, is one of two directly attested languages of the Old Iranian era andParthian, which is an extinct Northwestern Iranian language of the Middle Iranian era:
The stressed suffix "-ıj" added to nouns of place in Zaza denotes origin or relationship.[151] Just like Zaza, inTati andTalysh languages of the belt, suffix ""-ij" and-ıj", respectively, added to nouns to denote origin or relationship.[152] This suffix is thought to be a relic ofDaylami 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" inCaspian dialects. "-ij" is a suffix for attributing to a place, such as Yoshij, someone from Yosh.[153][154]
For instance; Soyreg -> Soyreg-ıj- in Zaza,[151] Lankon -> Lankon-ıj- in Talysh,[152] Teron -> Teron-ij in Tati[155] and Yosh -> Yosh-ij- in Caspian dialects[153] (someone from Soyreg, Lankon, Tehran and Yosh respectively) and dew -> dew-ıj- (village -> villager) in Zaza,[151] di -> div-oj- (village -> villager) in Talysh.[152]
The suffix "-iš" forms verbal nouns in Zaza, by adding it to the preterite stem and verbal nouns derived from this suffix have masculine gender.[156] InParthian andMiddle Persian, a similar suffix, "-išn" has existed.[157] For instance:[124]
Zaza language distinguishes gender for third person pronoun in both the direct and oblique case. The masculine third person pronoun is o, the feminine one is a.[116][158] Among all western Iranian languages, Zaza,Semnani,Sangsari,Tati dialects, Hazārrūdi, Cālī,Tākestāni,Kajali, Khalkhali, Karani, Lerdi, Diz, Sagzābādi, Eštehārdi,Ashtiani, Amorei,Alviri, Abyānei, Jowšaqāni, Abuzeydābādi, Farizandi distinguish gender for third person pronoun:[107][108]
The vowel/e/ may also be realized as[ɛ] when occurring before a consonant./ɨ/ may become lowered to[ɪ] when occurring before a velarized nasal/n/[ŋ], or occurring between a palatal approximant/j/ and a palato-alveolar fricative/ʃ/. Vowels/ɑ/,/ɨ/, or/ə/ become nasalized when occurring before/n/, as[ɑ̃],[ɨ̃], and[ə̃], respectively.
Zaza text in Arabic letters, written in 1891 and printed in 1899
Zaza texts written during theOttoman era were written inArabic 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 inOttoman Turkish.[164] 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.[165][166] Another Mawlid in Zaza language, written by another Ottoman-Zaza cleric Osman Esad Efendi between 1903–1906, was also written in Arabic letters.[167] After the Republic, Zaza works began to be written in Latin letters, abandoning theArabic alphabet. However, today Zaza 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.[168] Another alphabet used for the language is theBedirxan 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 Zaza, consisting of 32 letters, 8 of which are vowels and 24 of which are consonants.[169] TheZaza alphabet is an extension of theLatin 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.[170]
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.[175]
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 Zaza 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 theNaskh script, which is also used inOttoman Turkish. The work consists of two parts III. It includes the Eastern Anatolia region during the reign ofSelim III, the life of Ali (caliph), Alevi doctrine and history, the translation of some parts ofNahj al-balagha into Zaza language, apocalyptic subjects and poetic texts.[176] 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 poetAhmed el-Hassi (1867–1951) in 1891–1892. The first Mevlit work in the Zaza language was written in Arabic letters and published in 1899.[177][166] The mawlid, written using theArabic prosody (aruz), resembles the mawlid ofSüleyman 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.[177][166] Another written work written during this period is another Mevlit written by Siverek muftiOsman 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.[178] Apart from Zaza writers, non-Zaza/Ottoman writers/researchers such as Peter Ivanovich Lerch (1827–1884),[179][180] Robert Gordon Latham (1812–1888) Dr. Humphry Sandwith (1822–1881),[181][182] Wilhelm Strecker (1830–1890), Otto Blau (1828–1879),[183] Friedrich Müller (1864) and Oskar Mann (1867–1917)[184] included Zaza content (story, fairy tales dictionary) in their works in the pre-Republican period.[166]
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 Zaza 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.[185] Mevlids and sirahs of Abdulkadir Arslan (1992–1995),[186] Kamil Pueği (1999), Muhammed Muradan (1999-2000) and Cuma Özusan (2009) are other literary works with religious content.[177] Written Zaza literature is rich in mawlid and religious works, and the first written works of the language are given in these genres.[177] 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 Zaza-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.[187] 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.[citation needed]
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^Arslan, İlyas (2018)."Zaza Dilinde Lehçe Farklılıkları" [The Dialectological Differences Of Zaza Language].Bingöl Üniversitesi Yaşayan Diller Enstitüsü Dergisi.4 (4):6–7 – via Bingöl Üniversitesi Yaşayan Diller Enstitüsü.
^"Zaza".Ethnologue. 2025. Retrieved20 December 2025.
^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.)."Zaza".Glottolog. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^Paul, Ludwig (2009). "Zazaki". In Windfuhr, Gernot (ed.).The Iranian Languages. New York: Routledge. pp. 546, 554.ISBN978-0-7007-1131-4.
^Selcan 1998, p. 135:"...wurden zwei hauptdialekte der Zaza-Sprache festgestellt: ein Nord Dialekt und en Süddialekt."
^Arslan, İlyas (2018)."Zaza Dilinde Lehçe Farklılıkları" [The Dialectological Differences Of Zaza Language].Bingöl Üniversitesi Yaşayan Diller Enstitüsü Dergisi.4 (4):6–7 – via Bingöl Üniversitesi Yaşayan Diller Enstitüsü.
^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.)."Zaza".Glottolog. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^"Zaza".Ethnologue (Free All). Ethnologue. 2024.Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved24 January 2024.
^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.)."Zaza".Glottolog. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^"Zaza".Ethnologue. 2025. Retrieved20 December 2025.
^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.)."Adharic".Glottolog. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^Arakelova, Victoria (1999). "The Zaza People as a New Ethno-Political Factor in the Region".Iran & the Caucasus.3/4:397–408.doi:10.1163/157338499X00335.JSTOR4030804.
^Anand, Pranav; Nevins, Andrew (2004). "Shifty Operators in Changing Contexts". In Young, Robert B. (ed.).Proceedings of the 14th Semantics and Linguistic Theory Conference held May 14–16, 2004, at Northwestern University. Vol. 14. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. p. 36.doi:10.3765/salt.v14i0.2913.
^abHadank, Karl (1932).Mundarten der Zâzâ, Hauptsächlich aus Siwerek und Kor (in German). Walter de Gruyter. pp. 18-23, 24-26.
^abcHammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.)."Adharic".Glottolog. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
^Gholami, Saloumeh (2022). "Classification of the Zazaki language based on the perspectives of perceptual dialectology and comparative linguistics".Iranian Journal of Comparative Linguistic Research.11 (11):27–30.
^برجیان, حبیب (2021). "ایرانشناس نستوه".بیست و هشتمین جایزۀ ادبی و تار یخی دکتر محمود افشار اهداشده به ایرانشناس بلژیکی پیر لکوک (Persian). بنیاد موقوفات دکتر محمود افشار. s. 17
^Asatrian 1995: "For almost a millennium the Dimlīs had no direct contact with their closest linguistic relatives. Nevertheless, their language has preserved numerous isoglosses with the dialects of the southern Caspian region, andits place in the Caspian dialect group of Northwest Iranian is clear."
^Elfenbein, J. (2000). Zazaki: Grammatik und Versuch einer Dialektologie. By Ludwig Paul. pp. xxi, 366.
^Bozarslan, Hamit; Gunes, Cengiz; Yadirgi, Veli, eds. (2021).The Cambridge History of the Kurds. Cambridge University Press. pp. 669–675.
^Bozarslan, Hamit; Gunes, Cengiz; Yadirgi, Veli, eds. (2021).The Cambridge History of the Kurds. Cambridge University Press. pp. 606–607.
^Larson, Richard K.; Moradi, Sedigheh; Samiian, Vida (2020).Advances in Iranian linguistics. John Benjamins publishing company. pp. 48–49.ISBN978-90-272-0716-6.
^Paul, Ludwig (2009). "Zazaki". In Windfuhr, Gernot (ed.).The Iranian Languages. New York: Routledge. pp. 546, 554.ISBN978-0-7007-1131-4.
^abJohanson, Lars; Bulut, Christiane (2006).Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 293.ISBN3-447-05276-7.
^abHenning, Walter Bruno (1955).The Ancient Language of Azerbaijan. Austin & Sons. pp. 174–175.On the other side,Harzanī is related to Zaza. One may instance the existence of two genuine plural cases in both languages; the ablative postposition -ri, Zaza -rā; the negative prefix in čini(ya) 'it is not', Zaza činyö, činya; many characteristic words, such as Harzani öšma 'moon', Zaza āšma, the nearest related word beingTāliši ovšįm; vašna 'it shines', Zaza väšena; gen- both ' to take' and ' to fall' inHarzanī and Zaza; rau 'quick' in both languages; vondor- 'to stand': Zaza vindär- andVafsi vender-, a verb known. This is merely a small selection of the many coincidences, some of them exclusive, that can be quoted. They leave no doubt thatHarzanī takes its place betweenTāliši and Zaza.
^abسبزعلیپور, جهاندوست (2013). "تمایز جنس مونث و مذکر در گویش تاتی خلخال" [Distiniction of the Feminine and Masculine Gender in the Tāti Dialect of Khalkhāl].نامه فرهنگستان (in Persian).13 (1): 78.
^Mirdehghan, M., & Nourian, G. Ergative Case Marking and Agreement in the Central Dialect of Talishi.
^Ergative in Tāti Dialect of Khalkhāl, Jahandust Sabzalipoor
^Koohkan, Sepideh. The typology of modality in modern West Iranian languages. 2019. PhD Thesis. University of Antwerp.
^Agnes Korn. The Ergative System in Balochi from a Typological Perspective. Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 2009, 1, pp.43-79. ffhal-01340943
^Mohammad- Ebrahimi, Z. et. al. (2010). "The study of grammatical gender in Semnani dialect". Papers of the First International Conference on Iran’s DesertArea Dialects. Pp. 1849-1876.
^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.
^Rezapour, Ebrahim (2015). "Word order in Semnani language based on language typology". IQBQ. 6 (5): 169-190
^Borjian, H. (2021). Essays on Three Iranian Language Groups: Taleqani, Biabanaki, Komisenian (Vol. 99). ISD LLC.
^Vardanian, A. (2016). Grammatical gender in New Azari dialects of Šāhrūd. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 79(3), 503 511.
^A Morpho-phonological Analysis of Vowel Changes in Takestani-Tati Verb Conjugations: Assimilation, Deletion, and Vowel Harmony
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^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.
^Yarshater, Ehsan (1960). "The Tāti Dialect of Kajal".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.23 (2): 282.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00149948.
^Stilo, Donald (2019). "Loss vs. expansion of gender in Tatic languages: Kafteji (Kabatei) and Kelāsi". In Korangy, Alireza; Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari, Behrooz (eds.).Essays on Typology of Iranian Languages. Berlin: De Gruyter. pp. 74–76.ISBN978-3-11-060174-9.
^abHayıg, Roşan; Werner, Brigitte (2012).Zazaca-Türkçe Sözlük ; Türkçe-Zazaca Sözcük Listesi (Çermik – Çüngüş – Siverek – Gerger Bölgeleri) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Tij Yayınları. p. 423.ISBN978-975-8277-43-8.
^سبزعلیپور, جهاندوست (2013). "تمایز جنس مونث و مذکر در گویش تاتی خلخال" [Distiniction of the Feminine and Masculine Gender in the Tāti Dialect of Khalkhāl].نامه فرهنگستان (in Persian). 13 (1): 79.
^امینی, عطیه; مهند, محمد راسخ (2024). "جنس دستوری در زبان آمُره ای" [Grammatical Gender in Amora'i Language].زبانشناسی و گویشهای ایرانی.6 (1): 117.
^abWindfuhr, Gernot L. (1998)."EŠTEHĀRDĪ".Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved9 November 2025.
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^Korn, Agnes (2017). "Verbal nouns in Balochi". In Le Feuvre, Claire; Petit, Daniel; Pinault, Georges-Jean (eds.).Verbal Adjectives and Participles in Indo-European Languages/Adjectifs Verbaux Et Participes Dans Les Langues Indo-européennes. Bremen: Hempen Verlag. p. 132.ISBN978-3-944312-50-7.
^Borjian, Habib (2008). "The Komisenian Dialect of Aftar".Oriental Archive.78: 416.
^Mahand, Mohamad Rasekh; Izadifar, Raheleh. "Causative Construction in Tāti".Adab Pazhuhi.7 (25): 150.
^Borjian, Habib (2019). "Mazandarani: A typological survey". In Korangy, Alireza; Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari, Behrooz (eds.).Essays on Typology of Iranian Languages. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 92.ISBN978-3-11-060174-9.
^Rastorgueva, Vera Sergeevna; Kerimova, Aza Alimovna; Mamedzade, Akhmed Kerimovich; Pireĭko, Lii︠a︡ Aleksandrovna; Ėdelʹman, Dzhoĭ Iosifovna (2012). Lockwood, Ronald M. (ed.).The Gilaki Language. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. p. 126.ISBN978-91-554-8419-4.
^abکلباسی, ایران (2005)."ویژگیهاي شاخص گویش سمنانی" [The Main Characteristics of Semnani Dialect](PDF).Language and Linguistics (in Persian).1 (2): 139.
^Arslan, İlyas (2022). "Ezafe (Genitive) in Zaza Language".Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi.10 (1): 410.doi:10.18506/anemon.946031.
^Gippert, Jost (2008). "Zur dialektalen Stellung des Zazaki".Die Sprache.47 (1):90–91.
^Lecoq, Pierre (1989). "Les Dialectes Caspiens Et Les Dialectes Du Nord-ouest De L'iran". In Schmitt, Rüdiger (ed.).Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum (in French). Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. 308ISBN3-88226-413-6.
^Paul, Ludwig (2009). "Zazaki". In Windfuhr, Gernot (ed.).The Iranian Languages. New York: Routledge. p. 554.ISBN978-0-7007-1131-4.
^abکارنگ, عبدالعلی (1952).تاتی و هرزنی دو لهجه از زبان باستان آذربایجان [Tati, Harzani, two dialects from the ancient language of Azerbaijan] (in Persian). تبریز: چاپخانهی شفق. p. 84.
^Гасанов, Агамали (1966).О "тайном" Языке Жителей Села Килит Нахичеванской Асср [About The "Secret" Language Of The Residents Of The Village Of Kilit, Nakhchivan Assr] (in Russian). Baku: ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО АКАДЕМИИ НАУК АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНСКОЙ ССР. p. 91.
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^abcUmnyashkin, Alexandr; Shodiev, Rustamkhon A. "Word Forming Models of Everyday Talish Vocabulary".Journal Arbitrer.6 (2): 79.
^abمحمدتقی پوراحمد, جکتاجی (1385).گیلان نامه (in Persian) (6th ed.). گیلکان. p. 242.
^Borjian, Habib (2013).Is There Continuity between Persian and Caspian: Linguistic Relationships in the South-Central Alborz. New Haven: American Oriental Society. p. 33.ISBN978-0940490857.
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^Selcan, Zülfü (2013). "Zur historischen Entwicklung der Zaza-Sprache".Acta Orientalia.74: 188.
^Varol, Murat (2012),Zazalarda Mevlid ve Siyer Geleneği, vol. 1, II. Uluslararası Zaza Tarihi ve Kültürü Sempozyumu/Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları, pp. 93–114
^Arslanoğulları, M. (2014). Lerch’in zazaki derlemelerinin çevrimyazımı ve türlerine göre sözcüklerin tahlili (Master's thesis, Bingöl Üniversitesi).
^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
^Robert Gordon Latham, "On a Zaza Vocabulary",Transactions of The Philological Society, London, 1856, ss. 40-42
^Robert Gordon Latham, "On a Zaza Vocabulary",Opuscula: Essays, Chiefly Philological and Ethnographical, Williams & Norgate, London, Edinburg, Leipzig, 1860, s.242
^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
^O. Mann, Nachlaß in der Staatsbibliothek Berlin (W), Briefe; vgl. auch ebenda, Vortrag vom 4. Juli 1909 und 20. Jan. 1909, p. 11.
^Ahmet Kayıntu,"Molla Mehmet Demirtaş’ın Zazaca Divanı", II. Uluslararası Zaza Tarihi ve Kültürü Sempozyumu, Bingöl Üniversitesi Yayınları, 04-06 Mayıs 2012.
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