The Kırmanjki (Zazaki) Dialect of Kurdish Language and the Issues It Faces

2021/04/22 by Mehemed Malmîsanij · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Linguistics and Cultural Studies #Cultural and Sociopolitical Studies #Educational Methods and Analysis #Linguistics #Section (typography) #History #Period (music) #Spoken language #Political science #Geography #Art #Computer science #Aesthetics #Philosophy

paper · doi:10.1017/9781108623711.027

openalex publication_date 2021/04/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

Often referred to as ‘Zaza’ or ‘Zazaki’ in academic literature in Europe and the US, the Kirmanjki dialect of the Kurdish language is spoken by an important section of the Kurds within Turkey’s borders. Kirmanjki became a written language quite late and due to the longstanding language-related prohibitions and obstacles in Turkey, the number of Kirmanji speakers has been decreasing considerably over the years. According to UNESCO, Kirmanjki is now an endangered language. This chapter focuses on the issue of different designations used to describe Kirmanjki, places where it is spoken and the current language policies in Turkey that affect its development. In addition, the difficulties that Kirmanjki is facing in the contemporary period and its precarious future are discussed.

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Cited by

• Zaza language [wikipedia]

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• “It is the hardest to keep”: Kurdish as a heritage language in the United States
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• Kurdish in Iran: A case of restricted and controlled tolerance