Qashqai language
Encyclopedia
Qashqai is a Turkic language
spoken by the Qashqai people, an ethnic group living mainly in the Fars region of Iran
. Estimates of the number of Qashqai speakers vary. Ethnologue
gives a figure of one and a half million. The Qashqai language is closely related to Azerbaijani
, and some linguists consider it to be a dialect of that language.
Like Persian Azerbaijani
in Iran, Qashqai uses the Persian modification of the Arabic alphabet
. The Qashqai also speak Persian
, and use it as their literary language.
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
spoken by the Qashqai people, an ethnic group living mainly in the Fars region of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Estimates of the number of Qashqai speakers vary. Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
gives a figure of one and a half million. The Qashqai language is closely related to Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani language
Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...
, and some linguists consider it to be a dialect of that language.
Like Persian Azerbaijani
South Azerbaijani language
South Azerbaijani is a variety of the Azerbaijani language spoken in northwestern Iran and neighboring regions of Iraq and Turkey. Other communities exist in Afghanistan and Syria. Dialects include Aynallu, Karapapakh, Tabriz, Afshari, Shahsavani, Moqaddam, Baharlu, Nafar, Qaragozlu, Pichagchi,...
in Iran, Qashqai uses the Persian modification of the Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
. The Qashqai also speak Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, and use it as their literary language.