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Index / Languages / Turkic /
Iran / Languages /
Qashqai
Altaic Turkic language spoken by 1.5 million in southwestern Iran. Qashqai is only spoken in Iran, by the Qashqais, living in the Zagros Mountains.
Qashqai is very close to Azerbaijani, and it is often classified as a sub-group to Azerbaijani. The confusion this causes is best explained by the fact that spoken Azerbaijani is either Northern or Southern, both also sub-groups of Azerbaijani. Hence, Qashqai is an independent language as much as these, and parallel to them.
Qashqai is a language very much alive, and used vigorously and exclusively in its region, in all aspects of life. It is a written language only to a certain degree. It has a writing system using Arabic script in its Persianized form. But it is Persian that Qashqais use as their formal and literary language.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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