The Caspian languages are a key branch of North-Western Iranian languages spoken in Iran and parts of the Azerbaijan Republic, south and west of the Caspian Sea. They are also unique in sharing some typological features with the Kartvelian languages.Academic American Encyclopedia By Grolier Incorporated, page 294The Tati language group in the sociolinguistic context of Northwestern Iran and Transcaucasia By D.Stilo, pages 137-185Borjian H. The Mazandarani Dialect of Kalijān Rostāq. Iranian Studies. 2019;52(3-4):551-573. doi:10.1080/00210862.2019.1611371 Although spoken on the southern and western Caspian coasts, the Caspian languages and dialects share significant linguistic similarities with the Zaza language, spoken in Anatolia.
Classification
Glottolog lists the Caspian languages as Gilaki-Rudbari, Mazanderani-Shahmirzadi and Gorgani. Similarly, according to Ethnologue, the Caspian languages consist of Gilaki, Mazanderani and Shahmirzadi.
Related languages Languages such as Zaza, Talysh, Tati, Gorani and Balochi are closely related to the Caspian languages. Although not spoken in the Caspian region today, according to the long-standing theories the Zaza, Balochi, and Gurani languages originated in the Caspian region and Zazas, Balochis and Gurans migrated from the Caspian region to their present-day settlements.
Languages The Caspian subgroup includes the languages listed below:
Northwestern Iranian Caspian Gilaki-Rudbari Gilaki Western Gilaki Eastern Gilaki Rudbari Gorgani Mazanderani-Shahmirzadi Mazanderani Central Caspian Nuclear Mazanderani Shahmirzadi
References