Linguistic and cultural features of Bazaynī-Kurdish

In this talk, we present the linguistic and cultural features of Bazaynī Kurdish, an endangered northwestern Iranian language primarily spoken in Turkey. First, we provide a historical overview of the Bazaynī-Kurds, followed by an exploration of the history of the Bazaynī people and of their main settlement areas. We then trace the migration history of the Bazaynī-Kurds from Iran and Iraq to Turkey and briefly discuss the socio-political factors influencing their linguistic identity.

To illustrate Bazaynī's genetic affiliation to Kurdish, we examine its linguistic similarities with and differences to Kurdish, as well as aspects of independent development. We then highlight Bazaynī's archaic features, which form the basis of our project and make it unique, by comparing it with Old and Middle Iranian, as well as some modern Northwest Iranian languages.

Culturally, Bazaynī-Kurdish communities exhibit rich traditions and ancient Iranian characteristics. We present examples from the life cycles of Bazaynī communities in Central Anatolia and along the Marmara coast in Turkey.

Despite a rich cultural heritage, Bazaynī Kurdish is severely endangered, with usage largely confined to older generations in rural areas. We discuss its linguistic vitality and the emerging efforts to revive it, including community-driven initiatives and academic documentation.

Finally, we will provide an outlook on our recently launched FWF project, which aims to comprehensively document and analyse Bazaynī-Kurdish. This project integrates linguistic research with community collaboration to support reclamation and preservation efforts. Through this work, we hope to further our understanding of the shared linguistic and cultural history of the Kurdish people.