ABSTRACT
The name Zazaki (Zāzākī) is an exoterm, originally with pejorative connotation. The endoterm Dim(i)li is used, in particular by Sunni Zaza, besides other self-designations by various Zazaki groups. Geographically, Zazaki is spoken in eastern Turkey at the north-western borders of Kurdish-speaking areas, in a triangle defined by the cities of Siverek, Erzincan and Varto, as well as in an exclave of several villages near Mutki west of Bitlis, which may suggests a formerly wider distribution of Zazaki. Linguistically, Zazaki is a North-West Iranian language, more closely related to Gôrānī and the (Iranian) Āzari dialects than to Kurdish.
