Hawrami dialects

Hawrami (هەورامی; Hewramî) also known as Avromani, Awromani or Owrami, is one of the main groups of dialects of the Gorani language, a subgroup of Northwestern Iranian languages. Like all other Gorani dialects, it has some phonological features which distinguish it from Kurdish dialects, though it is surrounded by Kurdish dialects and has been affected by them.

Etymology

It is regarded as the most archaic of the Gorani group. Several Zazaki scholars regard Hawrami as one of the oldest dialects of the Goran–Zaza languages. Some scholars claim that the name Hawrami has close links to the "Zoroastrian faith" and assert that the name actually originated from God's name in Avesta, Ahuraman, (see Ahura Mazda).

Dialects

The Hawrami dialects are:

Demographics

According to a survey carried out by the Summer Institute of Linguistics in 1996 there were 200,000 speakers of Horami in the world.