Iran

Farsi

The standard Persian variety spoken in Iran, with a rich literary tradition rooted in classical poetry and modern expression.

Western Balochi

also: Iranian Balochi, Makrani Balochi

The Balochi of south-eastern Iran around Zahedan and the Makran coast. Phonologically distinct from Eastern Balochi, with strong contact features from Persian.

Luri

also: Lori

A southwestern Iranian language of the Lur people in Iran's western Zagros region. Closely related to Persian but linguistically distinct, with several million speakers across Lorestan, Khuzestan, and Ilam.

Bakhtiari

A southwestern Iranian language of the Bakhtiari tribal confederation in the central Zagros mountains. Sister to Luri, with a strong oral tradition tied to the seasonal migrations of pastoral life.

Gilaki

A northwestern Iranian language spoken across Iran's Caspian province of Gilan around Rasht. Distinct from Persian in case marking and a richer verb system retaining older Iranian features.

Mazandarani

also: Tabari

A northwestern Iranian language of Iran's Caspian province of Mazandaran, around Sari and Babol. Closely related to Gilaki, with around three million speakers.

Talysh

A northwestern Iranian language straddling the Iran-Azerbaijan border in the Lankaran region. The largest northern variety is in Azerbaijan; the southern variety in Iran is more conservative.

Kurmanji

The most widely spoken Kurdish variety, used across southeast Turkey, northern Syria, and parts of Iraq and Iran.

Sorani

Spoken across Iraqi Kurdistan and western Iran. The main written language in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Hawrami

An older and distinctive Kurdish variety spoken in pockets along the Iran-Iraq border, rich in classical poetic tradition.

Zargari

also: Zargari Romani, Zargari Romanes, Zargar Romani

A highly endangered Romani variety spoken in and around the village of Zargar in Qazvin province of north-western Iran, west of Tehran. The community is traditionally said to have been settled in the Safavid period and is one of the easternmost Romani-speaking populations on record; the dialect retains a Romani lexical core but shows heavy contact influence from Persian and Azerbaijani Turkish in phonology, vocabulary, and grammar. Speaker numbers are small and intergenerational transmission has weakened sharply.

South Azerbaijani

also: Iranian Azeri, Tabrizi

The Azerbaijani of north-western Iran, centred on Tabriz. The most-spoken Azerbaijani variety; uses a Perso-Arabic script and shows long contact with Persian.

Iranian Domari

Dom communities in Iran, historically referred to by various local names. Academic documentation of their speech is sparse.