A Vlax Romani variety with strong Hungarian and Slavic influence. Spoken across Central Europe.
Zargari
Also known as: 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Zargari?
Zargari is a dialect of Romanes.
Where is Zargari spoken?
Zargari is primarily spoken in Iran.
Which region is Zargari associated with?
Zargari is part of the Middle East region on DialectAtlas.
Is Zargari known by other names?
Yes — Zargari is also referred to as Zargari Romani, Zargari Romanes, Zargar Romani.
Is Zargari endangered?
Zargari is critically endangered. Only a small number of mostly elderly speakers remain, and the variety is at imminent risk of being lost.
What are the other dialects of Romanes?
Romanes also includes Lovari, Kalderash, Arli, Gurbeti, Sinte Manouche, Polish-Baltic Romani, Slovak Romani. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Romanes dialects
See on the atlas →A Vlax Romani variety with a long history in Romania and the Balkans. Traditionally associated with coppersmith trades.
A Balkan Romani variety spoken widely across North Macedonia, Kosovo, southern Serbia, and Bulgaria.
A Balkan Romani variety with communities across Bosnia, Serbia, and surrounding countries.
Sinti · Manush · Sinté
A northwestern Romanes variety spoken by Sinti and Manouche communities across Germany, France, the Benelux, and northern Italy. Shaped by long contact with Germanic and Romance languages.
Polska Roma · Xaladitka Roma
A northern Romani variety historically rooted in Poland and the Baltic region, shaped by long contact with Slavic and Baltic languages.
Central Slovak Romani · Servika Roma
A Central European Romanes variety spoken by Romanes communities in Slovakia, with strong contact-influenced vocabulary from Slovak, Hungarian, and neighbouring languages.