Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context

Gorani refers to under-documented, endangered varieties spoken in a cluster within the Zagros mountains (Iran/Iraq). These varieties possess conservative features of importance to linguists. However, their study has been plagued by nomenclature and taxonomy issues. Traditional names for these languages have been supplanted first by orientalists’ prescriptions and then by their linguist heirs. Inaccurate terminology has sewn discord between speaker communities, disturbing the sociolinguistic landscape. This volume represents the state of the art of Gorani’s historical and socio-linguistics, documentation, and literature, as well as an effort to aid the ＂decolonization＂ of Gorani linguistics.

Shuan Osman Karim, University of Cambridge, UK; Saloumeh Gholami, Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany.