This symposium shall provide a space to openly discuss the future of Zazaki
We shall discuss the possibilities and the framework for the endurance of the language and formulate feasible options. The question of the standardization of the language is still heavily disputed among linguists. Since Zazaki has several dialects and the speakers have not yet thought about the political dimension, the question of standardization and the question of how this standardization can be carried out remains open.
In this context, the discussion often diverges from the question of ethnicity and belonging of Zazaki speakers. Until now, they have generally been seen as Kurds. However, over the course of the last years, the position that Zazaki is a language of its own has become dominant. The question of ethnic belonging has become pertinent as well. Concerning this question, it is interesting if language alone is a sufficient indicator of ethnic belonging, or if other factors play a role as well.
Conference abstracts are available here
Program
17.30 Admission
18.00 Opening addresses
18.15 First Panel Part A
18.30 Heiner Eichner
Zaza – History and Present of a Northwestern Iranian Language from a Linguistic Perspective
18.45 Mesut Keskin
On the Standardization Efforts for a Comprehensive Literary Language in Zazaki
19.00 Jaffer Sheyholislami
Linguistic Landscapes and Competing Language Ideologies in Iraqi Kurdistan
First Panel Part B
19.15 Mehmet Emir
Multimediashow - „My Journey Back Home“
19.30 Ursula Hemetek
Music as a Factor of Identity Formation among Minorities – Starting Points for an Applied Ethnomusicology
19.45 Discussion
20.15 Break
20.30 Second Panel
20.45 Dieter Halwachs
Vitality and Functionality of Dominated Languages
21.00 Katharina Brizic
Zaza in Viennese Educational and Linguistic Biographies – A Sociolinguistic Contributionto Diaspora, Conflict and Belonging
21.15 Inci Dirim
Models of Linguistic Education
21.30 Discussion
22.00 End