Gilaki language

Gilaki
گیلٚکی زٚوان (Gilɵki Zɵvon)
Native toIran, province of Gilan and parts of the province of Mazandaran and Qazvin also Alborz
RegionSouthwest coast of the Caspian Sea
Ethnicity4.8 million Gilaks (2023)
Native speakers
1.6 million (2023)
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3glk
Glottologgila1241
Linguasphere58-AAC-eb
Areas where Gilaki is spoken as the mother tongue

Gilaki (گیلٚکي زٚوؤن romanized: Gilɵki Zɵvon) is an Iranian language belonging to the Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern branch, spoken in south of Caspian Sea by Gilak people. Gilaki is closely related to Mazandarani. The two languages of Gilaki and Mazandarani have similar vocabularies. The Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages) share certain typological features with Caucasian languages (specifically Kartvelian languages), reflecting the history, ethnic identity, and close relatedness to the Caucasus region and Caucasian peoples of the Gilak people and Mazandarani people.