Dolatkhah Sohrab, Csato Eva. Vocalism in two Kashkay varieties of the Amaleh tribe

Offprint from Turkic language in Iran – past and present. — Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014. — pp 101-119.The so-called Kashkay language (from Qashqa'i , or Qashqayi ) comprises Turkic varieties spoken in the Kashkay confederation in the central and southwestern part of Iran, in particular the province of Fars. Until the recent past, the Kashkay constituted one of the largest nomadic groups of Iran. Their traditional occupation was pastoralism and rug weaving (see more about the Kashkay in Bahmanbegi 1945-1946 and Beck 1986, 1991). Most Kashkay have by now given up their nomadic lifestyle and are currently settled in villages and towns but still maintain their Kashkay identity (Dolatkhah 2010: 108-109). The members of the Kashkay confederation are speakers of Turkic. Groups of diverse origins such as Kurdish, Luri and Balochi joined the confederation during the last centuries. Most of them are now integrated in the Kashkay community and speak Kashkay varieties. Some groups, such as the Korosh who are speakers of a Balochi variety, underwent a lesser degree of integration; they may still speak their original non-Turkic language.