Old Azeri

Old Azeri (آذری, Āzarī; also spelled Adhari, Azeri or Azari) is the extinct Iranian language that was once spoken in the northwestern Iranian historic region of Azerbaijan (Iranian Azerbaijan) before the Turkification of the Azerbaijani people. Some linguists believe the southern Tati varieties of Iranian Azerbaijan around Takestan such as the Harzandi and Karingani dialects to be remnants of Old Azeri. Along with Tati dialects, Old Azeri is known to have strong affinities with Talysh and Zaza languages and both Zaza and Talysh are considered to be remnants of Old Azeri. Iranologist linguist W. B. Henning demonstrated that Harzandi has many common linguistic features with both Talysh and Zaza and positioned Harzandi between the Talysh and Zaza. Old Azeri was the dominant Iranic language in Azerbaijan before it was replaced by Azerbaijani, which is a Turkic language.