Tajik (Persian: تاجيک Tājīk; Tajik: Тоҷик; Russian: Таджики) is a general designation for a wide range of Persian-speaking peoples of Iranian origin, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and southern Uzbekistan. Because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, large refugee populations can also be found in both Iran and Pakistan. Alternative names include Fārsī (Persian), Fārsīwān (Persian-speaking), and Dīhgān (cf. Tajik: ...
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Tajik (Persian: تاجيک Tājīk; Tajik: Тоҷик; Russian: Таджики) is a general designation for a wide range of Persian-speaking peoples of Iranian origin, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and southern Uzbekistan. Because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, large refugee populations can also be found in both Iran and Pakistan. Alternative names include Fārsī (Persian), Fārsīwān (Persian-speaking), and Dīhgān (cf. Tajik: Деҳқон, Dehqon, literally "peasant", in a wider sense "settled" in contrast to "nomadic").
As a self-designation, the term Tajik, which earlier on had been more or less pejorative, has become acceptable only during the last decades, particularly as a result of Soviet administration in Central Asia.
The Persian-speaking Tajiks are, at least in terms of language, culture, and history, closely related to the Persian-speakers of Iran. The Tajiks of China, although known by the name Tajik, speak Eastern Iranian languages and are distinct from...
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