Old Azeri (also spelled Adhari, Azeri or Azari) is the extinct Iranian language that was once spoken by the Azerbaijani people before the Turkification of the region. 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. In addition, Old Azeri is known to have strong affinities with Talysh. Old Azeri was the dominant language in Azerbaijan before it was replaced by Azerbaijani, which is a Turkic language.