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Kurdish language
Kurdish (Kurdî) is an Indo-Iranian language spoken in the region loosely called Kurdistan, including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey [1]. Kurdish is an official language in Iraq while it is banned in Syria. Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media [2]. In Iran, though it is used in the local media and newspapers, there are some restrictions on its use in education. Teaching Kurmanji Kurdish is prohibited in Iranian schools[3].
The Kurdish language belongs to the western sub-group of the Iranian languages (which belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages family). The most closely related languages to Kurdish include Persian and Gilaki.
History
Map showing areas with significant numbers of Kurdish speakers.
The Kurdish language has its own historical development, continuity, grammatical system and rich living vocabularies in comparison to other members of the Iranian language family. The claim that the Kurdish language has as their direct ancestor the language of the ancient Persia's Medes seem not to be supported by the linguistic data.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media [4].
Dialects and regional variants
| Kurmanji |
Sorani |
Zazaki(Dimili) |
Persian |
German |
English |
| Gir/Mezin |
Gewre/Mezin |
Gird / pil |
Gonde |
Groß |
Great |
| Erd |
Herd |
Hard |
Zamin |
Erde |
Earth |
| Hêk |
Hêlke |
Heq |
Tokhm-e-Morgh |
Ei |
Egg |
| Bilind |
Bilind/Berz |
Berz |
Boland |
Hoch |
High |
| Masî |
Masî |
Mase |
Mâhi |
Fisch |
Fish |
| Roj/Hetav |
Roj/Hetaw/Xor |
Rej |
Xor-shid/Âftâb |
Sonne |
Sun |
| Av |
Aw |
Awe |
Âb |
Wasser |
Water |
| Bîhar |
Behar |
Wisar |
Bahâr |
Frühling |
Spring |
| Tarî |
Tarîk |
Tarî |
Tarik |
Dunkel |
Dark |
| Dev |
Dem |
Fek |
Dahân |
Mund |
Mouth |
| Şev |
Şew |
Şewe |
Shab |
Nacht |
Night |
| Ziman |
Ziman/Ziwan |
Zun / Zonê |
Zaban |
Sprache |
Language |
Kurdish dialects can be divided into three primary groups:
- the Northern Kurdish dialects group also called Kurmanji and Badínaní,
- Central Kurdish dialects group also called Sorani (see also basic linguistic differences between these two major branches) and
- the Southern Kurdish dialects group also called Pahlavani or "Pahlawanik" group in some sources.
The two other major branches of Kurdish language are:
- the Dimílí group, also called Zaza, and
- the Auramani group, also called Gorani (Gúraní) in some sources.
These are further divided into scores of dialects and sub-dialects.
The detailed classification of Kurdish dialects is problematic. There is no widely-accepted appellative system for the various Kurdish dialects; not only in Western scholarly opinion, but even among the Kurds themselves. This often prompts arguments if these four different dialects are a language on their own or not.
All of the native designators for local language and dialects are based on the way the spoken language of one group sounds to the unaccustomed ears of the other. For instance, Dimila and their vernacular, Dimili, are called Zaza by the Badínaní speakers, with reference to the preponderance of Z sounds in their language (Nikitin 1926). Meanwhile, the Dimila call the Badínaní dialect and its speakers Xerewere. The Gorans refer to the Soraní as Kurkure and Wawa. The Soraní speakers in turn call the Gorans and their vernacular, Goraní or Mecú Mecú, and refer to the tongue and the speakers of Badínaní as Ji Babu.
A proposed system for the classification of the dialects is as follows:
- Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji)
- In Iran, tribes of Herki, Milan, Shekak, Jelali, Heydari in Northern regions and western Azarbaijan province
- In Iran, Kurds in Khorasan.
- In Turkey, almost all the Kurds who live in Erzurum, Dogubayazid, Hakkari, Shamdinan, Behdinan, Abdin, Mardin and Diyarbakir.
- all Kurds who live in the former Soviet Union.
- In Iraq, most of the tribes who live in Duhok, Akra, Amedi, Zakho and Sanjar, Mosul.
- In Syria, all Kurds.
- Central Kurdish (Sorani)
- Southern Kurdish (Pehlewanî)
- Kermashani Kurdish dialect
- Gorani Kurdi dialect
- Old Gorani - Kurdish dialect of Yarsan (Ahl-e Haqq, Yaristan, Kakeyi)
- Macho Macho religious dialect
- Old Gahvarei dialect
- Old Korejoei dialect
- Old Bivenji dialect
- Old Kinduleh dialect
- Bajelani (or Bajalani) dialect spoken in Iraq opposite Sarpul-e Zohab
- Sanjabi dialect
- Kalhur dialect
- Laki dialect [5]
Writing system
- Main article: Kurdish alphabet
Today, Kurds use three different writing systems. Kurdish in Iran and Iraq is written using the modified Arabic alphabet. In Turkey and Syria, it is written using the Modified Latin alphabet (Kurdish alphabet). In these modified alphabet, special letters are used for particular vowels. The modified Arabic alphabet is the standard writing system in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iranian Kurdistan. On the other hand, the modified Latin alphabet is used mainly for Kurmancî dialect in Turkey and Syria. As an example, see the following online news portal published in Iraqi Kurdistan [6]. Also see the VOA News site in Kurdish [7]. The Kurds in the former USSR use a modified Cyrillic alphabet. There are also attempts for a unified international recognised Kurdish alphabet based on ISO-8859-1. [8]
For a comparison of different Kurdish alphabets see [9].
Kurdish phonology
According to the Kurdish Academy of Language, Kurdish has the following phonemes:
Note 1: : Non-Latin scripts also have letters for /ħ/, /ʕ/, and /ɣ/. These may indicate variation among dialects in phoneme inventory, language change, or influence from nearby languages.
Note 2: : Just as in many English dialects, the velarized lateral does not appear in the onset of a syllable.
The vowel pairs /i/ and /iː/, /e/ and /eː/, and /u/ and /uː/ contrast in length and not quality. This distinction shows up in the writing system; long vowels have a circumflex ( ^ ) and short vowels do not. As it is with most languages, Kurdish short vowels are not represented at all in the Arabic script..
In the following sections, the Latin Kurmanji Kurdish alphabet will be used. (see [10].)
Indo-European linguistic comparison
(source: Altiranisches Wörterbuch (1904) for the first two and last six.)
| Kurdish |
Avestan |
Persian |
Sanskrit |
Greek |
English |
German |
Latin |
PIE |
| ez "I" |
azəm |
|
aham |
egō |
I |
ich |
ego |
*h₁eĝom |
| jin "woman" |
janay- "woman" |
zan |
janay- |
gynē |
queen |
Königin |
|
*gʷenh₂- |
| mezin "great" |
maz-, mazant "gross" |
|
mahaanh/mahath |
megas |
mega |
mega |
magnus |
*meg'a- "big, great" |
[11] |
| mêzer "headband/turban" |
|
|
mitrah |
mitra |
miter(bishop's tall hat) |
Mitra |
mitra |
*mei - "to tie" |
[12],[13](p38) |
| pez "sheep" |
pasu- "sheep, goats" |
|
pashu "animal" |
|
fee from feoh"cattle" |
Vieh "cattle" |
pecu "cattle" |
*pek-u- "sheep" |
[14],[15] |
| çiya "mountain" |
|
chakād "summit" |
kakúd-, kakúbh- "peak/summit" |
|
|
Gipfel from *xagila- "head" |
cacūmen |
*kak-, *kakud- "top" |
[16] |
| zîndu "alive" jiyan "to live" |
jī-/gay- |
zende "alive", zîstan "to live" |
jīvati |
bios "life", zōō "live" |
quick |
quick "bright" |
vīvus "alive", vīvō "live", vīta "life" |
*gʷih₃(u̯)- |
| mang "moon" |
māh- |
māh |
mās- |
mēn "month" |
moon, month |
Mond, Monat |
mēnsis "month" |
*meh₁ns- |
| mirdu "dead", mirdin "to die" |
mar-, məša- |
morda "dead", mordan "to die" |
marati, mrta- |
brotos "mortal", ambrosios "immortal" |
murder |
Mord "murder" |
morior "die", mors "death" |
*mer-, *mr̻to- |
| ser "head" |
sarah- |
sar |
śiras- |
keras "horn", kara "head", krānion "cranium" |
dial. harns "brain" |
Gehirn "brain" |
cerebrum "brain" |
*k̂erh₂s- |
| sed "hundred" |
satəm |
sad |
śatam |
hekaton |
hundred |
Hundert |
centum |
*dk̂m̻tom |
| zānîm "I know" zānîn "to know" |
zan- |
dānam "I know", dānestan "to know" |
jānāti |
gignōskō |
know |
kennen |
nōscō, co-gnitus |
*ĝneh₃- |
A historical list of Kurdish literature and poets
Religious
- Mishefa Reş, The religious book of the Êzidî (Yezidi) Kurds. [17] (in French) It is held to have been written by Shaykh Hasan (born ca. AD 1195), a nephew of Shaykh Adi ibn Musâfir, the sacred prophet of the Yezidis.
- Serencam, The book of Yarsan.
In Goranî Dialect
- Perîşan Dînewerî (d. ca. 1395),
- Mustefa Bêsaranî (1642-1701),
- Muhemmed Kendulaî (late 17th century),
- Khana Qubadi (Xana Qubadî) (1700-1759),
- Muhemmed Zengene Xemnakî Kerkûkî (early 18th century),
- Mîrza Şafî Dînewerî (mid- 18th century),
- Şeyda Ewramî (1784-1852),
- Ehmed Beg Kumsî (1796-1889),
- Mastoureh Ardalan (Mestûrey Erdelan) (1805-1848)
- Mawlawi Tawagozi (Mewlewî Tawegozî ) (1806-1882)
- Muhammad Welî Kirmanşahî (d. ca. 1901)
In Kurmancî Dialect
In Soranî Dialect
For more details see [21]. Also see [22] for an English translation of a poem by Ehmedê Xanî and [23] for a list of Kurdish poets and writers.
Famous 20th century poets and writers
- Piramerd or Pîremêrd (Tewfîq Beg Mehmûd Axa) (1867-1950) Poet, Writer, Playwright and Journalist.
- Celadet Alî Bedirxan (Jaladat Ali Badirkhan (1893-1951) Writer, Journalist and Liguist.
- Arab Shamilov (Erebê Şemo) (1897-1978). Kurdish novelist in Armenia.
- Cigerxwîn or Cegerxwîn(Jigarkhwin) (Sheikmous Hasan) (1903-1984) poet, born in Mardin, Turkey. Died in Sweden.
- Abdulla Goran (1904-1962). The founder of modern Kurdish poetry.
- Osman Sabri (1905-1993) Kurdish poet, writer and journalist, Turkey/Syria.
- Hemin Mukriyani(Hêmin Mukriyanî)(1920-1986) Poet and Journalist, Iran.
- Hejar (Abdurrahman Sharafkandi) (1920-1990), Poet, Writer, Translator and Linguist, Iran.
- Jamal Nebez (1933- ) Writer, Linguist , Translator and Academic, Germany.
- Sherko Bekas (Şêrko Bêkes) (1940- ) Poet, Iraqi Kurdistan.
- Latif Halmat (Letîf Helmet) (1947- ) Poet, Iraqi Kurdistan.
- Abdulla Pashew (Ebdulla Peşêw) (1947- ) Poet.
- Rafiq Sabir (1950- ) Poet, Sweden.
- Mehmed Uzun, (1953- ), Contemporary Writer and Novelist.
Dictionaries
Kurdish-only dictionaries
- Wîkîferheng (Kurdish Wiktionary)
- Husein Muhammed: Soranî Kurdish - Kurmancî Kurdish dictionary (2005)
- Khal, Sheikh Muhammad, Ferhengî Xal (Khal Dictionary), Kamarani Press, Sulaymaniya, 3 Volumes,
- Vol. I, 1960, 380 p.
- Vol. II, 1964, 388 p.
- Vol. III, 1976, 511 p.
Kurdish-English dictionaries
- Chyet, Michael L. , Kurdish Dictionary: Kurmanji-English, Yale Language Series, U.S., 2003 (896 pages) (see [24])
- Abdullah, S. and Alam, K. , English-Kurdish (Sorani) and Kurdish (Sorani)-English Dictionary, Star Publications / Languages of the World Publications, India, 2004 (see [25])
- Awde, Nicholas, Kurdish-English/English-Kurdish (Kurmanci, Sorani and Zazaki) Dictionary and Phrasebook, Hippocrene Books Inc., U.S., 2004 (see [26])
- Raman : English-Kurdish(Sorani) Dictionary, Pen Press Publishers Ltd, U.K., 2003, (800 pages) (see [27])
- Saadallah, Salah, English-Kurdish Dictionary, Avesta/Paris Kurdish Insititue, Istanbul, 2000, (1477 pages) (see [28])
- Amindarov, Aziz, Kurdish-English/English-Kurdish Dictionary, Hippocrene Books Inc.,U.S., 1994 (see [29])
- Rizgar, Baran (M. F. Onen), Kurdish-English/English-Kurdish (Kurmancî Dictionary) UK, 1993, 400 p. + 70 illustrations (see [30])
See also
External links
Religious texts
Kurdish broadcast programs
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