View source for Kurdish language

{{Short description|Northwestern Iranian dialect continuum}}
{{Protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Kurdish
| nativename       = {{lang|ku-Latn|Kurdî}}, {{lang|ku-Arab|کوردی}}
| image            = Kurdish_Language.svg
| imagescale       = 0.6
| imagecaption     = 
| states           = [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]], [[Turkey]]
| region           = [[Kurdistan]]; Also [[Anatolia]], [[Caucasus]], [[Khorasan province|Khorasan]], [[Kurdish diaspora]]
| ethnicity        = [[Kurds]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|29.194200|2}} million
| date             = 2017–2024
| ref              = <ref>{{e28|kur}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3             = [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]
| fam4             = [[Western Iranian languages|Western]]
| fam5             = [[Northwestern Iranian languages|Northwestern]]
| ancestor         = 
| ancestor2        = 
| dia1             = [[Northern Kurdish]] (Kurmanji)
| dia2             = [[Central Kurdish]] (Sorani)
| dia3             = [[Southern Kurdish]] (Xwarîn, Palewani)
| script           = {{Plain list|
* [[Kurdish alphabets#Hawar alphabet|Hawar alphabet]] ([[Latin script]]; used mostly in Turkey and Syria)
* [[Kurdish alphabets#Sorani alphabet|Sorani alphabet]] ([[Perso-Arabic script]]; used mostly in Iraq and Iran)
* [[Kurdish alphabets#Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic alphabet]] (former Soviet Union)
* [[Kurdish alphabets#Armenian alphabet|Armenian alphabet]] (1921–29 in Soviet Armenia)<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=MacCagg |editor1-first=William O. |editor2-last=Silver |editor2-first=Brian D. |date=1979 |title=Soviet Asian Ethnic Frontiers |publisher=Pergamon Press |isbn=9780080246376 |page=94 |quote=Since the most active Soviet Kurdish center has been and continues to be Yerevan, the first alphabet used for publishing Kurdish in the USSR was the Armenian alphabet.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:Курдский язык |url=http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/gumanitarnye_nauki/lingvistika/KURDSKI_YAZIK.html |publisher=[[Krugosvet]] |language=ru |quote=...в Армении на основе русского алфавита с 1946 (с 1921 на основе армянской графики, с 1929 на основе латиницы).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Khamoyan |first1=M. |title=[[Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia]] |volume=12 |chapter=Քրդերեն [Kurdish language] |date=1986 |page=492 |language=hy |quote=...գրկ. լույս է տեսնում 1921-ից հայկ., 1929-ից՝ լատ., 1946-ից՝ ռուս. այբուբենով...}}</ref>
}}
| dia4             = [[Laki language|Laki]]<ref name="Iranatlas" >{{cite web |title=Atlas of the Languages of Iran A working classification |url=http://iranatlas.net/index.html?module=module.classification |website=Languages of Iran |access-date=25 May 2019}}</ref>
| iso1             = ku
| iso2             = kur
| iso3             = kur
| lc1              = kmr
| ld1              = [[Northern Kurdish]]
| lc2              = ckb
| ld2              = [[Central Kurdish]]
| lc3              = sdh
| ld3              = [[Southern Kurdish]]
| lc4              = lki
| ld4              = [[Laki language|Laki Kurdish]]
| lingua           = 58-AAA-a (North Kurdish incl. Kurmanji & Kurmanjiki) + 58-AAA-b (Central Kurdish incl. Dimli/Zaza & Gurani) + 58-AAA-c (South Kurdish incl. Kurdi)
| glotto           = kurd1259
| glottorefname    = Kurdish
| nation           = {{tree list}} 
* [[Iraq]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq's Constitution of 2005 |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iraq_2005.pdf?lang=en |access-date=14 April 2019 |page=4}}</ref>{{efn|Official at state level}}
** [[Kurdistan Region]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Kurdistan: Constitution of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region | date=2 November 2009 |url=https://unpo.org/article/538?id=538 |access-date=14 April 2019}}</ref> 
* [[Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Social Contract – Sa-Nes |url=http://rojavabenelux.nl/?page_id=1862 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209113945/http://rojavabenelux.nl/?page_id=1862 |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 December 2018 |publisher=Self-Administration of North & East Syria Representation in Benelux |access-date=22 March 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rojava could be a model for all Syria |url=https://www.nationalia.info/interview/1905/rojava-could-be-a-model-for-all-syria |access-date=22 March 2019 |work=[[Salih Muslim]] |agency=Nationalita |date=29 July 2014}}</ref> {{tree list end}}
| minority         = [[Armenia]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Pavlenko |first=Aneta |year=2008 |title=Multilingualism in Post-Soviet Countries |location=Bristol, UK |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-087-6 |pages=18–22}}</ref>
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Kurdish languages map.svg
| mapcaption       = {{center|Geographic distribution of Kurdish dialects and other Iranian languages spoken by Kurds}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{{legend|#ef6662|'''Kurmanji''' ''(Northern Kurdish)''}}
{{legend|#c63143|'''Sorani''' ''(Central Kurdish)''}}
{{legend|#c8a65d|'''Xwarin''' ''(Southern Kurdish)'' '''and Laki'''}}
{{legend|#a56c24|'''Zazaki and Gorani'''}}
{{legend|#b3d423|'''Mixed dialect areas'''}}
{{col-end}}
| mapsize          = 200px
}}
{{Life in Kurdistan}}

'''Kurdish''' ({{lang|ku-Latn|Kurdî}}, {{lang|ku-Arab|کوردی}}, {{IPA|ku|kʊrdiː|pron|Ku-Kurdî.ogg}}) is a [[Northwestern Iranian languages|Northwestern Iranian]] language or [[dialect continuum|group of languages]] spoken by [[Kurds]] in the region of [[Kurdistan]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Ozek |first1=Fatih |last2=Saglam |first2=Bilgit |last3=Gooskens |first3=Charlotte |date=2023-09-01 |title=Mutual intelligibility of a Kurmanji and a Zazaki dialect spoken in the province of Elazığ, Turkey |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/applirev-2020-0151/html?lang=en |journal=Applied Linguistics Review |language=en |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=1411–1449 |doi=10.1515/applirev-2020-0151 |issn=1868-6311}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kurdish language {{!}} Kurdish Dialects, Writing System & Grammar {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kurdish-language |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> namely in southeast [[Turkish Kurdistan|Turkey]], northern [[Iraqi Kurdistan|Iraq]], northwest [[Iranian Kurdistan|Iran]], and northern [[Syrian Kurdistan|Syria]]. It is also spoken in northeast Iran, as well as in certain areas of [[Armenia]] and [[Azerbaijan]]. 

Kurdish [[Variety (linguistics)|varieties]] constitute a [[dialect continuum]],<ref name="Iranica" /> with some [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually unintelligible]] varieties,<ref name=":2" /> and collectively have 26&nbsp;million native speakers.<ref>{{Ethnologue27|kur}}</ref> The main varieties of Kurdish are [[Kurmanji]], [[Sorani]], and [[Southern Kurdish]] ({{lang|ku-Latn|Xwarîn}}). The majority of the Kurds speak Kurmanji,<ref>{{cite news |title=Kurmanji Kurdish |url=https://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Kurmanji/kurmanji_1_grammar.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194105/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Kurmanji/kurmanji_1_grammar.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=24 February 2016}}</ref> and most Kurdish texts are written in Kurmanji and Sorani. Kurmanji is written in the [[Hawar alphabet]], a derivation of the [[Latin script]], and Sorani is written in the [[Sorani alphabet]], a derivation of the [[Arabic script]].

A separate group of non-Kurdish Northwestern Iranian languages, the [[Zaza–Gorani languages]], are also spoken by several million ethnic Kurds.<ref name="ReferenceB">Kaya, Mehmet. The Zaza Kurds of Turkey: A Middle Eastern Minority in a Globalised Society. {{ISBN|1-84511-875-8}}</ref><ref name="gulf2000.columbia.edu">{{cite web|url=http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Mid_East_Linguistic_lg.jpg |title=Languages of the Middle East|access-date=23 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118184312/http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Mid_East_Linguistic_lg.jpg |archive-date=18 January 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgDi9qFT41oC |title=A Modern History of the Kurds: Third Edition – David McDowall – Google Books |date=2004-05-14 |isbn=9781850434160 |access-date=2012-12-18|last1=McDowall |first1=David |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref>

The literary output in Kurdish was mostly confined to poetry until the early 20th century, when more general literature became developed. Today, the two principal written Kurdish dialects are Kurmanji and Sorani. Sorani is, along with [[Arabic]], one of the two official languages of [[Iraq]] and is in political documents simply referred to as "Kurdish".<ref>Allison, Christine. The Yezidi oral tradition in Iraqi Kurdistan. 2001. "However, it was the southern dialect of Kurdish, Sorani, the majority language of the Iraqi Kurds, which received sanction as an official language of Iraq."</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kurdishacademy.org/?q=node/194 |title=Kurdish language issue and a divisive approach |publisher=Kurdish Academy of Language |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017021048/http://www.kurdishacademy.org/?q=node%2F194 |archive-date=17 October 2015 }}</ref>

==Classification and origin==
The Kurdish varieties belong to the [[Iranian languages|Iranian branch]] of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European family]]. They are generally classified as Northwestern Iranian languages, or by some scholars as intermediate between Northwestern and Southwestern Iranian.<ref name="Windfuhr2009">{{Cite book |title=The Iranian Languages |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2009 |editor-last=Windfuhr |editor-first=Gernot |edition=1st |location=London |language=en-GB |oclc=822565468 |ol=24561295M}}</ref>{{rp|p=587}} [[Martin van Bruinessen]] notes that "Kurdish has a strong South-Western Iranian element", whereas "Zaza and Gurani [...] do belong to the north-west Iranian group".<ref>Bruinessen, M.M. van. (1994). [http://www.let.uu.nl/~martin.vanbruinessen/personal/publications/Competing_Ethnic_Loyalties.htm Kurdish nationalism and competing ethnic loyalties] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112203117/http://www.let.uu.nl/~martin.vanbruinessen/personal/publications/Competing_Ethnic_Loyalties.htm |date=12 November 2011 }}</ref>

Ludwig Paul concludes that Kurdish seems to be a Northwestern Iranian language in origin,<ref name="Iranica">{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Kurdish language I. History of the Kurdish language|author-last=Paul|author-first=Ludwig|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]|editor-last=Yarshater|editor-first=Ehsan|editor-link=Ehsan Yarshater|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|location=London and New York|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-language-i|access-date=28 August 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20111204130713/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-language-i|archive-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> but acknowledges that it shares many traits with Southwestern Iranian languages like [[Persian language|Persian]], apparently due to longstanding and intense historical contacts.

Windfuhr identified Kurdish dialects as [[Parthian language|Parthian]], albeit with a [[Median language|Median]] substratum. Windfuhr and [[Richard N. Frye|Frye]] assume an eastern origin for Kurdish and consider it as related to eastern and central Iranian dialects.<ref>Windfuhr, Gernot (1975), "Isoglosses: A Sketch on Persians and Parthians, Kurds and Medes", Monumentum H.S. Nyberg II (Acta Iranica-5), Leiden: 457-471</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft: Alter Orient-Griechische Geschichte-Römische Geschichte. Band III,7: The History of Ancient Iran|last=Frye|first=Richard N.|publisher=C.H.Beck|year=1984|isbn=9783406093975|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofancient0000frye/page/29 29]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofancient0000frye/page/29}}</ref>

The present state of knowledge about Kurdish allows, at least roughly, drawing the approximate borders of the areas where the main ethnic core of the speakers of the contemporary Kurdish dialects was formed. The most argued hypothesis on the localisation of the ethnic territory of the Kurds remains [[David Neil MacKenzie|D.N. Mackenzie]]'s theory, proposed in the early 1960s (Mackenzie 1961). Developing the ideas of P. Tedesco (1921: 255) and regarding the common phonetic isoglosses shared by Kurdish, Persian, and [[Baluchi language|Baluchi]], Mackenzie concluded that the speakers of these three languages may once have been in closer contact.

== Varieties ==
Kurdish varieties are divided into three or four groups, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility.<ref>Hassanpour, A. (1992). Nationalism and language in Kurdistan. San Francisco: Mellon Press. Also mentioned in: [http://www.kurdishacademy.org/?q=node/712 kurdishacademy.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709211539/http://www.kurdishacademy.org/?q=node%2F712 |date=9 July 2016 }}</ref><ref name=":0">Postgate, J.N., Languages of Iraq, ancient and modern, [Iraq]: British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-903472-21-0}}, p.139</ref>

*[[Kurmanji]] is the largest dialect group, spoken by an estimated 15 to 20 million Kurds in [[Kurds in Turkey|Turkey]], [[Kurds in Syria|Syria]], [[Kurds in Iraq|northern Iraq]], and [[Kurds in Iran|northwest and northeast Iran]].
*[[Sorani]] is spoken by an estimated 6 to 7 million Kurds in much of [[Iraqi Kurdistan]] and the Iranian [[Kurdistan province]].<ref name="kreyenbroek">Philip G. Kreyenbroek, "On the Kurdish Language", a chapter in the book ''The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview''. The book is previewable at [https://books.google.com/books?id=DkI1u4ta5w4C Google Book Search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026091607/https://books.google.com/books?id=DkI1u4ta5w4C |date=26 October 2022 }}.</ref>
*Southern Kurdish (Pehlewani) is spoken in the [[Kermanshah province|Kermanshah]], [[Ilam province|Ilam]] and [[Lorestan province|Lorestan]] provinces of Iran and in the [[Khanaqin District]] of eastern Iraq.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tavadze|first=Givi|date=2019|title=Spreading of the Kurdish Language Dialects and Writing Systems Used in the Middle East|url=http://science.org.ge/bnas/t13-n1/24_Tavadze.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://science.org.ge/bnas/t13-n1/24_Tavadze.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|journal=Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences|page=172}}</ref> [[Laki language|Laki]] and [[Kordali language|Kordali]] (Palai) are often included in Southern Kurdish,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mabry |first1=Tristan James |title=Nationalism, language, and Muslim exceptionalism |date=2015 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |isbn=9780812246919}}</ref> but they have some distinct features.<ref>Erik Anonby, Mortaza Taheri-Ardali & Amos Hayes (2019) ''The Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI)''. Iranian Studies 52. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/13HM6ElEb3cPqf4FWxYVc8LqRrvFsyu0mGXXqaawgXWk/pub#ftnt142 A Working Classification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016065304/https://docs.google.com/document/d/13HM6ElEb3cPqf4FWxYVc8LqRrvFsyu0mGXXqaawgXWk/pub#ftnt142 |date=16 October 2021 }}</ref>

In historical evolution terms, Kurmanji is less modified than Sorani and Pehlewani in both phonetic and morphological structure. The Sorani group has been influenced by among other things its closer cultural proximity to the other languages spoken by Kurds in the region including the [[Gorani language]] in parts of [[Iranian Kurdistan]] and Iraqi Kurdistan.<ref name="kreyenbroek" /><ref name="autogenerated1">D.N. MacKenzie, ''Language'' in ''Kurds & Kurdistan'', Encyclopaedia of Islam.</ref>

[[Philip G. Kreyenbroek]], an expert writing in 1992, says:
{{blockquote|Since 1932 most Kurds have used the Roman script to write Kurmanji.... Sorani is normally written in an adapted form of the Arabic script.... Reasons for describing Kurmanji and Sorani as 'dialects' of one language are their common origin and the fact that this usage reflects the sense of ethnic identity and unity among the Kurds. From a linguistic or at least a grammatical point of view, however, Kurmanji and Sorani differ as much from each other as English and German, and it would seem appropriate to refer to them as languages. For example, Sorani has neither gender nor case-endings, whereas Kurmanji has both.... Differences in vocabulary and pronunciation are not as great as between German and English, but they are still considerable.<ref name=kreyenbroek/>}}

According to ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', although Kurdish is not a unified language, its many dialects are interrelated and at the same time distinguishable from other [[Western Iranian languages]]. The same source classifies different Kurdish dialects as two main groups, northern and central.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> The average Kurmanji speaker does not find it easy to communicate with the inhabitants of [[Sulaymaniyah]] or [[Halabja]].<ref name=":0" />

The Mokriani variety of Sorani is widely spoken in Mokrian. Piranshahr and Mahabad are two principal cities of the Mokrian area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dissertation.xlibx.info/d1-other/240081-1-background-the-language-community-and-fieldwork-introduction-the.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305034800/http://www.dissertation.xlibx.info/d1-other/240081-1-background-the-language-community-and-fieldwork-introduction-the.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-03-05|title=Background to the language, community, and fieldwork 1.1 Introduction The present work is a grammatical description of the Mukri variety of Central|website=dissertation.xlibx.info}}</ref>

==Zazaki and Gorani==
{{Main|Zaza language|Gorani language}}
[[Zaza–Gorani languages]], which are spoken by communities in the wider area who identify as ethnic Kurds, are not linguistically classified as Kurdish.<ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref name="gulf2000.columbia.edu" /><ref name="Books.google.com" /> Zaza-Gorani is classified as adjunct to Kurdish, although authorities differ in the details.<ref name="Windfuhr2009" />{{rp|p=589}} groups Kurdish with Zaza Gorani within a "Northwestern I" group, while [[Glottolog]] based on ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'' prefers an areal grouping of "Central dialects" (or "Kermanic") within Northwest Iranic, with Kurdish but not Zaza-Gorani grouped with "Kermanic".<ref>Glottolog 2.3, [http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/cent2264 Subfamily: Central Iran Kermanic] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213173827/http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/cent2264 |date=13 December 2014 }}. "The Central dialects thus constitute the southernmost group of the so-called Northwest Iranian dialects," 
[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/central-dialects Central Dialects] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905072810/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/central-dialects |date=5 September 2013 }} (iranicaonline.org)</ref>

[[Gorani language (Zaza-Gorani)|Gorani]] is distinct from Northern and Central Kurdish, yet shares vocabulary with both of them and there are some grammatical similarities with Central Kurdish.<ref>Philip G. Kreyenbroek, "On the Kurdish Language", a chapter in the book The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview.</ref> The [[Hawrami dialects]] of Gorani includes a variety that was an important literary language since the 14th century, but it was replaced by Central Kurdish in the 20th century.<ref>Meri, Josef W. Medieval Islamic Civilization: A-K, index. p444</ref>

European scholars have maintained that Gorani is separate from Kurdish and that Kurdish is synonymous with the Northern Kurdish group, whereas ethnic Kurds maintain that Kurdish encompasses any of the unique languages or dialects spoken by Kurds that are not spoken by neighbouring ethnic groups.<ref>Edmonds, Cecil. Kurds, Turks, and Arabs: politics, travel, and research in north-eastern Iraq, 1919–1925. Oxford University Press, 1957.</ref>

Gorani is classified as part of the Zaza–Gorani branch of Indo-Iranian languages.<ref>J. N. Postgate, Languages of Iraq, ancient and modern, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, [Iraq]: British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2007, p. 138.</ref> The [[Zaza language]], spoken mainly in Turkey, differs both grammatically and in vocabulary and is generally not understandable by Gorani speakers but it is considered related to Gorani. Almost all Zaza-speaking communities,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.let.uu.nl/~martin.vanbruinessen/personal/publications/Bruinessen_Ethnic_identity_Kurds.pdf |title=The Ethnic Identity of the Kurds in Turkey |access-date=2015-10-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015152331/http://www.let.uu.nl/~Martin.vanBruinessen/personal/publications/Bruinessen_Ethnic_identity_Kurds.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015}}</ref> as well as speakers of the closely related [[Shabaki dialect]] spoken in parts of [[Iraqi Kurdistan]], identify themselves as ethnic Kurds.<ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref>Abd al-Jabbar, Falih. Ayatollahs, sufis and ideologues: state, religion and social movements in Iraq. University of Virginia 2008.</ref><ref>Sykes, Mark. The Caliphs' last heritage: a short history of the Turkish Empire</ref><ref>O'Shea, Maria. Trapped between the map and reality: geography and perceptions of Kurdistan. {{ISBN|0-415-94766-9}}.</ref><ref>Library Information and Research Service. The Middle East, abstracts and index</ref><ref>Meiselas, Susan. Kurdistan: in the shadow of history. Random House, 1997.</ref>

According to M. Leezenberg, the term "Kurdish dialect" could refer to either a "dialect of the Kurdish branch of Northwestern Indo-Iranian languages" (such as Kurmanji and Sorani), or a "dialect spoken by people who consider themselves Kurds" (such as Zaza and Gorani).<ref>''Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing?,'' Michiel Leezenberg, pp. 2. ILLC - Department of Philosophy, University of Amsterdam</ref> He added that the situation of Zazas, who overwhelmingly identified as Kurds, and Goranis, who were certainly Kurds and identified as such, was opposite from the situation of Yazidis, who spoke a Kurdish language but for religious reasons often did not identify as Kurds and were not seen as Kurds by other Kurds until the rise of secular nationalism.<ref>''Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing?,'' Michiel Leezenberg, pp. 7, 12. ILLC - Department of Philosophy, University of Amsterdam</ref>

Geoffrey Haig and Ergin Öpengin in their recent study suggest grouping the Kurdish languages into Northern Kurdish, Central Kurdish, Southern Kurdish, [[Zaza language|Zaza]], and Gorani, and avoid the subgrouping Zaza–Gorani.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Opengin |first1=Ergin |last2=Haig |first2=Geoffrey |title=Kurdish: a critical research overview |url=https://www.academia.edu/9265357 |via=Academia.edu |language=en}}</ref>

Professor [[Zare Yusupova]] has carried out much work and research into the Gorani dialect (as well as many other minority/ancient Kurdish dialects).<ref name="research-gate-book-1">{{cite book |last=Leezenberg |first=M. |date=15 June 2016 |title=Soviet Kurdology and Kurdish Orientalism |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254810726 |page=10 |author-link=:nl:Michiel Leezenberg |publication-date=15 June 2016 |access-date=24 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427211418/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254810726_Soviet_Kurdology_and_Kurdish_Orientalism |archive-date=27 April 2018}}</ref>

==History==
<!--[[File:Old Kurdish alphabet.png|thumb|Old alphabet used previously for Kurdish, according to Ibn Wahshiyya 856 AC.]]-->

During his stay in [[Damascus]], historian [[Ibn Wahshiyya]] came across two books on agriculture written in Kurdish, one on the culture of the vine and the palm tree, and the other on water and the means of finding it out in unknown ground. He translated both from Kurdish into Arabic in the early 9th century AD.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ibn-Waḥšīya |first=Aḥmad Ibn-ʿAlī |translator=Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall|title=Ancient Alphabets and Hieroglyphic Characters Explained: With an Account of the Egyptian Priests, Their Classes, Initiation, and Sacrifices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8GZEAAAAcAAJ |access-date=28 March 2013 |year= 1806|publisher=Bulmer |page=53 }}</ref>

Among the earliest Kurdish religious texts is the ''[[Yazidi Black Book]]'', the sacred book of [[Yazidi]] faith. It is considered to have been authored sometime in the 13th century AD by ''Hassan bin Adi'' (b. 1195 AD), the great-grandnephew of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir (d. 1162), the founder of the faith. It contains the Yazidi account of the creation of the world, the origin of man, the story of [[Adam]] and [[Eve]] and the major prohibitions of the faith.<ref>John S. Guest, ''The Yezidis: A Study in Survival'', Routledge Publishers, 1987, {{ISBN|0-7103-0115-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7103-0115-4}}, 299 pp. (see pages 18, 19, 32)</ref> According to ''The Cambridge History of the Kurds'', "the first proper 'text{{'"}} written in Kurdish is a short Christian prayer. It was written in Armenian characters, and dates from the fifteenth century.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge History of the Kurds |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-108-47335-4 |pages=613 |editor-last=Bozarslan |editor-first=Hamit |editor-last2=Gunes |editor-first2=Cengiz |editor-last3=Yadirgi |editor-first3=Veli}}</ref> From the 15th to 17th centuries, classical Kurdish poets and writers developed a literary language. The most notable classical Kurdish poets from this period were [[Ali Hariri]], [[Ahmad Khani]], [[Malaye Jaziri]] and [[Faqi Tayran]].

The [[Italian people|Italian]] priest Maurizio Garzoni published the first Kurdish grammar titled ''Grammatica e Vocabolario della Lingua Kurda'' in [[Rome]] in 1787 after eighteen years of missionary work among the Kurds of [[Amadiya]].<ref>Ernest R. McCarus, ''Kurdish Language Studies'', The Middle East Journal, Published by Middle East Institute, Washington, 1960, p.325</ref> This work is very important in Kurdish history as it is the first acknowledgment of the widespread use of a distinctive Kurdish language. Garzoni was given the title ''Father of Kurdology'' by later scholars.<ref>[http://www.institutkurde.org/en/conferences/kurdish_studies_irbil_2006/Mirella+GALETTI.html#_ftn5 Kurdistan and Its Christians] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210082050/http://www.institutkurde.org/en/conferences/kurdish_studies_irbil_2006/Mirella+GALETTI.html |date=10 February 2009 }}, Mirella Galetti, World Congress of Kurdish Studies, 6–9 September 2006</ref> The Kurdish language was banned in a large portion of Kurdistan for some time. After the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état]] until 1991 the use of the Kurdish language was illegal in Turkey.<ref>Ross, Michael. ''The Volunteer'' (chapter: The Road to Ankara)</ref>

==Current status==
[[File:Road sign double toponyms Amed DSC00179.JPG|thumb|Road signs near [[Diyarbakır]] showing the place names in Turkish and Kurdish]]

Today, [[Sorani]] is an official language in Iraq. In Syria, on the other hand, publishing materials in Kurdish is forbidden,<ref>[http://web.amnesty.org/wire/March2005/Syria Repression of Kurds in Syria is widespread] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015034722/http://web.amnesty.org/wire/March2005/Syria |date=15 October 2007 }}, [[Amnesty International]] Report, March 2005.</ref> though this prohibition is not enforced any more due to the [[Syrian civil war]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-kurdistan-self-governance-teach-kurdish-language.html|title=After 52-year ban, Syrian Kurds now taught Kurdish in schools|date=6 November 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510184634/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-kurdistan-self-governance-teach-kurdish-language.html|archive-date=10 May 2016}}</ref>

Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/action/special/zana.html |title=Special Focus Cases: Leyla Zana, Prisoner of Conscience |publisher=Amnestyusa.org |access-date=2 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050510082350/http://www.amnestyusa.org/action/special/zana.html |archive-date=10 May 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freemuse.org/sw6195.asp |title=Kurdish performers banned, Appeal from International PEN |publisher=Freemuse.org |access-date=2 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113034636/http://www.freemuse.org/sw6195.asp |archive-date=13 January 2012}}</ref> In March 2006, Turkey allowed private television channels to begin airing programming in Kurdish. However, the Turkish government said that they must avoid showing children's [[cartoon]]s, or educational programs that teach Kurdish, and could broadcast only for 45 minutes a day or four hours a week.<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D4687417-BAB7-426A-9F30-8D16A9DEE206.htm Turkey to get Kurdish television] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513082443/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D4687417-BAB7-426A-9F30-8D16A9DEE206.htm |date=13 May 2006 }}</ref> The state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) started its [[TRT Kurdî|24-hour Kurdish television station]] on 1 January 2009 with the motto "we live under the same sky".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15316 |title=Kurdish TV starts broadcasting in Turkey |publisher=Kurdmedia.com |access-date=2 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112035549/http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15316 |archive-date=12 January 2012}}</ref> The Turkish prime minister sent a video message in Kurdish to the opening ceremony, which was attended by Minister of Culture and other state officials. The channel uses the ''X'', ''W'', and ''Q'' letters during broadcasting. However, most of these restrictions on private Kurdish television channels were relaxed in September 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trt.net.tr/Haber/HaberDetay.aspx?HaberKodu=139bfcf2-18ef-46b2-937b-010ad9411f0f |title=TRT HABER – Özel Kürtçe Kanala Yeşil Işık |publisher=Trt.net.tr |date=28 November 2011 |access-date=2 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118223608/http://www.trt.net.tr/Haber/HaberDetay.aspx?HaberKodu=139bfcf2-18ef-46b2-937b-010ad9411f0f |archive-date=18 January 2012}}</ref> In 2010, Kurdish municipalities in the southeast began printing [[marriage certificate]]s, water bills, construction and [[road sign]]s, as well as emergency, social and cultural notices in Kurdish alongside Turkish. Also Imams began to deliver Friday [[Khutbah|sermons]] in Kurdish and [[Esnaf]] price tags in Kurdish. Many mayors were tried for issuing public documents in Kurdish language.<ref>{{cite news|title=On trial for speaking Kurdish|url=http://en.firatnews.com/news/features/on-trial-for-speaking-kurdish.htm|access-date=12 June 2013|newspaper=ANF-Firatnews|date=11 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615172358/http://en.firatnews.com/news/features/on-trial-for-speaking-kurdish.htm|archive-date=15 June 2013}}</ref> The Kurdish alphabet is not recognized in Turkey, and prior to 2013 the use of Kurdish names containing the letters ''X'', ''W'', and ''Q'', which do not exist in the [[Turkish alphabet]], was not allowed.<ref name="cla3a">{{cite web | url = http://www.unhchr.ch/minorities/statements10/CLA3a.doc | title = Submission to the Sub-Commission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: Working Group of Minorities; Tenth Session, Agenda Item 3 (a) | first = Saniye | last = Karakaş | publisher = [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] |date=March 2004 | access-date = 2006-11-07 | format = [[Microsoft Word|MS Word]]|quote = Kurds have been officially allowed since September 2003 to take Kurdish names, but cannot use the letters x, w, or q, which are common in Kurdish but do not exist in Turkey's version of the Latin alphabet. [...] Those letters, however, are used in Turkey in the names of companies, TV and radio channels, and trademarks. For example [[Turkish Army]] has company under the name of AXA [[OYAK]] and there is [[Show TV|SHOW TV]] television channel in Turkey. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070628171743/http://www.unhchr.ch/minorities/statements10/CLA3a.doc <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2013/10/24/turkey_prime_minister_erdogan_s_democratizaton_package_legalizes_letters.html |title=Turkey legalizes the letters Q, W, and X. Yay Alphabet! |author=Mark Liberman |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=2013-10-24 |access-date=2013-10-25 }}</ref> In 2012, Kurdish-language lessons became an elective subject in public schools. Previously, Kurdish education had only been possible in private institutions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Turkey to allow Kurdish lessons in schools|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/06/2012612133656956705.html|access-date=12 June 2013|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=12 June 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313145427/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/06/2012612133656956705.html|archive-date=13 March 2013}}</ref>

In Iran, though it is used in some local media and newspapers, it is not used in public schools.<ref>[http://www.institutkurde.org/en/language/ ''The Kurdish Language and Literature''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013085526/http://www.institutkurde.org/en/language |date=13 October 2008 }}, by Joyce Blau, professor of Kurdish language and civilization at the National Institute of Oriental Language and Civilization of the University of Paris ([[INALCO]])</ref><ref>[http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/~siamakr/Kurdish/KURDICA/1999/APR/Iran-policy.html The language policy of Iran from State policy on the Kurdish language: the politics of status planning] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609144508/http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/~siamakr/Kurdish/KURDICA/1999/APR/Iran-policy.html |date=9 June 2009 }}
by [[Amir Hassanpour]], University of Toronto</ref> In 2005, 80 Syrian and Iranian Kurds took part in an experiment and gained scholarships to study in [[Kurdistan Region]], Iraq, in their native tongue.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4528599 |title=Neighboring Kurds Travel to Study in Iraq |publisher=NPR |date=9 March 2005 |access-date=2 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126080226/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4528599 |archive-date=26 January 2012}}</ref>

In [[Kyrgyzstan]], {{pct|12700|13200|2}} of the Kurdish population speak Kurdish as their native language.<ref>{{cite web|title=. Number of resident population by selected nationality, mother tongue in 2009 |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_phc/Kyrgyzstan/A5-2PopulationAndHousingCensusOfTheKyrgyzRepublicOf2009.pdf |access-date=9 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710092216/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Kyrgyzstan/A5-2PopulationAndHousingCensusOfTheKyrgyzRepublicOf2009.pdf |page=53|archive-date=10 July 2012 }}</ref> In Kazakhstan, the corresponding percentage is 88.7%.<ref name="kazakhstan">{{cite web|title=Table 4.1.1 Population by individual ethnic groups |url=http://www.eng.stat.kz/publishing/DocLib/2011/%D0%90%D0%9E%20%D0%BD%D0%B0%20%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC.pdf |work=Government of Kazakhstan |publisher=stat.kz |access-date=9 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227170112/http://www.eng.stat.kz/publishing/DocLib/2011/%D0%90%D0%9E%20%D0%BD%D0%B0%20%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC.pdf |page=21|archive-date=27 February 2012 }}</ref>

==Phonology==
{{main|Kurdish phonology}}

==Grammar==
{{main|Kurdish grammar}}

==Writing system==
{{Main|Kurdish alphabets}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Kurdistan|Language}}
* [[Kurdish people]]
* [[Kurdish culture]]
* [[Kurdish literature]]
* [[Kurdish Institute of Paris]]
* [[Kurdish Institute of Istanbul]]
* [[List of countries by Kurdish-speaking population]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kurdish language}}
{{InterWiki|code=ku|Kurmanji Kurdish}}
{{InterWiki|code=ckb|Sorani Kurdish}}
{{Incubator|sdh|language=Southern Kurdish}}
{{Incubator|lki|language=Laki}}
{{Wikivoyage|Kurdish phrasebook|Kurdish|a phrasebook}}

* [http://ku.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ser%C3%BBpel Wîkîferheng] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031024645/http://ku.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ser%C3%BBpel |date=31 October 2015 }} (Kurdish [[Wiktionary]])
* [https://books.vejin.net/ VejinBooks, collection of Kurdish literary and historical texts]
* [https://lex.vejin.net/ Vejin Dictionaries, collection of Kurdish dictionaries] (written in Arabic script)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170911233756/http://www.kurdishacademy.org/ The Kurdish Academy of Language] (unofficial)
* [http://www.kurdinus.com/Transliterate.html Kurdînûs, a tool for writing in Kurdish and to convert texts from Arabic script to Latin script and vice versa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130161509/https://kurdinus.com/Transliterate.html |date=30 November 2021 }}
* [http://egerin.com/ Egerîn, Kurdish (Kurmanji) search engine]
* [http://inkurdish.com/ inKurdish: English–Kurdish Translation]
* [http://dictio.kurditgroup.org Dictio: English–Kurdish (Sorani) Dictionary]
* [http://www.institutkurde.org/en/language/ The Kurdish Institute of Paris: Language and Literature]
* [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-language-i Kurdish Language and Linguistics, at Encyclopedia Iranica] (article written by Ludwig Paul)
* [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/ Reference Grammar with Selected Readings both for Sorani and Kurmanji, written by W. M. Thackston (Harvard University)]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120121152214/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/ot_grp7/ot_kurdishwritten_20050223.html History of Kurdish Written Literature, at Encyclopedia Iranica]}} (article written by Philip G. Kryeenbroek)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130402201810/http://www.kurdishlanguage.org/ Kurdish Language Initiative] of [https://web.archive.org/web/20100601222228/http://seywan.org/ Seywan Institute]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160115180810/http://www.enstituyakurdi.org/ Kurdish Institute of Istanbul]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170911233756/http://www.kurdishacademy.org/ KAL: The Kurdish Academy of Language]
* [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/linguistics-and-philosophy/24-942-grammar-of-a-less-familiar-language-spring-2003/ Grammar of a Less Familiar Language] (MIT OpenCourseWare)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120723065907/http://vahidrch.persiangig.com/document/ph.pdf Southern Kurdish phonetic]
* [http://home.hum.uva.nl/oz/leezenberg/GInflCK.pdf Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712070357/http://home.hum.uva.nl/oz/leezenberg/GInflCK.pdf |date=12 July 2019 }}
*Ahmed, Hemn Karim. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hemn-Mela-Karim-Barznji-hmn-mla-krym-brznjy/publication/371172809_A_CHATBOT_SYSTEM_FOR_KURDISH_SPEAKERS_BASED_ON_NATURAL_LANGUAGE_PROCESSING/links/64778cf379a722376501c03b/A-CHATBOT-SYSTEM-FOR-KURDISH-SPEAKERS-BASED-ON-NATURAL-LANGUAGE-PROCESSING.pdf A CHATBOT SYSTEM FOR KURDISH SPEAKERS BASED ON NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING]. Diss. University of Sulaimani, 2021.
* {{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312070136|title=Writing Kurdish Alphabetics in Java Programming Language|publisher=IJACSA) International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2016}}

{{navboxes
|list1=
{{Kurdish language}}
{{Iranian languages}}
{{Languages of Iraq}}
{{Languages of Iran}}
{{Languages of Syria}}
{{Languages of Turkey}}
{{Languages of Armenia}}
{{Languages of the Caucasus}}

{{Iraq topics}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kurdish language| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Armenia]]
[[Category:Languages of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Languages of Turkey]]
[[Category:Languages of Iran]]
[[Category:Languages of Iraq]]
[[Category:Languages of Israel]]
[[Category:Languages of Lebanon]]
[[Category:Languages of Syria]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]
[[Category:Iranian languages]]
[[Category:Articles citing Nationalencyklopedin]]
[[Category:Languages of Kurdistan]]