Languages of Iraq

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Languages of

There are a number of languages spoken in Iraq, but the lingua franca; Mesopotamian Arabic (also known as Iraqi Arabic) is by far the most widely spoken in the country.

Contemporary language

The most widely spoken language in Iraq is the Arabic language (specifically Mesopotamian Arabic); the second most spoken language is Kurdish (mainly Sorani and Kurmanji dialects), followed by the Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialect of Turkish, and many Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialects.[1][2]

Standard Arabic is written using the Arabic script but Mesopotamian Arabic is written with a modified Perso-Arabic script and so is Kurdish (see Sorani alphabet). In 1997 the Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman adopted the Turkish alphabet as the formal written language[3][4] and by 2005 the community leaders decided that the Turkish language would replace traditional Turkmeni (which had used the Arabic script) in Iraqi schools.[5] In addition, the Neo-Aramaic languages use the Syriac script.

Other smaller minority languages include Shabaki and Armenian.

Official languages

Official languages of Iraq are defined by the Constitution of Iraq, that was adopted on September 18, 2005 by the Transitional National Assembly of Iraq.[6] It was confirmed by constitutional referendum, held on October 15, 2005.[7] Official text of the Constitution was published on December 28, 2005 in the Official Gazette of Iraq (No. 4012), in Arabic original,[8] and thus came into force. The official translation (in English, for international use) was produced in cooperation between Iraqi state authorities and the United Nations' Office for Constitutional Support.[9][10]

According to the Article 4 of the Constitution, Arabic and Kurdish are the official languages of Iraq, while three other languages: Turkish, Neo-Aramaic and Armenian, are recognized as minority languages. In addition, any region or province may declare other languages official if a majority of the population approves in a general referendum.[11] According to the second clause of the same article, a law that formally defines the status of Kurdish as an official language has to be passed, but as of March 2025, no such law has been enacted. The official status of Kurdish in Iraq (excluding Kurdistan Region) remains unclear.

History

The oldest recorded languages of Iraq were Sumerian language and Akkadian language (including ancient Assyrian and Babylonian). Sumerian was displaced by Akkadian by 1700 BCE, and Akkadian was gradually displaced by Aramaic, from 1200 BCE to 100 CE. Sumerian and Akkadian (including all ancient Assyrian and Babylonian dialects) were written in the cuneiform script from 3300 BCE onwards. The latest positively identified Akkadian text comes from the first century CE.[12]

The language with the longest recorded period of use in Iraq is Aramaic, which has a written tradition dating back for more than 2000 years, and survives today in its descendants, the Neo-Aramaic languages.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Sara B. Moller (2005), Low Intensity Conflict and Nation-Building in Iraq: A Chronology
  7. ↑ Jonathan Morrow (2005): Iraq’s Constitutional Process II: An Opportunity Lost
  8. ↑ Constitution of the Republic of Iraq, Official Gazette of Iraq, No. 4012, of December 28, 2005 (Arabic text)
  9. ↑ UN WIPO: Iraqi Constitution (2005) in English translation
  10. ↑ The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network: Iraqi Constitution (2005)
  11. ↑ Iraq, Ministry of Interior - General Directorate for Nationality: Iraqi Constitution (2005)
  12. ↑ John Gay and Christopher Woods, 2004 "Akkadian and Eblaite", The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages Template:ISBN, p. 218.

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Sources

<templatestyles src="Refbegin/styles.css" />

  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

External links

Template:Wikisource/outer coreScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "Portal".

Constitution of Iraq, from official Iraqi an UN sources, also accepted as Wikisource text
Other links
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Template:Languages of Iraq Script error: No such module "Navbox". Script error: No such module "Navbox".

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Languages_of_Iraq&oldid=5935400"