The Kurdish Language

Öz

Kurds call their language Kurdî (كوردی) in Kurdish. This chapter first provides some historical and sociocultural information about the language such as the family of languages it belongs to, its variety groups, and its current status and vitality. This will be followed by a linguistic description of Central Kurdish (Sorani, henceforth CK), for it is beyond the scope of this chapter to cover the linguistic properties of all Kurdish variety groups. We will focus on CK because it is the variety that is spoken by the vast majority of Kurds in Iraq where Kurdish has an official status. Some basic vocabulary and expressions in both Central and Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji, henceforth NK) will be presented followed by a sample text in CK. The chapter concludes with a list of books and resources on the language.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kurdish
• Centeral Kurdish
• Northern Kurdish
• The Grammar of Kurdish

Zimanê Kurdî

Öz

Kurd ji bo zimanê xwe di zimanê kurdî de bêjeya “Kurdî” (كوردی) bi kar tînin. Ev beş di serî de hin agahîyên dîrokî û sosyo-çandî yên derbarê vî zimanî de dide; wek malbata zimanî ya vî zimanî, zaravayên wî, û statu û rewşa jîndarîya wî. Pey van agahîyan, lewra di derî çarçoveya vê xebatê de ye ku li ser terîfên zimannasî yên hemû zaravayên vî zimanî bê sekinîn, wê tenê terîfeke zimannasî ya Kurdîya Navendî (Soranî, vê şûnda KN) bê dayîn. Li Iraqê KN xwedîyê statuyeke fermî ye û dîsa çima KN ew zarava ye ku ji hêla pirî Kurdên Iraqê ve tê axaftin, loma jî em ê li ser KN bisekinin. Hin bêje û gotinên bingehîn yên Kurdîya Navendî û Kurdîya Bakur (Kurmancî, vê şûnda KBK) wê bê dayîn û paşê wê metneke mînak ya KNê jî li dawîyê bê zêdekirin. Ev beş wê bi lîsteyeke pirtûk û çavakanîyên li ser ziman ve bê qedandin.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kurd
• Kurdîya Navendî
• Kurdîya Bakur
• Gramera Kurdî

Kaynakça

1. Chyet, M.L. (2003). Kurdish-English Dictionary: Ferhenga kurmancî-Inglîzî. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
2. Ekici, D. (2010). Beginning Kurmanji Kurdish (DVD-ROM). Tucson: University of Arizona.
3. Haig, G., and Öpengin, E. (Eds.) (2014). “Introduction to Special Issue. Kurdish: A Critical Research Overview.” Kurdish Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, 99-122.
4. Haig, G., and Öpengin, E. (2015). “Kurmanji Kurdish in Turkey: Structure, Varieties, and Status.”
5. https://www.academia.edu/17650650/Kurmanji_in_Turkey_structure_varieties_and_status Hassanpour, A. (1992). Nationalism and language in Kurdistan, 1918-1985. San Fransisco: Mellen Research University Press. Karadaghi, R. (2006). The Azadi English-Kurdish (Central K) Dictionary. Teheran: Elsan Publishing House.
6. Sheyholislami, J. (2015). “Lnaguage Varieties of the Kurds.” In W. Taucher, M. Vogl, and P. Webinger (Eds.), The Kurds: History, Religion, Language, Politics (pp. 30-51). Vienna, Austria: Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior.
7. Sheyholislami, J., hassanpour, A., and Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (Eds.). (2012). The Kurdish Linguistic Landscape: Vitality, Linguicide and Resistance. Special issue of International Journal of the Sociology of Language, vol. 2012, no. 217.
8. Thackston, W.M. (n.d.). Kurmanjî Kurdish - A Referance Grammar with Selected Readings. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/-iranian/Kurmanji/kurmanji_1_grammar.pdf

9. Thackston, W. M. (n.d.). Sorani Kurdish - A Reference Grammar with Selected Reading. Accessed April 10, 2016. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/-iranian/Sorani/sorani_1_grammar.pdf
10. Wahby, T. and C.J. Edmonds. (1966). A Kurdish-English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.