Kurdish alphabet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kurdish alphabet is a writing system for the Kurdish language. Three systems currently exist. The form used in Turkey was derived from the Latin alphabet by Celadet Alî Bedirxan in 1932, and thus is also called the Bedirxan script. It is used by Kurds in Turkey and Syria for writing the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish.
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[edit] Kurmanji Alphabet
The Kurmanji Kurdish dialect contains 31 letters.
A, B, C, Ç, D, E, Ê, F, G, H, I, Î, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, Ş, T, U, Û, V, W, X, Y, Z
There are seven vowels in this alphabet, four short and three long. The long vowels are represented using a circumflex. The short vowels are (E, I, U) and the long ones are (A, Ê, Î, O, Û). The Kurdish vowel system is almost the same as English [1]. The Turkish state does not recognise the alphabet, and use of the letters X, W, Q which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet have led to persecution in 2000 and 2003 (see [2], p.8, and [3]).
[edit] Sorani Alphabet
The Sorani Kurdish dialect is mainly written using a modified Arabic-based alphabet with 33 letters. Unlike the regular Arabic alphabet, which is an abjad, vowels are mandatory, making Sorani easy to read.
ى, ێ, ﮪ , ﻭﻭ, ﻭ , ﯙ , ﻥ , ﻡ , ﻝ, ڵ, ﮒ, ﮎ, ﻕ, ڤ, ﻑ, ﻍ, ﻉ, ﺵ, ﺱ, ﮊ, ﺯ, ڕ, ﺭ, ﺩ, ﺥ, ﺡ, ﭺ, ﺝ, ﺕ, ﭖ, ﺏ, ﺋ, ﺍ
Kurds in Iraq and Iran mainly use this alphabet, though the Kurmanji alphabet is also in use.
[edit] Cyrillic Alphabet
A third system, used for the few Kurds in the former Soviet Union, uses a modified Cyrillic alphabet, consisting of 32 letters.
А, Б, В, Г, Г', Д, Е, Ә, Ә́, Ж, З, И, Й, К, К', Л, М, Н, О, Ö, П, П', Р, Р', С, Т, Т', У, Ф, Х, Һ, Һ', Ч, Ч', Ш, Щ, Ь, Э, Q, W
[edit] Comparison of Sorani and Kurmanji Alphabets
| Kurmanji | Stand-alone (Sorani) | Initial (Sorani) | Medial (Sorani) | Final (Sorani) | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A,a |
ا |
ئا |
— |
ـا |
[a:] |
| B,b |
ﺏ |
ﺑ |
ـبـ |
ـب |
[b] |
| C,c |
ﺝ |
ﺟ |
ـجـ |
ـج |
[ʤ] |
| Ç,ç |
چ |
ﭼ |
ـچـ |
ـچ |
[tʃ] |
| D,d |
ﺩ |
— |
ــد |
[d] | |
| E,e |
ﮦ |
ﺋﮫ |
— |
ﮫ |
[æː] |
| Ê,ê |
ێ |
ئێـ |
ـێـ |
ـێ |
[ɛ] |
| F,f |
ﻑ |
ﻓ |
ـفـ |
ﻒ |
[f] |
| G,g |
ﮒ |
ﮔ |
ـگـ |
ـگ |
[g] |
| H,h |
ﻫ |
ﻫ |
ـهـ |
ـهـ |
[h] |
| I,i | — | ||||
| Î,î |
ﯼ |
ﺋﯾ |
ـيـ |
ﯽ |
[iː] |
| J,j |
ﮊ |
— |
ـژ |
[ʒ] | |
| K,k |
ﮎ |
ﮐ |
ـکـ |
ﮏ |
[k] |
| L,l |
ﻝ |
ﻟ |
ـلـ |
ـل |
[l] |
| - |
ڵ |
ڵــ |
ـڵـ |
ـڵ |
[lˁ] |
| M,m |
ﻡ |
ﻣ |
ـمـ |
ـم |
[m] |
| N,n |
ﻥ |
ﻧ |
ـنـ |
ـن |
[n] |
| O,o |
ۆ |
ئۆ |
- |
ـۆ |
[oʊ] |
| P,p |
پ |
پــ |
ـپـ |
ـپ |
[p] |
| Q,q |
ﻕ |
ﻗ |
ـقـ |
ـق |
[q] |
| R,r |
ﺭ |
— |
ـر |
[r] | |
| — |
ڕ |
— |
ـڕ |
[r] | |
| S,s |
ﺱ |
ﺳ |
ـسـ |
ـس |
[s] |
| Ş,ş |
ﺵ |
ﺷ |
ـشـ |
ـش |
[ʃ] |
| T,t |
ﺕ |
ﺗ |
ـتـ |
ـت |
[t] |
| U,u |
ﻭ |
— |
ـو |
[u] | |
| Û,û |
ﻭﻭ |
— |
ـوﻭ |
[ʉ] | |
| V,v |
ڤ |
ڤـ |
ـڤـ |
ـڤ |
[v] |
| W,w |
ﻭ |
— |
ـو |
[w] | |
| X,x |
ﺥ |
ﺧ |
ـخـ |
ـخ |
[x] |
| — |
ﻍ |
ﻏ |
ـغـ |
ـغ |
[ʁ] |
| Y,y |
ﯼ |
يـ |
— | [j] | |
| Z,z |
ﺯ |
— |
ـز |
[z] | |
