Kurdish language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kurdish كوردی Kurdî Кöрди |
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|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia, Lebanon (see article for full list) | |
| Region: | Middle East | |
| Total speakers: | 31,417,000 (disputed) | |
| Ranking: | 33 (disputed) | |
| Language family: | Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Western Iranian Northwestern Iranian Kurdish |
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| Writing system: | Kurdish alphabet (modified Arabic alphabet in Iraq and Iran, modified Latin alphabet in Turkey and Syria, modified Cyrillic in the former USSR) | |
| Official status | ||
| Official language of: | Iraq Kurdish Autonomous Region |
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| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | ku | |
| ISO 639-2: | kur | |
| ISO 639-3: | variously: kur — Kurdish (generic) ckb — Central Kurdish kmr — Northern Kurdish sdh — Southern Kurdish |
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| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
The Kurdish language is a language spoken in the region 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 where it is forbidden to publish material in Kurdish.[2] Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media.[3] The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and 2003 [4] [5]. In Iran, though it is used in the local media and newspapers, it is not allowed to be taught in schools [6] [7]. As a result many Iranian Kurds have left for Iraq where they can study in their native language.[8]
The Kurdish language belongs to the western sub-group of the Iranian languages which belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. The most closely related languages to Kurdish are Balochi, Gileki and Talysh, all of which belong to the north-western branch of Iranian languages. Persian which belongs to the south-western branch, is also considered a related language, however the differences between Kurdish and Persian are far stronger than the similarities[9].
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[edit] Origin and roots
The original language of the Kurds was Hurrian, a non Indo-European language belonging to the Caucasian family. This older language was replaced by the Indo-European around 850 BCE, with the arrival of the Medes to Kurdistan [10]. Nevertheless, Hurrian influence on Kurdish is still evident in its ergative grammatical structure and toponyms[11]. A linguistic group influential on Kurds but in a lesser degree was Semitic group such as Aramaic. Today, more than three-quarters of Kurdish clan names and roughly two-third of topographical and urban names are of Hurrian (Khurrite) origin [12], e.g., the names of the clans of Bukhti, Tirikan, Bazayni, Bakran, Mand; rivers Murad, Balik and Khabur, lake Van; the towns of Mardin, Ziwiya, Dinawar and Barzan. So it is safe to say that the historical development of the Kurdish language (both grammar and vocabulary) is distinct and different than the other members of the Iranian language family.
[edit] History
Although Kurdish has a northwestern Iranian root, little is known about Kurdish in pre-Islamic times. The most notable language in this group is Median, of which little is known either. The sacred book of the Yazidis, Mishefa Reş (Black Book) was written in Kurmanji Kurdish by Shaikh Adi's son in early 13th century [13]. From the 15th to 17th centuries, classical Kurdish poets and writers developed a literary language. The most famous classical Kurdish poets from this period are Ali Hariri, Ahmad Khani, Malaye Jaziri and Faqi Tayran.
In the beginning of the 20th century the countries that controlled the Kurdish-speaking regions refused to accept Kurdish as an official language and placed restrictions on its use. Today, only in Iraq, Kurdish is an official language. In Turkey the use of Kurdish is allowed, though with restrictions; In Iran, Kurdish is used in some publications, but it is not allowed to be taught in schools. Syria still opposes the use of Kurdish in the country.
In March 2006, Turkey allowed private television channels to begin airing Kurdish language programming. However, the Turkish government said that they must avoid showing children's cartoons, or educational programs that teach the Kurdish language, and can only broadcast for 45 minutes a day or four hours a week. The programs must carry Turkish subtitles.[14] Kurdish blogs have emerged in recent years as virtual fora where Kurdish-speaking Internet users can express themselves in their native Kurdish or in other languages.
[edit] Grammar
The Kurdish language is a typical example of an ergative language. There are many variations of ergativity such as split ergativity or ergative-absolutive, especially in the past tense forms in the Kurdish language. In the ergative case, the subject is oblique, and the verb agrees with the object and thus is unlike Persian, Turkish and Arabic in which the object has an accusative marker and the verb in all tenses agrees with the subject of the sentence. Kurdish also shows clitic reversing in all tense forms in sentences. Linguists believe Kurdish has inherited this attribute of ergativity from the language of the Hurrians (Khurrites) who are believed to be one of the main ancestors of the Kurds.
- A simple example of ergative-absolutive in Kurdish (Kurmanji):
- Wan nan çêkir
- Subject-object-verb
- They-bread-made
- They made the bread.
In the above example, wan is oblique and nan is absolute. In the ergative case the verb çêkir (to make) agrees with the object nan. Furthermore, ergativity only occurs in the past tense when the verb is transitive. When the verb is intransitive, sentence structure follows the standard subject-verb agreement. Lastly, the article the is automatically assumed if the object is absolute.
In addition to these, Kurdish uses various adpositions i.e. both prepositions and postpositions marking at the same time on a head noun. None of its neighbouring languages do so.
[edit] Dialects
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Kurdish has two main northern and central dialects. The northern dialect, or Kurmanji is spoken in northern half of Iraqi Kurdistan, Caucasus, Turkey, Syria and northwest of Iran. The central group, called Kurdi, or Sorani, is spoken in west of Iran and central part of Iraqi Kurdistan. Subdialects of Kurdish include Kermanshahi, Laki, Gorani, and Zazaki [15].
According to Philip Kreyenbroek (1992), it may be misleading to call Kurmanji and Sorani/Kurdi "dialects" because they are in some ways as different from one another as German and English. However, it is useful to comment on the differences between the two varieties.
Kurmanji or northern Kurdish is more archaic than the other dialects in both phonetic and morphological structure, and it is conjectured that the differences between central and northern dialects, have been caused by the proximity of central group to the other Iranian languages.[16].
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 of northern and central. Northern group (Kurmanji) is spoken in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Mosul and Bahdinan regions in Iraq and Kurdish communities in Khorasan (northeast of Iran). Central group (Sorani) is spoken in Arbil, Sulaimaniya, Kirkuk (all in Iraq) , Mahabad and Sanandaj (in Iran). Other dialects such as Kirmanshahi and Laki are spoken in the south and east of Sorani speaking region. [17].
According to Ethnologue's classification of the dialects is as follows [18]:
It is also called Kurmanji and spoken by most Kurds in Turkey, Syria and the former Soviet Union. Kurds in Northern regions of western Azarbaijan province, in northern Khorasan of Iran, and in Dohuk and Mosul governorates in Iraqi Kurdistan speaks this dialect.
It is spoken by most of Iraqi and Iranian Kurds.
It is spoken in Western Iran (Kermanshah, Ilam provinces) Eastern Iraq bordering these provinces including Xanaqin.
[edit] Indo-European linguistic comparison
Due to the fact that Kurdish language is an Indo-European language, there are many words that are cognates in Kurdish and other Indo-European languages such as Avestan, Persian, Sanskrit, German, English, Latin and Greek. (Source: Altiranisches Wörterbuch (1904) for the first two and last six.)
| Kurdish | Avestan | Persian | Sanskrit | Greek | English | German | Latin | Lithuanian | Russian | PIE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ez "I" | azəm | aham | egō | I (< OE ić) | ich | ego | aš | ja (OCS azŭ) | *h₁eĝh₂om | |
| jin "woman" | janay- "woman" | zan | janay- | gynēka | queen | (OHG quena) | (OPruss. genna) | žená | *gʷenh₂- | |
| leystin(bileyzim) "to play (I play)" | réjati | paizo | leich | láigīti | *(e)lAig'- "to jump, to spring, to play"[9] | |||||
| mezin "great" | maz-, mazant | mah(ī)-/mahānt- | megas | much (< OE mićil, myćil) | (OHG mihhil) | magnus | *meĝh₂- "big, great" [10] | |||
| mêzer "headband/turban" | mithra- "god name"(Old Persian) | mitrah | mitra "headband, turban," | mitera "bishop's tall hat" - from Greek[11]) | Mitra - from Greek | mitra - from Greek) | mir "world, peace" | *mei- "to tie" ([12], p38) | ||
| pez "sheep" | pasu- "sheep, goats" | paśu "animal" | fee (< OE feoh "cattle") | Vieh "cattle" | pecus "cattle" | pekus "ox" | pastuh "shepherd" | *pek̂-u- "sheep"[13],[14] | ||
| çiya "mountain" | chakād "summit" | kakúd-, kakúbh- "peak/summit" | cacūmen | *kak-, *kakud- "top"[15] [16] | ||||||
| zîndu "alive" jiyan "to live" | jī-/gay- | zende "alive", zîstan "to live" | jīvati | zoi "life", zō "live" | quick | quick "bright" | vīvus "alive", vīvō "live", vīta "life" | gývas | živój | *gʷih₃(u̯)- |
| mang "moon" | māh- | māh | mās- | mēn "month" | moon, month | Mond, Monat | mēnsis "month" | mėnuo/mėnesis | mésjac | *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" | mirti "to die" | umerét’"to die", mërtvyj "tot" | *mer-, *mr̻to- |
| ser "head" | sarah- | sar | śiras- | ker[as] "horn", kara "head", krā[nion] "cranium" | dial. harns "brain" | [Ge]hir[n] "brain" | cereb[rum] "brain" | cherep "skull" | *k̂erh₂s- | |
| sed "hundred" | satəm | sad | śatam | [he]katon | hund[red] | Hund[ert] | centum | šimt[as] | sto | *dk̂m̻tom |
| [di]zan[im] "I know" zan[în] "to know" | zan- | [mi]dān[am] "I know", dān[estan] "to know" | jān[āti] | [gi]gnō[skō] | know | kennen | nō[scō], [co]gn[itus] | žin[au]"I know" žin[oti] "to know" | zná[ju]"I know" zn[at’]' "to know" | *ĝneh₃- |
[edit] Writing system
The Kurdish language uses three different writing systems. In Iran and Iraq it is written using a modified version of the Arabic alphabet (and more recently, sometimes with the Latin alphabet in Iraqi Kurdistan). In Turkey and Syria, it is written using the Latin alphabet. As an example, see the following online news portal published in Iraqi Kurdistan. [17] Also see the VOA News site in Kurdish. [18] Kurdish in the former USSR is written with a modified Cyrillic alphabet. There is also a proposal for a unified international recognised Kurdish alphabet based on ISO-8859-1.[22]
[edit] Phonology
According to the Kurdish Academy of Language, Kurdish has the following phonemes:
[edit] Consonants
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Apical | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyn- geal |
Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stops | p b | t d | k g | q | |||||
| Fricatives | f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | ç | x ɣ | ħ ʕ | h | ||
| Affricates | ʧ ʤ | ||||||||
| Nasals | m | n | ŋ | ||||||
| Laterals | l ɫ[23] | ||||||||
| Flaps | ɾ | ||||||||
| Trills | r | ||||||||
| Approximants | ʋ | j |
[edit] Vowels
| front | central | back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| close | i | iː | ʉ | u | uː | |
| mid | e | eː | ə | o | ||
| open | a | |||||
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, for instance in the Kurdish Latin alphabet, short vowels are represented by o, u, i and e and long vowels have a circumflex ( ^ ), such as û, î and ê. Unlike Arabic, all vowels in Kurdish are mandatory and should be written down.
[edit] Dictionaries
[edit] 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.
[edit] Kurdish-English dictionaries
- Rashid Karadaghi, The Azadi English-Kurdish Dictionary
- 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 [25]
- Awde, Nicholas, Kurdish-English/English-Kurdish (Kurmanci, Sorani and Zazaki) Dictionary and Phrasebook, Hippocrene Books Inc., U.S., 2004 [26]
- Raman : English-Kurdish(Sorani) Dictionary, Pen Press Publishers Ltd, UK, 2003, (800 pages) [27]
- Saadallah, Salah, English-Kurdish Dictionary, Avesta/Paris Kurdish Insititue, Istanbul, 2000, (1477 pages) [28]
- Amindarov, Aziz, Kurdish-English/English-Kurdish Dictionary, Hippocrene Books Inc.,U.S., 1994 [29]
- Rizgar, Baran (M. F. Onen), Kurdish-English/English-Kurdish (Kurmancî Dictionary) UK, 1993, 400 p. + 70 illustrations [30]
[edit] References
- ^ Geographic distribution of Kurdish and other Iranic languages
- ^ Repression of Kurds in Syria is widespread, Amnesty International Report, March 2005.
- ^ Special Focus Cases: Leyla Zana, Prisoner of Conscience
- ^ [1](p.8)
- ^ [2]
- ^ The Kurdish Language and Literature, by Joyce Blau, Professor of Kurdish language and civilization at the National Institute of Oriental Language and Civilization of the University of Paris (INALCO).
- ^ The language policy of Iran from State policy on the Kurdish language: the politics of status planning by Amir Hassanpour, University of Toronto
- ^ Neighboring Kurds Travel to Study in Iraq
- ^ Kurdish, Encyclopaedia of the Orient
- ^ A. Arnaiz-Villena , J. Martinez-Laso, J. Alonso-Garcia, The correlation Between Languages and Genes: The Usko-Mediterranean Peoples, Human Immunology, vol.62, p.1057, 2001
- ^ A. Arnaiz-Villena, E. Gomez-Casado, J. Martinez-Laso, Population genetic relationships between Mediterranean populations determined by HLA distribution and a historic perspective, Tissue Antigens, vol.60, p. 117, 2002[3]
- ^ M.R. Izady, Exploring Kurdish Origins, Kurdish Life, No. 7, Summer 1993
- ^ [4]
- ^ Turkey to get Kurdish television
- ^ [5]
- ^ D.N. MacKenzie, Language in Kurds & Kurdistan, Encyclopaedia of Islam.
- ^ D.N. MacKenzie, Language in Kurds & Kurdistan, Encyclopaedia of Islam.
- ^ http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=kur
- ^ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kmr
- ^ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ckb
- ^ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=sdh
- ^ The Kurdish Unified Alphabet
- ^ : Just as in many English dialects, the velarized lateral does not appear in the onset of a syllable.
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ ISBN 0-7818-1071-X
- ^ ISBN 1-904018-83-1
- ^ [8]
- ^ ISBN 0-7818-0246-6
- ^ ISBN 1-873722-05-2
[edit] See also
- List of countries by Kurdish-speaking population
- Kurdish literature
- Common phrases in Kurdish
- Kurdish Institute of Paris
- Kurdish Institute of Istanbul
- Kurdistan
- List of Kurdish people
- Kurdish culture
- List of Kurdish given names
- Bahdini
[edit] External links
- The Kurdish Institute of Paris - Language and Literature
- Kurdish Institute of Istanbul
- KAL: The Kurdish Academy of Language
- Kurdish Kurdish links and language information, dictionary etc.
- Kurdish language at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
- Online Kurdish-English Dictionary
- On-line Kurdish-English Dictionary
- Online English to Kurdish to English Dictionary (By Erdal Ronahî)
- Online Kurdish-German-Kurdish Dictionary
- Online Kurdish-English Ferheng Dictionary
- Online Turkish-Kurdish-Turkish Dictionary
- Online Kurdish School for Sorani,Kurmanji and Dimili
- Academic research about Zazaki
- MIT OpenCourseWare online course in Zazaki
- Comparison between alphabets used in Kurdish
[edit] Religious texts
[edit] Kurdish broadcast programs
- Voice of America, Kurdish Service
- Zayele, Radio Sweden
- SBS Radio's Kurdish Language Program, Australia
- "Evangeliums-Rundfunk of Germany" (ERF)- Christian Programs in Kurdish Kurmanji, Germany
- "Evangeliums-Rundfunk of Germany" (ERF)- Christian Programs in Kurdish Sorani, Germany
- KurdSat Broadcasting Ltd., Sulaimania, Iraqi Kurdistan
- Kurdistan TV, Iraqi Kurdistan
- Zagros TV , Satellite Channel, Iraqi Kurdistan
- KNNTV
- Tehran Kurdish Radio
- Roj TV Streaming of Kurdish TV
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| Indic (Indo-Aryan) | Sanskrit: Vedic Sanskrit - Classical Sanskrit · Prakrit: Pāli - Magadhi · Mitanni · Bengali (Dialects: Chittagonian, Sylheti) · Hindustani (Registers: Hindi, Urdu) · Angika · Assamese · Bhojpuri · Bishnupriya Manipuri · Dhivehi · Dogri · Gujarati · Konkani · Mahl · Maithili · Marathi · Nepali · Oriya · Punjabi · Romani · Sindhi · Sinhala |
| Iranian | Eastern: Avestan · Bactrian · Pamir (Shughni, Sarikoli, Wakhi) · Pashto · Scythian - Ossetic · Sogdian - Yaghnobi · Western: Persian: Old Persian - Middle Persian (Pahlavi) - Modern Persian (Varieties: Farsi, Dari, Tajik) · Bukhori · Balochi · Dari (Zoroastrianism) · Gilaki · Kurdish · Luri · Mazandarani · Talysh · Tat · Zazaki |
| Dardic | Dameli · Domaaki · Gawar-Bati · Kalash · Kashmiri · Khowar · Kohistani · Nangalami · Pashayi · Palula · Shina · Shumashti |
| Nuristani | Askunu · Kamkata-viri · Tregami · Vasi-vari · Waigali |
