Kurdish

Kurdish is a collection of related dialects spoken by the Kurds. It is mainly spoken in those parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey which comprise Kurdistan. Kurdish holds official status in Iraq as a national language alongside Arabic, is recognized in Iran as a regional language, and in Armenia as a minority language.

Classification

Kurdish belongs to the Iranian languages branch of the Indo-European languages. It is classified as a Northwestern Iranian language, or by some scholars as intermediate between Northwestern and Southwestern Iranian.

Dialects

Kurdish forms three dialect groups, including Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji), Central Kurdish (Sorani), and Southern Kurdish (Pehlewani). The Sorani dialect is largely spoken in Iraq and Iran, while Kurmanji is largely spoken in Turkey and Syria.

Writing systems

The Kurdish language uses two different scripts: the Latin script and the Arabic script. In Turkey and Syria, it is written using the Latin script, and in Iraq and Iran, it is written using the Arabic script.

History

The Kurdish language and its literature have a rich and ancient history that stretches back thousands of years. The earliest Kurdish texts are the literary and historical records from the 7th century AD.

Kurdish in education

In Iraq, Kurdish is taught in schools and used in public offices, media and official documents. In Iran, it is taught as a second language in the Kurdish regions. In Turkey, it is not allowed in public education or state institutions, but there are private institutions that teach Kurdish.

See also

• Kurdish literature
• Kurdish alphabets
• Kurdish diaspora
• Kurdish music
• Kurdish cinema