This paper provides a critical overview of some of the fundamental issues in Kurdish linguistics, focussing on the various approaches to the classification of "Kurdish", and provides a short summary of recent research.
2019, Bamberg Studies in Kurdish Linguistics 1
Current Issues in Kurdish Linguistics contains ten contributions which span the field of Kurdish linguistics, both in terms of geography and in terms of the range of topics. Along with several works on Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish) and Sorani (Central Kurdish), two chapters shed light on the lesser-known Southern Kurdish language area. Other studies are comparative, and treat the Kurdish language area in its entirety. The linguistic approaches of the authors are a mix of formal and typological perspectives, and cover topics ranging from geographical distribution and variation to phonology, morphosyntax, discourse structure, historical morphology, and sociolinguistics. The present volume is the first of its kind in bringing together contributions from a relatively large number of linguists, working in a diverse range of frameworks and on different aspects and varieties of Kurdish. As such, it attests to the increasing breadth and sophistication now evident in Kurdish linguistics, and is a worthy launch for the new series Bamberg Studies in Kurdish Linguistics (BSKL).
2014, Kurdish Studies 2/2
Historical linguistic sources of Kurdish date back just a few hundred years, thus it is not possible to track the profound grammatical changes of Western Iranian languages in Kurdish. Through a comparison with attested languages of the Middle Iranian period, this paper provides a hypothetical chronology of grammatical changes. It allows us to tentatively localise the approximate time when modern varieties separated with regard to the respective grammatical change. In order to represent the types of linguistic relationship involved, distinct models of language contact and language continua are set up.
Kurdish belongs to the Iranian language group within Indo-European language family. So, there are many similarities between Kurdish and other Iranian languages. such similarities among various languages lead to categorizing languages within some families. Kurdish is unstandardized language, and it has four main dialects. In this arena, there is a huge gap and it has had negative effects on Kurds in general. Kurdish language is very linked with Kurdish identity on the same time. So, the invaders of Kurdistan work hard to deform Kurdish, then destroy Kurdish identity. The assimilation process affected many areas of Kurdistan intensively, for example; the number of Kurdish speakers has decreased significantly in Northern Kurdistan, and Turkish language has taken its place. Thus, we as a linguist try to clarify the Kurdish language situation linguistically. In this study, we discuss Kurdish language family, Kurdish dialects, mutual understanding between Kurdish dialects, and analyzing the current situation. This would be done by reviewing various sources and publishing a questionnaire among students at Koya University. With support of the student responses, we have designed a model to illuminate mutual understanding between Kurdish dialects in Southern Kurdistan.
2012
A brief lecture given on the dialects of Kurdish and Kurdish nationalism at Koya University in May 2012. This paper explores classifications of Kurdish and its dialects and the reprecussions of these politically, providing an overview of both in an introductory fashion.
2014, Kurdish Studies
Investigation of the regional variation in Kurmanji, especially its varieties spoken in Turkey, has been almost entirely neglected in the existing literature on Kurdish. In addition to earlier isolated examinations of Kurmanji dialects (cf. MacKenzie, 1961; Ritter, 1971, 1976; Blau, 1975; Jastrow, 1977), native-speaker researchers have recently provided a substantial amount of dialect material across the Kurmanji-speech zone. However, a methodologically-informed evaluation of these observations into a dialect classification is yet to be undertaken. This article aims at providing an initial classification of Kurmanji-internal variation into major regional dialects, based on lexical, phonological and morphosyntactic data collected from five localities in Southeastern Turkey. Cihêrengiya zimanî ya navxweyî di kurmanciyê de: tesnîfeke seretayî ya zaravayan Di nav xebatên li ser zimanê kurdî de, heta niha, vekolîna cudatiyên devok û zaravayên kurmanciyê, bi taybetî ewên di nav sînorên Ti...
2014
Investigation of the regional variation in Kurmanji, especially its varieties spoken in Turkey, has been almost entirely neglected in the existing literature on Kurdish. In addition to earlier isolated examinations of Kurmanji dialects (cf. MacKenzie, 1961; Ritter, 1971, 1976; Blau, 1975; Jastrow, 1977), native-speaker researchers have recently provided a substantial amount of dialect material across the Kurmanji-speech zone. However, a methodologically-informed evaluation of these observations into a dialect classification is yet to be undertaken. This article aims at providing an initial classification of Kurmanji-internal variation into major regional dialects, based on lexical, phonological and morphosyntactic data collected from five localities in Southeastern Turkey.
2021, The Journal of Mesopotamian Studies
The association between language and territory is particularly significant in terms of indigenousness. Therefore, the argument of this paper is to examine this aspect of the Kurdish language through the interpretation of the Kurdish political movement in Turkey based on self-identification, an essential component of indigeneity. Since the 1990s, the Kurdish political movement has been demanding mother-tongue rights with the growing grassroots support. This study examines pro-Kurdish political party programs, statements/press releases, and interviews with deputies of the HDP, current parliamentary party. The article explores acquiring Kurdish as a native language by Kurds and non-Kurds in the region, mainly through mothers, homes, and the community environment. The process of acquiring the Kurdish language varies according to how individuals interact with the local Kurdish community, such as marrying into Kurdish families, systematic settlement, and growing up in the region. Whilst Kurdish is regarded as the mother language of the Kurds by Kurds and non-Kurds members of the Kurdish political movement in Turkey, this article draws further attention to the regional and local aspects of Kurdish, including its natural learning process of non-Kurds within the region.
This chapter deals with previous works on process of standardization, the history of the Kurdish language, the language situation in Iraqi-Kurdistan, the Kurdish speech community, mutual intelligibility, dialect grouping and the selection of the dialect base. It provides documentation of the languages' acquisition of new functions in print, media, broadcast, administration and expansion of its traditional use in education. The chapter also presents the codification of the Kurdish language, particularly its phonology, orthography, morphology, vocabulary, lexicography and codification of grammar. The chapter closes off with the acceptance of the norm and some conclusion. 4-1. Previous Works on Kurdish Standardization: Although many descriptive studies of the Kurdish Language are available, this section reviews and presents only the major existing works concerned with standardization, which have almost been neglected.
2020, Arabic and Contact-induced Change: A Handbook
This chapter provides an overview of the influence of Arabic on Kurdish, especially on its Northern and Central varieties spoken mainly in Turkey-Syria-Iraq and Iraq-Iran, respectively. It summarizes and critically assesses the limited research on the contact-induced changes in the phonology and syntax of Kurdish, and proposes several new dimensions in the morphology and syntax, in addition to providing a first treatment of lexical convergence in Kurdish through borrowings from Arabic.
KURDISH BELONGS to the Western Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. The two principal branches of modern literary Kurdish are (1) Kurmanji, the language of the vast majority of Kurds in Turkey, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the area designated by Kurdish nationalists as “North Kurdistan,” with an estimated fifteen to seventeen million speakers, and (2) Sorani, the language of most Kurds in Iraq (four to six million speakers) and Iran (five to six million speakers), the area designated as “South Kurdistan.” Although the two are closely related, Kurmanji and Sorani are not mutually intelligible and differ at the basic structural level as well as in vocabulary and idiom. Since Kurdish is fairly closely related to and has been massively influenced by Persian, the dominant literary and cultural language of the area for the last millennium, Kurdish is best approached with a basic knowledge of Persian.
Abstract: This paper sheds light on the semantic description of some Kurdish prefixes, important resources provided by language to derive new words and encode different perspectives taken by a speaker towards activities, events and states. It attempts to carry out the investigation within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics. The paper tries to substantiate two cognitive principles. The first principle is that all language elements have semantic import. Applying this principle to Kurdish morphology, we argue that Kurdish prefixes are meaningful in the sense that their presence as derivational morphemes causes a shift in the meanings of the derived words. The second principle is that language elements are polysemous by nature, i.e. having multiple senses. Applying this principle to Kurdish morphology, we argue that Kurdish prefixes display a network of numerous senses. The senses gather around a central sense, called the prototype. The other senses, called the periphery, extend from the prototype on the basis of semantic principles. Keywords: prefixes, cognitive linguistics, polysemy, prototype, periphery.
2017, Evaluation Study of Three Diagnostic Methods for Helicobacter pylori Infection
