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48-476: The term pir means "bridge" and delal means "dear or beautiful" in Kurdish , "Pira Delal" means "beautiful bridge" (though not in an aesthetic sense, but more of something that is unique). The name reflects the way the bridge is seen among the local people as well as tourists. The bridge was named Delal and the city of Zakho is called Zakhoka Delal (Delal's Zakho) in the honor of Delal, a heroine figure associated with

96-834: A voiced velar fricative , used in Kurdish. A new sort order for the alphabet was proposed some time ago by the Kurdish Academy as the new standard, all of which are letters accepted included in the Central Kurdish Unicode Keyboard: The alphabet is represented by 34 letters including وو which is given its own position. Kurds in Iraq and Iran use this alphabet. Although the Kurdistan Region 's standardization uses ک (Unicode 06A9) instead of ك (Unicode 0643) for letter kaf (22 in above table) as listed in

144-502: A Latin alphabet containing some Cyrillic characters: a, b, c, ç, d, e, ә, f, g, г, h, i, ь, j, k, ʀ, l, m, ɴ, o, ө, w, p, n, q, ч, s, ш, ц, t, u, y, v, x, z, ƶ . In 1929 it was reformed and was replaced by the following alphabet: The Soviet Latin alphabet is no longer used. The Yezidi script is written from right to left and was used to write in Kurdish, specifically in the Kurmanji dialect (also called Northern Kurdish). The script has

192-449: A long history, according to some data, it can be dated back to 13th-14th centuries, however, some scholars trace the creation of this script to 17th-18th centuries. The author of the script is unknown, but it was used for two manuscripts, Meṣḥefa Reş and Kitêba Cilwe , first published by Anastase Marie in 1911. It is believed that historically, there existed two sacred Yezidi manuscripts known as Meshefa Reş and Kitêba Cilwe , but

240-499: A maximum of two vowels is permitted. An old Kurdish alphabet is documented by the Muslim author Ibn Wahshiyya in his book Shawq al-Mustaham written in 856 A.D. Ibn Wahshiyya writes: "I saw thirty books in Baghdad in this alphabet, out of which I translated two scientific books from Kurdish into Arabic; one of the books on the culture of the vine and the palm tree, and the other on water and

288-490: A modified Arabic alphabet with 33 letters introduced by Sa'id Kaban Sedqi. Unlike the Persian alphabet, which is an abjad , Central Kurdish is almost a true alphabet in which vowels are given the same treatment as consonants. Written Central Kurdish also relies on vowel and consonant context to differentiate between the phonemes u/w and î/y instead of using separate letters. It does show the two pharyngeal consonants , as well as

336-520: A myth regarding the origins of the bridge (see below). Pira Delal is believed to have been first built during the Roman era , while the present structure appears to be from the Abbasic era. Kurds from all over Kurdistan visit Pira Delal as a monument of peace and enjoyment with the family. One of the legends regarding construction of the bridge relates that the hands of the builder were amputated to ensure that

384-502: A variety that was an important literary language since the 14th century, but it was replaced by Central Kurdish in the 20th century. European scholars have maintained that Gorani is separate from Kurdish and that Kurdish is synonymous with the Northern Kurdish group, whereas ethnic Kurds maintain that Kurdish encompasses any of the unique languages or dialects spoken by Kurds that are not spoken by neighbouring ethnic groups. Gorani

432-401: Is a matter of debate, but the differences between Laki and other Southern Kurdish dialects are minimal. The literary output in Kurdish was mostly confined to poetry until the early 20th century, when more general literature became developed. Today, the two principal written Kurdish dialects are Kurmanji and Sorani. Sorani is, along with Arabic , one of the two official languages of Iraq and

480-558: Is also spoken in northeast Iran, as well as in certain areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan . Kurdish varieties constitute a dialect continuum , with some mutually unintelligible varieties, and collectively have 26 million native speakers. The main varieties of Kurdish are Kurmanji , Sorani , and Southern Kurdish ( Xwarîn ). The majority of the Kurds speak Kurmanji, and most Kurdish texts are written in Kurmanji and Sorani. Kurmanji

528-641: Is also used to some extent in Iraqi Kurdistan . Two additional alphabets, based on the Armenian and Cyrillic scripts , were once used by Kurds in the Soviet Union , most notably in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and Kurdistansky Uyezd . Usually it is the northern languages spoken by Kurds , Zazaki and Kurmanji , that are written in the extended Latin alphabet consisting of

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576-597: Is an official language in Iraq. In Syria, on the other hand, publishing materials in Kurdish is forbidden, though this prohibition is not enforced any more due to the Syrian civil war . Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media. In March 2006, Turkey allowed private television channels to begin airing programming in Kurdish. However,

624-618: Is classified as part of the Zaza–Gorani branch of Indo-Iranian languages. The Zaza language , spoken mainly in Turkey, differs both grammatically and in vocabulary and is generally not understandable by Gorani speakers but it is considered related to Gorani. Almost all Zaza-speaking communities, as well as speakers of the closely related Shabaki dialect spoken in parts of Iraqi Kurdistan , identify themselves as ethnic Kurds. Geoffrey Haig and Ergin Öpengin in their recent study suggest grouping

672-533: Is in political documents simply referred to as "Kurdish". The Kurdish varieties belong to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family . They are generally classified as Northwestern Iranian languages, or by some scholars as intermediate between Northwestern and Southwestern Iranian. Martin van Bruinessen notes that "Kurdish has a strong South-Western Iranian element", whereas "Zaza and Gurani [...] do belong to

720-458: 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, northern and central. The average Kurmanji speaker does not find it easy to communicate with the inhabitants of Sulaymaniyah or Halabja . Some linguistic scholars assert that the term "Kurdish" has been applied extrinsically in describing

768-454: Is not recognized in Turkey, and prior to 2013 the use of Kurdish names containing the letters X , W , and Q , which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet , was not allowed. In 2012, Kurdish-language lessons became an elective subject in public schools. Previously, Kurdish education had only been possible in private institutions. In Iran, though it is used in some local media and newspapers, it

816-410: Is not used in public schools. In 2005, 80 Syrian and Iranian Kurds took part in an experiment and gained scholarships to study in Kurdistan Region , Iraq, in their native tongue. In Kyrgyzstan , 96.21% of the Kurdish population speak Kurdish as their native language. In Kazakhstan, the corresponding percentage is 88.7%. Hawar alphabet Kurdish is written using either of two alphabets:

864-456: Is translated to simply mean Kurdish. The Mokriani variety of Sorani is widely spoken in Mokrian. Piranshahr and Mahabad are two principal cities of the Mokrian area. Zaza–Gorani languages , which are spoken by communities in the wider area who identify as ethnic Kurds, are not linguistically classified as Kurdish. Zaza-Gorani is classified as adjunct to Kurdish, although authorities differ in

912-648: Is written in the Hawar alphabet , a derivation of the Latin script , and Sorani is written in the Sorani alphabet , a derivation of the Arabic script . A separate group of non-Kurdish Northwestern Iranian languages, the Zaza–Gorani languages , are also spoken by several million ethnic Kurds. The classification of Laki as a dialect of Southern Kurdish or as a fourth language under Kurdish

960-716: The Latin-based Bedirxan or Hawar alphabet , introduced by Celadet Alî Bedirxan in 1932 and popularized through the Hawar magazine , and the Kurdo-Arabic alphabet . The Kurdistan Region has agreed upon a standard for Central Kurdish, implemented in Unicode for computation purposes. The Hawar alphabet is primarily used in Syria and Turkey , while the Kurdo-Arabic alphabet is commonly used in Iraq and Iran . The Hawar alphabet

1008-561: The "Hawar" alphabet in 1932. Celadet Bedirxan aimed to create an alphabet that did not use two letters for representing one sound. As the Kurds in Turkey already learned the Turkish Latin alphabet , he created an alphabet which would specifically be accessible for the Kurds in Turkey. Some scholars have suggested making minor additions to Bedirxan's alphabet to make it more user-friendly. Many Kurdish varieties, mainly Sorani , are written using

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1056-702: The 26 letters of the ISO basic Latin Alphabet with 5 letters with diacritics , for a total of 31 letters (each having an uppercase and a lowercase form): Ancient Medieval Modern In this alphabet the short vowels are E, I and U while the long vowels are A, Ê, Î, O and Û (see the IPA equivalents in the Help:IPA/Kurdish table). When presenting the alphabet in his magazine Hawar , Celadet Alî Bedirxan proposed using diacritics on ⟨ḧ ẍ⟩ to distinguish

1104-458: The Arabic غ and ح sounds (see [1] page 12, 13). These are not considered letters, but are used to disambiguate loanwords that would otherwise be conflated. Turkey does not recognize this alphabet. Using the letters Q, W, and X, which did not exist in the Turkish alphabet until 2013, led to a trial in 2000 and 2003 (see [2] , p. 8, and [3] ). Since September 2003, many Kurds applied to

1152-528: The Kurdish languages into Northern Kurdish, Central Kurdish, Southern Kurdish, Zaza , and Gorani, and avoid the subgrouping Zaza–Gorani. The notable professor Zare Yusupova has carried out a lot of work and research into the Gorani dialect (as well as many other minority/ancient Kurdish dialects). During his stay in Damascus , historian Ibn Wahshiyya came across two books on agriculture written in Kurdish, one on

1200-432: The Kurds of Amadiya . This work is very important in Kurdish history as it is the first acknowledgment of the widespread use of a distinctive Kurdish language. Garzoni was given the title Father of Kurdology by later scholars. The Kurdish language was banned in a large portion of Kurdistan for some time. After the 1980 Turkish coup d'état until 1991 the use of the Kurdish language was illegal in Turkey. Today, Sorani

1248-428: The Turkish government said that they must avoid showing children's cartoons , or educational programs that teach Kurdish, and could broadcast only for 45 minutes a day or four hours a week. The state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) started its 24-hour Kurdish television station on 1 January 2009 with the motto "we live under the same sky". The Turkish prime minister sent a video message in Kurdish to

1296-521: The Unicode table on the official home page, the latter glyph is still in use by various individuals and organizations. Central Kurdish has seven vowels, all of them except / ɪ / are represented by letters: Similar to some letters in English, both و (u) and ی (î) can become consonants. In the words وان (Wan) and یاری (play), و and ی are consonants. Central Kurdish stipulates that syllables must be formed with at least one vowel, whilst

1344-453: The approximate borders of the areas where the main ethnic core of the speakers of the contemporary Kurdish dialects was formed. The most argued hypothesis on the localisation of the ethnic territory of the Kurds remains D.N. Mackenzie 's theory, proposed in the early 1960s (Mackenzie 1961). Developing the ideas of P. Tedesco (1921: 255) and regarding the common phonetic isoglosses shared by Kurdish, Persian, and Baluchi , Mackenzie concluded that

1392-474: The bridge would remain unique. According to a common myth associated with the bridge, the prince of Bohtan had ordered a skilled constructor to build him a bridge on the Tigris river . Once the bridge was complete, the prince chopped off the right hand of the builder as a reward for the good work he had done on the bridge, and so that he may never build another bridge that was as well-crafted as anywhere else. When

1440-477: The bridge. When Delal's husband arrived to the city after knowing what had happened, he took a pick axe and started digging under the bridge. While he was digging, he heard his buried wife Delal's muffled voice commanding him to refrain from digging and that he is physically hurting her with his digging, declaring that she wants to keep holding this bridge together with her arms and to stay there for all eternity. He eventually ceased and accepted her fate. Since then

1488-555: The builder arrived in Zakho city, the mayor of the city requested the builder to build a bridge that will connect the two sides of the Khabur river that goes to Zakho. The builder accepted the request in spite of the Bohtan prince who had cut off his right hand. When the builder got to the middle part of the bridge, it would always collapse. To solve this, one of the fortune tellers in the city notified

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1536-406: The builder that he should bury whoever sets foot on the bridge first, man or beast, under it as a sacrifice . A day later, the builder's niece Delal was fetching him his lunch with her dog. The builder was initially content because the dog was running in front of his niece and thus he thought that the dog will be the first to step on the bridge. However though, as soon as they approached the bridge,

1584-497: The courts seeking to change their names to Kurdish ones written with these letters, but failed. The Turkish government finally legalized the letters Q, W, and X as part of the Turkish alphabet in 2013. The Kurdish Latin alphabet was elaborated mainly by Celadet Bedirxan who initially had sought the cooperation of Tewfîq Wehbî , who in 1931 lived in Iraq. But after not having received any responses by Wehbî for several months, he and his brother Kamuran Alî Bedirxan decided to launch

1632-509: The culture of the vine and the palm tree, and the other on water and the means of finding it out in unknown ground. He translated both from Kurdish into Arabic in the early 9th century AD. Among the earliest Kurdish religious texts is the Yazidi Black Book , the sacred book of Yazidi faith. It is considered to have been authored sometime in the 13th century AD by Hassan bin Adi (b. 1195 AD),

1680-545: The details. groups Kurdish with Zaza Gorani within a "Northwestern I" group, while Glottolog based on Encyclopædia Iranica prefers an areal grouping of "Central dialects" (or "Kermanic") within Northwest Iranic, with Kurdish but not Zaza-Gorani grouped with "Kermanic". Gorani is distinct from Northern and Central Kurdish, yet shares vocabulary with both of them and there are some grammatical similarities with Central Kurdish. The Hawrami dialects of Gorani includes

1728-403: The dog stopped and got busy sniffing, so Delal stepped on the bridge first. As the builder saw Delal reaching the bridge first he went into shock and fainted for a brief period of time. After regaining his consciousness, the builder told Delal about the story of the bridge. Delal informed the builder that she is ready to sacrifice her life for her city. So the builder ultimately buried her under

1776-564: The fact that this usage reflects the sense of ethnic identity and unity among the Kurds. From a linguistic or at least a grammatical point of view, however, Kurmanji and Sorani differ as much from each other as English and German, and it would seem appropriate to refer to them as languages. For example, Sorani has neither gender nor case-endings, whereas Kurmanji has both.... Differences in vocabulary and pronunciation are not as great as between German and English, but they are still considerable. According to Encyclopaedia of Islam , although Kurdish

1824-489: The fifteenth century. From the 15th to 17th centuries, classical Kurdish poets and writers developed a literary language. The most notable classical Kurdish poets from this period were Ali Hariri , Ahmad Khani , Malaye Jaziri and Faqi Tayran . The Italian priest Maurizio Garzoni published the first Kurdish grammar titled Grammatica e Vocabolario della Lingua Kurda in Rome in 1787 after eighteen years of missionary work among

1872-515: The great-grandnephew of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir (d. 1162), the founder of the faith. It contains the Yazidi account of the creation of the world, the origin of man, the story of Adam and Eve and the major prohibitions of the faith. According to The Cambridge History of the Kurds , "the first proper 'text'" written in Kurdish is a short Christian prayer. It was written in Armenian characters, and dates from

1920-476: The inhabitants would grow two lengthy plants in one of the gaps between the stones on one side of the bridge, and would think of them as Delal's hair braids . Kurdish language Ancient Medieval Modern Kurdish ( Kurdî , کوردی ) is a Northwestern Iranian language or group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan , namely in southeast Turkey , northern Iraq , northwest Iran , and northern Syria . It

1968-486: The language the Kurds speak, whereas some ethnic Kurds have used the word term to simply describe their ethnicity and refer to their language as Kurmanji , Sorani , Hewrami , Kermanshahi , Kalhori or whatever other dialect or language they speak. Some historians have noted that it is only recently that the Kurds who speak the Sorani dialect have begun referring to their language as Kurdî , in addition to their identity, which

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2016-566: The means of finding it out in unknown ground." It has also been claimed by “Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies” that the Old Kurdish script, like several other scripts found in Ibn Washiyya's book, are fantastical inventions. A third system, used for the few (Kurmanji-speaking) Kurds in the former Soviet Union , especially in Armenia, used a Cyrillic alphabet , consisting of 40 letters. It

2064-581: The north-west Iranian group". Ludwig Paul concludes that Kurdish seems to be a Northwestern Iranian language in origin, but acknowledges that it shares many traits with Southwestern Iranian languages like Persian , apparently due to longstanding and intense historical contacts. Windfuhr identified Kurdish dialects as Parthian , albeit with a Median substratum. Windfuhr and Frye assume an eastern origin for Kurdish and consider it as related to eastern and central Iranian dialects. The present state of knowledge about Kurdish allows, at least roughly, drawing

2112-717: The opening ceremony, which was attended by Minister of Culture and other state officials. The channel uses the X , W , and Q letters during broadcasting. However, most of these restrictions on private Kurdish television channels were relaxed in September 2009. In 2010, Kurdish municipalities in the southeast began printing marriage certificates , water bills, construction and road signs , as well as emergency, social and cultural notices in Kurdish alongside Turkish. Also Imams began to deliver Friday sermons in Kurdish and Esnaf price tags in Kurdish. Many mayors were tried for issuing public documents in Kurdish language. The Kurdish alphabet

2160-721: The originals were lost. Later copies of these manuscripts were found, written in a special Yezidi alphabet, however, their contents was distorted. As a result, while the Yazidi clergy do recognize the Yezidi alphabet, they do not consider the content of these two manuscripts to be sources of the Yezidi religion . In 2013, the Spiritual Council of Yazidis in Georgia decided to revive the Yezidi script and use it for writing prayers, religious books, on

2208-537: The other languages spoken by Kurds in the region including the Gorani language in parts of Iranian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan. Philip G. Kreyenbroek , an expert writing in 1992, says: Since 1932 most Kurds have used the Roman script to write Kurmanji.... Sorani is normally written in an adapted form of the Arabic script.... Reasons for describing Kurmanji and Sorani as 'dialects' of one language are their common origin and

2256-407: The speakers of these three languages may once have been in closer contact. Kurdish varieties are divided into three or four groups, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility. In historical evolution terms, Kurmanji is less modified than Sorani and Pehlewani in both phonetic and morphological structure. The Sorani group has been influenced by among other things its closer cultural proximity to

2304-556: Was designed in 1946 by Heciyê Cindî . From 1921 to 1929, a modified version of the Armenian alphabet was used for Kurmanji, in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic . It was then replaced with a Yañalif -like Latin alphabet during the campaigns for Latinisation in the Soviet Union . In 1928, Kurdish languages in all of the Soviet Union , including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, were switched to

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