Kurmanji (, ), also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northernmost of the

Kurdish languages Kurdish (, , ) 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 is also spoken in northeast Iran, as well a ...

, spoken predominantly in southeast

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, northwest and northeast

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, northern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, northern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and Khorasan regions. It is the most widely spoken form of Kurdish. Kurmanji is also the common and ceremonial language of

Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...

. Their sacred book '' Mishefa Reş'' and all prayers are written and spoken in Kurmanji. ''

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...

'' reports that the use of Kurmanji is declining in Turkey even when the language is used as a language of wider communication (LWC) by immigrants to Turkey, and that the language is threatened because it is losing speakers.

History

Pre-modern Kurmanji

Although Kurds are mentioned in the pre-Islamic period, there is no information of the Kurdish language before the Islamic period. The first mention of Kurmanji Kurdish is by the medieval Chaldean author

Ibn Wahshiyya (), died , was a Nabataean (Aramaic-speaking, rural Iraqi) agriculturalist, toxicologist, and alchemist born in Qussīn, near Kufa in Iraq. He is the author of the '' Nabataean Agriculture'' (), an influential Arabic work on agriculture, ast ...

(d. 930/1) in his treatise about alphabets. Orientalist Joseph Hammer also purported the existence of an alphabet for the language. Kurmanji may have potentially been a literary language from the 10th to the 12th century with the formation of many

Kurdish dynasties Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

such as the

Hasanwayhids The Hasanwayhids or Hasanuyids (Kurdish: حەسنەوییەکان) were a Shia Kurdish dynasty reigning the western parts of Iran such as Iranian Azerbaijan and Zagros Mountains between Shahrizor and Khuzestan from c. 959 to 1015. The last Hasanwa ...

, Rawadids,

Ayyubids The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish ori ...

and especially under the Marwanids who commanded sizeable economic and cultural prosperity. However, the language of Marwanid administration and culture life was reported to be exclusively Arabic. Under the Ayyubids, many scholars note that Kurmanji gained a privileged status but admit that there is a paucity of evidence due to the lack of written Kurmanji documents from the Ayyubid court. The first known written attestation of Kurmanji is from the geographical work Mu'jam ul-Buldān by

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

in which few words have been identified in a mostly indecipherable text. The first proper text in Kurmanji is a Christian missionary prayer in the

Armenian script The Armenian alphabet (, or , ) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasu ...

from the first half of the 14th century. A growing interest in the use of Kurmanji in literature began from the 14th century on when Kurdistan had relative political stability and economic prosperity. However, it was not until the 16th century, that a Kurmanji literary tradition arose. During this era,

Sharafkhan Bidlisi Sharaf al-Din Khan b. Shams al-Din b. Sharaf Beg Bedlisi (, ; ; 25 February 1543 – ) was a Kurdish Emir of Bitlis. He was also a historian, writer and poet. He wrote exclusively in Persian. Born in the Qara Rud village, in central Iran, bet ...

from the Principality of Bitlis, wrote that a certain leader of the Derzin Castle wrote most of his poetry and theological commentaries in Kurmanji. Furthermore, during his trips to Kurdistan,

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

praised the educational institutions of the

Amedi Amedi or Amadiye (; ; ) is a town in the Duhok Governorate of Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is built on a mesa in the broader Great Zab river valley. Amedi is known for its celebrations of Newroz. Etymology According to ibn al-Athir, the Arabic ...

and

Akre Akre (, , ) is a city located in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is disputed by the Nineveh Governorate and the Duhok Governorate which both partially claim it. Akre is known for its celebrations of Newroz. History The city was built in ...

regions and quoted a Kurmanji poem by local poet in his work. Prominent scholars from this period, whose works are preserved today include Melayê Cizîrî, Feqiyê Teyran, Elî Teremaxî and Ehmedê Xanî. Unlike his peers, Xanî consciously worked to codify Kurmanji as a written language. Pre-modern Kurmanji began to decline in the 19th century simultaneously with decline of the Kurdish principalities.

Phonology

Phonological features in Kurmanji include the distinction between aspirated and

unaspirated In phonetics, aspiration is a strong burst of breath that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. In English, aspirated consonants are allophones in complementary distribution with thei ...

voiceless stop In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or simply a stop, is a pulmonic consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be made with the tongue tip or blade (, ), tongue body (, ), lips ...

s and the presence of facultative phonemes. For example, Kurmanji Kurdish distinguishes between aspirated and unaspirated

s, which can be aspirated in all positions. Thus contrasts with , with , with , and the affricate with .

Dialect continuum

Kurmanji forms a

dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...

of great variability. Loosely, six dialect areas can be distinguished: * Northwestern Kurmanji, spoken in the

Kahramanmaraş Kahramanmaraş (), historically Marash (; ) and Germanicea (), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean region of Turkey and the administrative centre of Kahramanmaraş Province, Kahramanmaraş province. After 1973, Maraş was ...

(in Kurmanji: ''Meraş''),

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

(''Meletî'') and

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

(''Sêwaz'') provinces of the northwest of

Turkish Kurdistan Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan () is the southeastern part of Turkey where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of them in the ...

. * Southwestern Kurmanji, spoken in the

Adıyaman Adıyaman () is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Adıyaman Province and Adıyaman District. Its population is 267,131 (2021). The inhabitants of the city are mostly Turkish and Kurdish. The city was one of the ...

(''Semsûr''),

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

(''Dîlok'') and

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain about east of the Eup ...

(''Riha'') provinces of Turkish, and

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' ) is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the t ...

, most notably in Afrin (Efrîn), in the west of

Syrian Kurdistan Syrian Kurdistan or Rojava () is a region in northern Syria where Kurds form the majority. It is surrounding three noncontiguous enclaves along the Turkish and Iraqi borders: Afrin in the northwest, Kobani in the north, and Jazira in the nor ...

. * Northern Kurmanji or Serhed Kurdish, spoken mainly in the

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

(''Agirî''),

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

(''Erzerom'') and

Muş Muş (; ; ) is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Muş Province and Muş District.İl Beled ...

(''Mûş'') provinces of the northeast of Turkish Kurdistan, as well as adjacent areas. * Southern Kurmanji, spoken in

Al-Hasakah Governorate Al-Hasakah Governorate (; ; , also known as , ''Gozarto'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is located in the far north-east corner of Syria and distinguished by its fertile lands, plentiful water ...

in the east of Syrian Kurdistan, Sinjar District (''Şingal'') in the west of

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...

, and in several adjacent parts of the south of Turkish Kurdistan, centered on the

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

(''Mêrdîn'') and

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

(''Êlih'') provinces. * Southeastern Kurmanji or Badînî, spoken in

Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province in the southeast of Turkey. The administrative centre is the city of Hakkâri. Its area is 7,095 km2, and its population is 287,625 (2023). The current Governor is Ali Çelik. The province encompasses ...

(''Parêzgeha Colêmêrgê'') in the southeast of Turkish Kurdistan, and the

Dohuk Governorate Duhok Governorate (, , ) is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its capital is the city of Duhok. It includes Zakho, near the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Şırnak Province, Turkey. It borders ...

(''Parêzgeha Dihokê'') and parts of

Erbil Governorate Erbil Governorate (; ) is a governorate of Iraq in the Kurdistan Region. It is the capital and economic hub of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordere ...

(''Parêzgeha Hewlêr'') in the north of Iraqi Kurdistan. * Anatolian Kurmanji is spoken in Central Anatolia (''Anatolya Navîn''), especially in

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, and

Aksaray Aksaray () is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District.

, by Anatolian Kurds

Ezdîkî and Yazidi politics

Among some

Yazidi Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...

s, the glossonym Ezdîkî is used for Kurmanji to differentiate themselves from Kurds. While Ezdîkî is no different from Kurmanji, some attempt to prove that Ezdîkî is an independent language, including claims that it is a

Semitic language The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew, Maltese, Modern South Arabian languages and numerous other ancient and modern languages. They are spoken by mo ...

. This has been criticized as not being based on scientific evidence and lacking scientific consensus. On January 25, 2002, Armenia ratified the

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, t ...

and placed Kurdish under state protection. However, because of the divided Yazidi community in Armenia and after strong criticism from parts of the community, the authorities chose to ratify the charter by mentioning both "Kurdish" and "Yezidi" as two separate languages. This resulted in the term Êzdîkî being used by some researchers when delving into the question of minority languages in Armenia, since most Kurdish-speakers in Armenia are Yazidis. As a consequence of this move, Armenian universities offer language courses in both Kurmanji and Êzdîkî as two different dialects.

Kurmanji among other groups

During the end of the

Ottoman era The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin (; ; ; or ) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for ...

shifted from speaking their traditional

Turoyo Turoyo (), also referred to as Surayt (), or modern Suryoyo (), is a Central Neo-Aramaic language traditionally spoken by the Syriac Christian community in the Tur Abdin region located in southeastern Turkey and in northeastern Syria. Turoyo ...

language to either Kurmanji or

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. Kurdophone

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

also exist and there were prior to the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

around 110 Kurmanji-speaking Armenian villages in

Beşiri Beşiri (, ) is a town and seat of the Beşiri District in the Batman Province of Turkey.İlçe ...

and Silvan. Bulgarian, Chechen and Circassian immigrants in Turkish Kurdistan also speak Kurmanji.

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Wîkîferheng
Kurdish (Kurmanji)

Wiktionary Wiktionary (, ; , ; rhyming with "dictionary") is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of terms (including words, phrases, proverbs, linguistic reconstructions, etc.) in all natural languages and in a number o ...

Kurdish Institute
Kurdish language, history, books and latest news articles.
Egerîn, Kurdish (Kurmanji) search engine

* * ttps://doreco.huma-num.fr/languages/nort2641 Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) DoReCo corpusAudio recordings of narrative texts with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level, translations, and time-aligned morphological annotations. {{Authority control Languages of Armenia Kurdish language Languages of Iran Languages of Turkey Languages of Iraq Languages of Syria Languages of Azerbaijan Languages of Georgia (country) Languages of Lebanon Languages of Jordan Languages of Russia Languages of Kazakhstan Languages of Kyrgyzstan Languages of Turkmenistan Languages of Kurdistan