Shahînê Bekirê Soreklî THE KURDISH LANGUAGE: The - TopicsExpress



          

Shahînê Bekirê Soreklî THE KURDISH LANGUAGE: The Kurmanji-Sorani Affair Shahin Bekir Soreklî Being spoken by millions of people in a vast area stretching from the regions west of the Mediterranean Sea to Lake Orumieh in Iran the Kurdish language like many others has a variety of dialects. Some of these dialects are as close to each other as the English varieties spoken in the regions between London and Newcastle while others may be more distinct as the German dialects spoken in Berlin, Bavaria and Switzerland or the Arabic dialects in Western Syria and Lebanon in comparison to the North African dialects of Arabic. Kurdish is an ancient language rich in anecdotes, songs, epics, ballads and proverbs. Although literary texts such as that of Khani’s Mem û Zîn (17the century) have existed for centuries it was the strength of the spoken word that kept Kurdish alive. Kurdistan being divided and ruled by non Kurdish empires and states resulted in the Kurdish language being deprived of official recognition, except in Iraq. For centuries only a small number of intellectuals and religious scholars engaged themselves with the written Kurdish. Nevertheless Kurdish remained the spoken languages not only in Kurdistan but also amongst the Kurds in areas outside Kurdistan, including some of the former Soviet Republics and some of the big cities of the Middle East. Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the new states in the Middle East, however, chauvinistic regimes have started a wave of suppressive tactics against the Kurdish language. The policy adopted by the Turkish state established in 1926, for instance, is in regards to the Kurdish language no less than a linguistic genocide. Sooner or later the states that have committed criminal acts against the Kurdish language in front of the very eyes of the United Nations and its agencies will have to pay compensation for the damage they have caused to the Kurdish language and Culture as Kurdish too is a part of the heritage of human civilisation. Had the Kurds had the financial and intellectual power required for taking legal and civil actions against these states the picture might have been different even now. One day civilised people in the world must become fully aware of the tremendous efforts exercised by these states to eradicate the language and culture of a people living on their ancestral land for thousands of years. Despite literally forbidding the use of written Kurdish and in spite of forced assimilation that took place for decades, the Kurdish language survived. Currently there are three main branches of Kurdish: Kurmanji, Sorani and Dimili (Zazaki), with each having a number of local dialects within them. Kurmanji is spoken by the majority of the Kurds in Turkey (a minority speaks the Dimili dialect), all Kurds in today’s Syria, the regions bordering Turkey and Syria in “Iraqi Kurdistan,” the regions bordering Turkey in “Iranian Kurdistan” and the Kurds in Armenia and some other former Soviet Republics. Sorani, on the other hand, is spoken by the majority of Kurds in “Iraqi” and “Iranian” parts of Kurdistan. The Kurdish people and their culture being subjected to subjugation for so long have made issues such as dealing with problems related to language and dialect something beyond their reach. For decades Kurdish organisations took the attitude that issues related to areas such as language can be dealt with “after the independence of Kurdistan.” Even though an independent Kurdish state still does not exist with most of the Kurdish regions in the “Iraqi” part of Kurdistan now under Kurdish authority some of the internal controversial issues that were swept under the carpet previously are beginning to emerge and one of them is related to the Kurdish language, in particular to Sorani and Kurmanji. While some Kurmanji and Sorani dialects are quite close, others are distinct and the speakers may find it difficult to fully understand each other. It is interesting to note that Kurdish intellectuals from various parts of Kurdistan who are in frequent contact with each other abroad have no difficulty in communicating in Kurdish, however, an ordinary Kurmanji speaker from a Kurdish town in Turkey or Syria may not be able to easily communicate with a Sorani speaker in Sulaimani (Iraqi Kurdistan) or Mahabad (Iranian Kurdistan). But the same Kurd will have no difficulties in communicating with the Kurmanji speakers of the Iraqi or Iranian parts of Kurdistan. Another problem, something that has played a role to even widen the differences, is the fact that Sorani is written with an adopted Arabic alphabet while Kurmanji in Turkey and Syria is written using the Latin alphabet. It is worth remembering that the Ottoman Turkish used to be written in Arabic alphabet but Ataturk changed it to Latin in the twenties, last century. As a result Kurdish intellectuals, realising this could make it even more difficult for them to write in Kurdish if they continued with the Arabic script in Turkey, began using a new script. This script was adopted from the Latin alphabet by Celadet Bedirxan who began using it from 1932 in HAWAR, the Kurdish journal he published in Damascus. From then onward the Kurds in both Turkey and Syria used this particular alphabet while the Kurds in Iraq and Iran, including the Kurmanji speakers, kept on using the Arabic script. With the Cyrillic script, that used to be utilised by the Kurds of Armenia and other former Soviet Republic being gradually replaced by the Latin script two distinct alphabets now remain: the Latin and the Arabic. Although not an official policy, it is obvious to many Kurds that the language formally used in the free Kurdistan region (Iraqi Kurdistan) is Sorani, both in the spoken and the written form. Although Kurmanji is used to a certain extent in the media and the Latin script has been appearing on TV screens the spoken Sorani and the Arabic script remain dominant. Many Kurmanji speakers, both within the free Kurdish region and in other parts, are beginning to openly show their disappointment, even anger, that Kurmanji is being neglected in formal gatherings, schools and universities. Many Kurdish intellectuals, including Sorani Kurds, prefer the use of Latin script for both Sorani and Kurmanji as a way of bringing the two branches of Kurdish closer but there is also a group of Sorani intellectuals and writers who openly demand for Sorani to become formally accepted as the official language by the Kurdish government. While many agree the Latin alphabet is more suitable for Kurdish, some Sorani speakers, especially those within the Islamic circles, are totally against it. The holy book, the Koran, being in Arabic and Arabic script may have something to do with it. This and other obstacles create a dilemma that will not easily disappear. The Kurdish authority in Hewlêr (Erbil) needs to be sensitive to these issues. One of the venues that could be explored is to establish a special academic body to deal with the issue of language. This body needs to be well financed, properly staffed and closely monitored. Since millions of Kurmanji speakers outside the region are still deprived of schools and linguistic institutions the Kurdish government cannot afford to neglect this matter. A solution must be seriously sought and found for the benefit of the Kurdish language and the future of all Kurds as members of one nation. Both Kurmanji and Sorani currently have standard written forms. Sorani that was taught in schools within the Kurdish regions of Iraq has a well established standard form of written language. In the case of Kurmanji the modern standard written form has advanced rapidly since the 1980s thanks to the efforts made by the Kurdish writers and intellectuals abroad. For instance, according to Kurdish sources there were more books published in Sweden in the Kurdish language during the 1980s than in Turkey, Iran and Syria together in one century. It is not realistic of course to expect the birth of one standard Kurdish language overnight but the subject needs to be dealt with. We have to remember that a rich and colourful language like German did not have a standard form until the bible was translated from Latin into German in the 16th century. Today’s standard form of Turkish, on the other hand, did not exist before 1920. We also need to remember that there are nations in Africa and Asia today that are still using English or French as the official language. Taking the brutal genocide applied against the Kurdish language and the fact that the Kurds did not have an independent state into consideration, the Kurdish language has remained rich and strong capable of meeting the demands of our time in both spoken and written forms. The problem that remains is the existence of two major standard forms written in two different alphabets, even though they are being influenced by each other rapidly through the advancement of media and technology. Shahin B Sorekli (Chahin Baker): 10/2006
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 05:47:18 +0000

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