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Kurmanji
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kurmanji (Kurdish: Kurmancî) (sometimes misspelled as Kirmanji or Kermanji) is one of the Iranian languages spoken in Turkey, Iran ans northern Iraq, the former Soviet republics and by Kurds living in Central Asia.
Whether it is a language, a dialect or class of dialects is disputed.
Kurmanci is used by some Kurdish linguists to describe the larger of the two branches of the Kurdish language. Other linguists explain that Kurmanji and Sorani are not simply dialects of the same language, but rather they are distinct languages.[1]
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The term, Kurmanji, is used by some Kurdish linguists to describe the larger of the two branches of the Kurdish language, which include the dialects Northern Kurmanji, Bahdini and Sorani.[1] Kurds have also used the term, Kurmanji, as an identity for Kurds that speak the three dialects of the Kurmanji branch. This term is in contrast to Gorani or Dimili (also Zaza), which has been used to describe other people in the region who speak Zaza-Gorani languages.[2]
The Northern Kurmanji dialect, also simply referred to as Kurmanji, uses the Latin script[3] and is the most common dialect of the Kurdish language and spoken by 80% of all Kurds. The Latin script in which Kurdish is written in Turkey and Syria, as well as in exile communities in Europe and the United States of America, Canada and Australia, is based on Jaladet Bedirkhan's (Celadet Bedirxan) alphabet.
Most early modern Kurdish literature is in this dialect.
The term Kurmanji or Kurdmanj, which is the traditional endonym of Kurds for themselves and their language, is believed by some scholars to mean Median Kurd.[4] Some scholars say the older form of this word is Khormenj (also possibly Hormenj, which means place or land of Khormens in Kurdish). Kurds historically lived in the area Greek sources defined as Armenia; thus Greek Armen could be a rendering of local Khormen. Note that modern Armenians' name for themselves has historically been Haiq not Armenian.
Other scholars dismiss the above theories as false. These scholars claim the origins of the term Kurmanji originate from the two distinct words, kur and magi. Kur in the Kurdish language is boy or child, and Magi refers to one of the ancient tribes of the Median Empire whose priests are referenced in the Bible and are commonly known as the Three Wise Men from Medya.[5] The direct translation applied to the term Kuren Magi (Kurdish: Kurên Magî) is the Children of Magi. Scholars say that Manji is simply a distorted form of the original term. These scholars also claim that the Magi tribe, or followers of the priests who were referred to as Magi of the people, may have been the original speakers of Proto-Kurdish.[6]
- ^ D.N. MacKenzie, Language in Kurds & Kurdistan, Encyclopaedia of Islam.
- ^ http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/kurdish/htdocs/his/orig.html
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9046467/Kurdish-language
- ^ E.B. Soane, Grammar of the Kurmanji or Kurdish Language, Part I, p 5, London 1913
- ^ http://www.farvardyn.com/shelagh.php
- ^ http://www.ldolphin.org/magi.html
- Kurmancî Kurdish Linguistic Magazine
- Northern Kurmanji
- Central Kurdish
- Southern Kurdish
- Laki language
- Pehlewani
- Kurdish language
- Kurdish Institute Kurdish language, history, books and latest news articles.
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Legend: † Extinct language (no surviving native speakers and no spoken descendant)
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