Kurdish alphabets
Kurdishis written using either of two alphabets: theLatin-basedBedirxanorHawar alphabet,introduced byCeladet Alî Bedirxanin 1932 and popularized through theHawar magazine,and theKurdo-Arabic alphabet.[1][2]TheKurdistan Regionhas agreed upon a standard for Central Kurdish, implemented in Unicode for computation purposes.[3] The Hawar alphabet is primarily used inSyria,Turkey,while the Kurdo-Arabic alphabet is commonly used inIraqandIran.The Hawar alphabet is also used to some extent inIraqi Kurdistan.[4][5]Two additional alphabets, based on theArmenianandCyrillic scripts,were once used byKurdsin theSoviet Union,most notably in theArmenian Soviet Socialist RepublicandKurdistansky Uyezd.
Hawar alphabet
[edit]Usually it is the northern languages spoken byKurds,ZazakiandKurmanji,that are written in the extendedLatin alphabetconsisting of the 26 letters of theISO basic Latin Alphabetwith 5 letters withdiacritics,for a total of 31letters(each having an uppercase and a lowercase form):
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Majuscule forms(also calleduppercaseorcapital letters) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A | B | C | Ç | D | E | Ê | F | G | H | I | Î | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | Ş | T | U | Û | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| Minuscule forms(also calledlowercaseorsmall letters) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | b | c | ç | d | e | ê | f | g | h | i | î | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | ş | t | u | û | v | w | x | y | z |
| IPA Values | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| /aː/ | /b/ | /dʒ/ | /tʃ/ | /d/ | /ɛ/ | /eː/ | /f/ | /g/ | /ħ/ | /ɪ/ | /iː/ | /ʒ/ | /k/ | /ɫ/ | /m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /p/ | /q/ | /ɾ/ | /s/ | /ʃ/ | /t/ | /u/ | /ʉ/ | /v/ | /w/ | /x/ | /j/ | /z/ |
 |
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 theHelp:IPA/Kurdishtable).
When presenting the alphabet in his magazineHawar,Celadet Alî Bedirxan proposed using diacritics on⟨ḧ ẍ⟩to distinguish the Arabicغandحsounds (see[1]page 12, 13). These are not considered letters, but are used to disambiguate loanwords that would otherwise be conflated.
Turkeydoes not recognize this alphabet. Using the letters Q, W, and X, which did not exist in theTurkish alphabetuntil 2013, led to a trial in 2000 and 2003 (see[2],p. 8, and[3]). Since September 2003, many Kurds applied to the courts seeking to change their names to Kurdish ones written with these letters, but failed.[6]
The Turkish government finally legalized the letters Q, W, and X as part of the Turkish alphabet in 2013.[7]
History
[edit]The Kurdish Latin alphabet was elaborated mainly by Celadet Bedirxan who initially had sought the cooperation ofTawfiq Wahbi,who in 1931 lived in Iraq. But after not having received any responses by Wahbi for several months, he and his brotherKamuran Alî Bedirxandecided to launch the "Hawar" alphabet in 1932.[8]Celadet Bedirxan aimed to create an alphabet that did not use two letters for representing one sound. As theKurds in Turkeyalready learned theTurkish Latin alphabet,he created an alphabet which would specifically be accessible for the Kurds in Turkey.[9]Some scholars have suggested making minor additions to Bedirxan's alphabet to make it more user-friendly.[10]
Kurdo-Arabic alphabet
[edit]
Many Kurdish varieties, mainlySorani,are written using a modifiedArabic alphabetwith 33 letters introduced by Sa'id Kaban Sedqi. Unlike the Persian alphabet, which is anabjad,Central Kurdish is almost a truealphabetin 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 twopharyngeal consonants,as well as avoiced velar fricative,used in Kurdish.
A new sort order for the alphabet was proposed some time ago by theKurdish Academyas the new standard,[11]all of which are letters accepted included in the Central Kurdish Unicode Keyboard:[12]
| ع | ش | س | ژ | ز | ڕ | ر | د | خ | ح | چ | ج | ت | پ | ب | ا | ئـ |
| 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| ێ | ی | وو | ۆ | و | ە | ھ | ن | م | ڵ | ل | گ | ک | ق | ڤ | ف | غ |
| 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
The alphabet is represented by 34 letters includingووwhich is given its own position. Kurds inIraqandIranuse this alphabet. Although theKurdistan Region's standardization usesک(Unicode 06A9) instead ofك(Unicode 0643) for letterkaf(22 in above table) as listed in the Unicode table on the official home page,[12]the latter glyph is still in use by various individuals and organizations.
Vowels
[edit]Central Kurdishhas seven vowels, all of them except/ɪ/are represented by letters:[13]
| # | Letter | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ا | aː(ɑː) | با/baː/"wind" |
| 2 | ە | ə(a,ɛ,æ) | مەزن/məzɪn/"great" |
| 3 | و | u,ʊ | کورد/kʊɾd/"Kurd" |
| 4 | ۆ | oː,o | تۆ/toː/"you" |
| 5 | وو | uː,u | دوور/duːɾ/"far" |
| 6 | ی | iː | شین/ʃiːn/"blue" |
| 7 | ێ | eː | دێ/deː/"village" |
Similar to some letters in English, bothو(u) andی(î) can become consonants. In the wordsوان[a](Wan) andیاری[b](play),وandیare consonants.Central Kurdishstipulates that syllables must be formed with at least one vowel, whilst a maximum of two vowels is permitted.
Historical alphabets
[edit]Old Kurdish script
[edit]
An old Kurdish alphabet is documented by the Muslim authorIbn Wahshiyyain his bookShawq al-Mustahamwritten 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 the means of finding it out in unknown ground."[14]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.[15]
Cyrillic alphabet
[edit]A third system, used for the few (Kurmanji-speaking) Kurds in the formerSoviet Union,especially in Armenia, used aCyrillic alphabet,consisting of 40 letters. It was designed in 1946 byHeciyê Cindî.[16]
| А а | Б б | В в | Г г | Гʼ гʼ | Д д | Е е | Әә | Әʼ әʼ | Ж ж |
| З з | И и | Й й | К к | Кʼ кʼ | Л л | М м | Н н | О о | Ӧӧ |
| П п | Пʼ пʼ | Р р | Рʼ рʼ | С с | Т т | Тʼ тʼ | У у | Ф ф | Х х |
| Һһ | Һʼ һʼ | Ч ч | Чʼ чʼ | Ш ш | Щ щ | Ь ь | Э э | Ԛԛ | Ԝԝ |
Armenian alphabet
[edit]From 1921 to 1929, a modified version of theArmenian alphabetwas used for Kurmanji, in theArmenian Soviet Socialist Republic.[18][19]
It was then replaced with aYañalif-like Latin alphabet during the campaigns forLatinisation in the Soviet Union.
Soviet Latin alphabet
[edit]
In 1928, Kurdish languages in all of theSoviet Union,including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, were switched to 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:[20]
| A a | B b | C c | Ꞓꞓ | Ç ç | D d | E e | Əə |
| Ə́ə́ | F f | G g | Ƣƣ | H h | Ħħ | I i | J j |
| K k | Ⱪ ⱪ | L l | M m | N n | O o | Ɵɵ | P p |
| Ҏ ҏ | Q q | R r | S s | Ş ş | T t | Ţţ | U u |
| V v | W w | X x | Y y | Z z | Ƶƶ | Ьь |
The Soviet Latin alphabet is no longer used.
Yezidi script
[edit]| Yezidi | |
|---|---|
 The name of 'Khatuna Fekhra', a Yazidi female saint, in Yazidi script | |
Time period | 13th century — present |
| Direction | Right-to-left script |
| Languages | Northern Kurdish |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Yezi(192),Yezidi |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Yezidi |
| U+10E80..U+10EBF | |
TheYezidiscript is written from right to left and was used to write in Kurdish, specifically in theKurmanjidialect (also called Northern Kurdish). The script has 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 ReşandKitêba Cilwe,first published byAnastase Mariein 1911.
It is believed that historically, there existed two sacred Yezidi manuscripts known asMeshefa ReşandKitêba Cilwe,but 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 theYazidi clergydo recognize the Yezidi alphabet, they do not consider the content of these two manuscripts to be sources of theYezidi religion.[21][22]
In 2013, the Spiritual Council ofYazidis in Georgiadecided to revive the Yezidi script and use it for writing prayers, religious books, on the organization letterhead and in the Yazidi heraldry.[23][24]Today, it is used by the Yazidi clergymen in theYazidi temple of Sultan EzidatTbilisi,where the names of theYazidi saintsare written on walls in this alphabet. Furthermore,Dua'yêd Êzdiyan,a book containing a collection of Yazidi prayers, was written and published in the Yezidi alphabet.[23]
Comparison of Kurdish alphabets
[edit]| Latin | Cyrillic | Arabic | Yezidi | IPA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawar | Soviet | (isolated) | (final) | (medial) | (initial) | |||
| A, a | А, а | А, а | ا | ـا | — | 𐺀 | [aː] | |
| B, b | B, b | Б, б | ب | ـب | ـبـ | بـ | 𐺁 | [b] |
| C, c | Ç, ç | Щ, щ | ج | ـج | ـجـ | جـ | 𐺆 | [d͡ʒ] |
| Ç, ç | C, c | Ч, ч | چ | ـچ | ـچـ | چـ | 𐺇 | [t͡ʃ] |
| Ç, ç[25] | Ꞓ, ꞓ | Чʼ, чʼ | — | 𐺈 | [t͡ʃʰ][25] | |||
| D, d | D, d | Д, д | د | ـد | د | 𐺋 | [d] | |
| E, e | Ә, ә | Ә, ә | ە | ـە | ە | 𐺦 | [ɛ] | |
| Ê, ê | E, e | (Э, э)[c];(E, e) | ێ | ـێ | ـێـ | ێـ | 𐺩 | [eː] |
| F, f | F, f | Ф, ф | ف | ـف | ـفـ | فـ | 𐺙 | [f] |
| G, g | G, g | Г, г | گ | ـگ | ـگـ | گـ | 𐺟 | [ɡ] |
| H, h | H, h | Һ, һ | ھ | — | ـھـ | ھ | 𐺧 | [h] |
| H, h[27][d] | Ħ, ħ | Һʼ, һʼ | ح | ـح | ـحـ | حـ | 𐺉 | [ħ] |
| I, i | Ь, ь | Ь, ь | — | — | [ɘ],[ɘ̝],[28][ɪ] | |||
| Î, î | I, i | И, и | ی | ـی | ـیـ | یـ | 𐺨 | [iː] |
| J, j | Ƶ, ƶ | Ж, ж | ژ | ـژ | ژ | 𐺐 | [ʒ] | |
| K, k | K, k | К, к | ک | ـک | ـکـ | کـ | 𐺝 | [k] |
| K, k[29] | Ⱪ, ⱪ | Кʼ, кʼ | — | — | [c] | |||
| L, l | L, l | Л, л | ل | ـل | ـلـ | لـ | 𐺠 | [l] |
| L, l; (ll)[30] | L, l | Лʼ, лʼ | ڵ | ـڵ | ـڵـ | — | 𐺰 | [ɫ] |
| M, m | M, m | М, м | م | ـم | ـمـ | مـ | 𐺡 | [m] |
| N, n | N, n | Н, н | ن | ـن | ـنـ | نـ | 𐺢 | [n] |
| O, o | O, o | O, o | ۆ | ـۆ | ۆ | 𐺥 | [o],[o̟ː],[o̽ː],[31][oː] | |
| — | Ɵ, ɵ[e] | — | — | — | [o̽ː] | |||
| P, p | P, p | П, п | پ | ـپ | ـپـ | پـ | 𐺂 | [p],[pʰ][32] |
| P, p[32] | Ҏ, ҏ | Пʼ, пʼ | — | 𐺃 | [pˤ] | |||
| Q, q | Q, q | Ԛ, ԛ | ق | ـق | ـقـ | قـ | 𐺜 | [q] |
| R, r | R, r | Р, р | ر | ـر | — | 𐺍 | [ɾ] | |
| R,r; (rr)[33] | R, r | Рʼ, рʼ | ڕ | ـڕ | ڕ | 𐺎 | [r] | |
| S, s | S, s | С, с | س | ـس | ـسـ | سـ | 𐺑 | [s] |
| Ş, ş | Ş, ş | Ш, ш | ش | ـش | ـشـ | شـ | 𐺒 | [ʃ] |
| T, t | T, t | Т, т | ت | ـت | ـتـ | تـ | 𐺕 | [t] |
| T, t[34] | Ţ, ţ | Тʼ, тʼ | — | — | [tʰ] | |||
| U, u | U, u | Ӧ, ӧ | و | ـو | و | 𐺣 | [u] | |
| Û, û | Y, y | У, у | وو | ـوو | — | 𐺣𐺣 | [uː],[ʉː][35] | |
| — | — | — | ۊ | ـۊ | ـۊ | — | [yː] | |
| V, v | V, v | В, в | ڤ | ـڤ | ـڤـ | ڤـ | 𐺚 𐺛 | [v] |
| W, w | W, w | Ԝ, ԝ | و | ـو | و | 𐺤 | [w] | |
| X, x | X, x | Х, х | خ | ـخ | ـخـ | خـ | 𐺊 | [x] |
| X, x[f] | Ƣ, ƣ | Гʼ, гʼ | غ | ـغ | ـغـ | غـ | 𐺘 | [ɣ] |
| Y, y | J, j | Й, й | ی | ـی | ـیـ | یـ | 𐺨 | [j] |
| Z, z | Z, z | З, з | ز | ـز | ز | 𐺏 | [z] | |
| — | Ə́,ə́ | Әʼ, әʼ | ع | ـع | ـعـ | عـ | 𐺗 | [ʕ] |
See also
[edit]
Notes
[edit]- ^Kurdish pronunciation:[wɑːn]
- ^Kurdish pronunciation:[jɑɾiː]
- ^At the beginning of a word.[26]
- ^Unofficially, (Ḧ, ḧ) is used to distinguish the sound.
- ^Argues for the distinction of the letters. As can be used in the spelling of "Xoşe" instead of "Xweşe", for example. Soviet Latin: Xөşә.
- ^Unofficially, (Ẍ, ẍ) is used to distinguish the sound.
References
[edit]- ^Aydin, Tahirhan (2018-12-30)."Sefheî Sibyan a Mela Mehmûdê Bazidî".Nubihar Akademi.3(10): 104.ISSN2147-883X.
- ^Thackston, W. M. (2006)."—Sorani Kurdish— A Reference Grammar with Selected Readings"(PDF).Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences:4.
- ^"Kurdistan Regional Government".cabinet.gov.krd(in Kurdish). Archived fromthe originalon 2020-11-22.Retrieved2016-03-01.
- ^Syan, Karwan Ali Qadir (2017).Media in an emergent democracy: the development of online journalism in the Kurdistan region of Iraq(PhD thesis). University of Bradford.
- ^"Language in Erbil | Erbil Lifestyle".erbillifestyle.com.Retrieved2024-03-15.
- ^Karakaş, Saniye;DiyarbakırBranch of the Contemporary Lawyers Association (March 2004)."Submission to the Sub-Commission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: Working Group of Minorities; Tenth Session, Agenda Item 3 (a)"(MS Word).United Nations Commission on Human Rights.Archived fromthe original(MS Word)on 2007-06-28.Retrieved2006-11-07.
Kurds have been officially allowed since September 2003 to take Kurdish names, but cannot use the letters x, w, or q, which are common in Kurdish but do not exist in Turkey's version of the Latin alphabet.... Those letters, however, are used in Turkey in the names of companies, TV and radio channels, and trademarks. For exampleTurkish Armyhas company under the name ofAXAOYAKand there isSHOW TVtelevision channel in Turkey.
- ^Mark Liberman (2013-10-24)."Turkey legalizes the letters Q, W, and X. Yay Alphabet!".Slate.Retrieved2013-10-25.
- ^Gorgas, Jordi Tejel (2007).Le mouvement kurde de Turquie en exil: continuités et discontinuités du nationalisme kurde sous le mandat français en Syrie et au Liban (1925-1946)(in French). Peter Lang. p. 303.ISBN978-3-03911-209-8.
- ^Gorgas, Jordi Tejel (2007), p.305
- ^Bahadur, Muhamadreza."Kirmaşanî Alphabet and Pronunciation Guide".Retrieved2023-08-13– via Academia.edu.
- ^(in Kurdish)گۆڤاری ئەکادیمیای کوردی، ژمارە (١٦)ی ساڵی ٢٠١٠ (The 2010 Journal of Kurdish Academy, Issue 16),14-16
- ^abUnicode Team of KRG-IT."Kurdish Keyboard".unicode.ekrg.org.Retrieved2016-03-01.
- ^"ڕێنووس".yageyziman.com.Retrieved2016-03-01.
- ^Aḥmad ibn, ʿAlī Ibn Waḥshīyah (2014) [1806].Ancient Alphabets and Hieroglyphic Characters Explained With an Account of the Egyptian Priests, Their Classes, Initiation, and Sacrifices.Translated by Joseph von Hammer, Purgstall. London: Literary Licensing, Llc. pp. 53–134.ISBN978-1498138833.
- ^"The Occult Sciences in Pre-modern Islamic Culture"(PDF).Hypotheses.Orient-Institut Beirut,American University of Beirut.2013-11-27.Retrieved2021-11-17.
- ^Һʼ. Щнди (1974).Әлифба(3000 экз ed.). Ереван: Луйс. p. 96.
- ^"Different Kurdish Scripts' Comparison"(PDF).
- ^(in Russian)Курдский язык (Kurdish language),Кругосвет (Krugosvet)
- ^"Kurdish language, alphabets and pronunciation".omniglot.com.Retrieved2021-04-23.
- ^(in Russian)Культура и письменность Востока (Eastern Culture and Literature). 1928, №2.
- ^"YAZIDIS i. GENERAL"atEncyclopædia Iranica
- ^Omarkhali, Khanna. "Kitāb al-Jilwa".Encyclopedia of Islam, Third Edition.doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_35639.
- ^abRovenchak, A., Pirbari, D., & Karaca, E. (2019).L2/19-051RProposal for encoding the Yezidi script in the SMP of the UCS.
- ^Rovenchak, A. (2019).Information on Yezidi UUM and hamza.
- ^ab"ç",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-06,retrieved2023-08-11
- ^"Different Kurdish Scripts' Comparison"(PDF).
- ^"h",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-06,retrieved2023-08-11
- ^"i",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-13,retrieved2023-08-13
- ^"k",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-06,retrieved2023-08-11
- ^"l",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-13,retrieved2023-08-11
- ^"o",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-06,retrieved2023-08-11
- ^ab"p",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-08-05,retrieved2023-08-11
- ^"R",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-13,retrieved2023-07-19
- ^"t",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2023-07-30,retrieved2023-08-11
- ^"û",Wîkîferheng(in Kurdish), 2024-02-22,retrieved2024-02-22
External links
[edit]- KAL – A table of the various Kurdish alphabets
- Omniglot:Kurdish language, alphabet and pronunciation
- Kurdish Unicode Fonts
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