Kurdish, Central

A language of Iraq

ISO 639-3

ckb

Alternate Names

Kurdi, Sorani

Autonym

زمانێ سۆرانی‎ (zimanê soranî)

Population

4,000,000 in Iraq (Leclerc 2014b). Total users in all countries: 4,527,000.

Location

Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta’mim (Kirkuk), and Diyala governorates; Salah ad Din governorate: east of Tuz Khurmatu; all areas are south of Great Zab river; diaspora communities elsewhere.

Language Maps

Iraq

Language Status

2 (Provincial). Statutory provincial language in Kurdistan Region (2005, Constitution, Article 4(1)).

Classification

Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Kurdish

Dialects

Hewleri (Arbili), Xoshnaw, Pizhdar, Suleimani (Silemani), Warmawa, Rewandiz, Bingird, Mukri, Kerkuki, Garmiyani. In Sulaimaniya, Hewleri and Kerkuki dialects seen as mutually intelligible. A member of macrolanguage Kurdish [kur].

Typology

SOV; no grammatical gender or case; noun head initial; tense-split ergative pattern; 9 vowel phonemes, 31 consonant phonemes (McCarus 2009).

Language Use

All domains. Children learn it first. Positive attitudes. Used as L2 by Macho [hac].

Language Development

Literary standard is based on Sorani (from Suleimaniye) variety. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Fully developed. Bible: 2017.

Language Resources

OLAC resources in and about Kurdish, Central

Writing

Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab], primary usage.

Other Comments

Muslim.

Also spoken in:

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Iran

Language nameKurdish, Central

Population Full

527,000 in Iran (2014 J. Leclerc). All Kurdish in Iran: 5,590,000 (2016).

Location

West Azerbaijan and Kordestan provinces; also Hamadan, Kermanshah, and Zanjan provinces; Mahabad area (Mukri dialect); Sanandaj (Sine) area (Sanandaji dialect).

Alternate Names

Kordi, Korkora, Kurdi, Kurdy, Sine’i, Sorani, Wawa

Dialects

Mukri (Kordi, Mokri), Sanandaji (Sina’i, Sine’i, Sineyi), Southern Jafi, Pijdari.

Status

3 (Wider communication). De facto provincial working language in northwest.

Language Use

Mukri dialect also used as literary language similar to Central Kurdish (Sorani) literary language used in Iraqi Kurdistan (Hajo 1994). Used as L2 by Gurani [hac].

Language Development

Taught at 2 universities. Teaching of literature in regional languages of Iran is allowed in the 1979 Constitution. In practice, the use of Kurdish in general education in local situations has been limited.

Other Comments

90% in cities or villages, 10% nomadic. Kordi may also refer to Northern Kurdish varieties (such as in Khorasan Province), and Southern Kurdish [sdh] varieties, such as Kermanshahi [sdh]. Muslim.

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Ethnologue

Kurdish, Central

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A language of Iraq

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