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A grammar of Dimili also known as Zaza
Mundarten der Zâzâ, hauptsächlich aus Siwerek und Kor
Forschungen über die Kurden und die Iranischen Nordchaldäer
The History of Kurdish and the Development of Literary Kurmanji
This chapter tackles several interrelated issues around the Kurdish language. It provides a general internal classification of Kurdish varieties, proposing also a theoretically informed distinction between language history and collective identity perceptions of speakers to resolve the classification disputes around Zazaki and Gorani varieties. ‘Kurdish’ in this sense is considered more a sociolinguistic unit than a purely linguistic entity. The chapter then provides summary discussion of the position of Iranian philology on the history of Kurdish, whereby it is shown that Kurdish is not in a direct descendant relationship with any of the known languages of the Old and Middle Iranian periods. The chapter traces the history of written and literary Kurmanji Kurdish. The rise of literary or written code in Kurmanji is shown to have taken place in late sixteenth century within the wider sociopolitical context of, on one hand, the emergence of powerful Kurdish principalities and widespread madrasa education, and, on the other hand, a general trend in the vernacularization of local community languages in Kurdistan. Finally, the development of modern Kurmanji as a polycentric variety is discussed and the current approximation of written norms are projected to merge in a more comprehensive plurinormative Kurmanji standard.
The constituent order of nominal compounds in Zazaki and other Iranian languages
On the basis of typological considerations, the paper attempts to document and compare nominal compounding, and its evolution, in various Iranian languages. Particular attention is given to the interrelationship between compounds and syntactic NPs, and, among compounds, between determinative and possessive compounds. Given the lack of a comprehensive typological investigation of nominal compounding to date, the primary aim of this paper is to present original data in an unbiased manner and to identify some meaningful typological parameters as a starting point for further cross-linguistic investigation.
Introduction to Special Issue
The Kurdish language is an integral component of any conceptualisation of “Kurdishness”, but just what constitutes Kurdish remains highly disputed. In this introduction, we take up a number of key questions relating to Kurdish (e.g. whether it is one or more than one language, which varieties should be considered under Kurdish, what are its origins, etc.), discussing them in the light of contemporary linguistics. A critical assessment of the notions of “language” and “dialect” is followed by a review of different approaches to classifying Kurdish, and exemplified through the case-study of Zazaki. We suggest that a good deal of the confusion arises through a failure to distinguish different kinds of linguistic evidence (in a narrow sense), from the results of socially contracted and negotiated perceptions of identity, rooted in shared belief systems and perceptions of a common history. We then present an overview of recent trends in Kurdish linguistics and attempt to identify some of the most pressing research desiderata.
The synchrony and diachrony of New Western Iranian nominal morphosyntax
Kürt Gazeteciliği ve Zazaca
This study will focus on Zazakî in Kurdish newspapers that have been published from Kurdistan, which is considered the first Kurdish newspaper and started publishing in Cairo in 1898, to the present day. While examining this relatively unexplored topic, the points at which these published newspapers correspond to the political and cultural context of their respective eras will be taken into consideration. In order to better understand the background of the subject and determine the process it has gone through up to the present day, a chronological survey will be conducted as a method, and the place given to Zazakî will be explained with statistical data. This study also aims to understand the role of newspapers in establishing the relationship between intellectuals and the masses. The scope of the study will primarily encompass the place of Zazakî in Kurdish newspapers published within the borders of Turkey, as well as Zazakî texts published in these publications.
The Kırmanjki (Zazaki) Dialect of Kurdish Language and the Issues It Faces
Often referred to as ‘Zaza’ or ‘Zazaki’ in academic literature in Europe and the US, the Kirmanjki dialect of the Kurdish language is spoken by an important section of the Kurds within Turkey’s borders. Kirmanjki became a written language quite late and due to the longstanding language-related prohibitions and obstacles in Turkey, the number of Kirmanji speakers has been decreasing considerably over the years. According to UNESCO, Kirmanjki is now an endangered language. This chapter focuses on the issue of different designations used to describe Kirmanjki, places where it is spoken and the current language policies in Turkey that affect its development. In addition, the difficulties that Kirmanjki is facing in the contemporary period and its precarious future are discussed.