Romanization of Kurdish

Latin letters of Kurdish currently in use

The romanization of Kurdish language^[a] is the practice of transcribing the Kurdish, traditionally written in both Arabic and Latin scripts, into a standardized Latin alphabet. The development of Kurdish romanization systems supports the need for digital communication, linguistic research, and accessibility for Kurdish speakers and Kurdish speakers in diaspora communities.^[1] These systems strive to maintain phonetic precision and consistency across the diverse Kurdish dialects.^[2]

Historical background

Efforts to standardize Kurdish in a Latin-based script began in the 20th century, driven by a desire to create a unified writing system that could bridge dialectal differences and promote a unified Kurdish identity. The adaptation of the Latin script for Kurdish was influenced by its use in other Arabic, Turkic and Iranian languages in the region, which were also transitioning away from Arabic scripts at the time.^[3][4]

Mîr Celadet Bedirxan, a Kurdish writer, linguist and diplomat,^[5] was the first to bring the Latin script to the Middle East and use it for Kurdish, alongside the Arabic script since the 1920–1930s,^[6][7][8] this new Latin script became known as Hawar.^[9]

Kurdish Academy romanization system

The Kurdish Academy system is one of the most widely used romanization systems for Kurdish. It emphasizes phonetic accuracy, utilizing Latin characters with diacritics to represent unique Kurdish phonology. This system is particularly useful for linguistic and educational purposes, providing clear guidelines on how to pronounce Kurdish words accurately.^[10][3]

The following table illustrates the transcription of selected Kurdish sounds into Latin script according to the Kurdish Romanization system, showing the corresponding Arabic script, phonetic sounds, and example words for each letter.

Kurdish romanization^[11]^[12]

Romanization (Hawar generally considered)	Arabic Script (Sorani Kurdish)	Sound	Example Word
a	ئ	/æ/	ئاوارە (aware - Refugee)
a[b]	ا	/ɑ/	باران (baran - Rain)
b	ب	/b/	بەفر (befir - Snow)
c	ج	/ʤ/	جاران (caran - Times)
ç	چ	/ʧ/	چاو (çaw - Eye)
d	د	/d/	دەنگ (deng - Sound)
'e	ع	/ʕ/	عەشیرەت ('eşîret - Tribe)
e[c]	ە	/e/	ئەمە (eme - This)
ê	ێ	/ɛ/	گوێ (giwê - Ear)
f	ف	/f/	فڕین (fiřîn - To fly)
g	گ	/ɡ/	گەرمی (germî - Warmth)
h	ھ	/h/	ھەزار (hezar - Thousand)
ĥ[d]	ح	/ħ/	حەوت (ĥewit - Seven)
i[e]	'بزرۆکە'[13]	/i/	ئاگر (agir -Fire)
î	ی	/iː/	چیرۆک (çîrok - Tale)
j	ژ	/ʒ/	ژمارە (jimare - Number)
k	ک	/k/	کوردی (Kurdî - Kurdish)
ll or ł	ڵ	/ɫ/	لێڵ (lêll or lêł - Blurry)
l	ل	/l/	لەیلا (leyla - Leyla)[f]
m	م	/m/	مەزن (mezin - Big)
n	ن	/n/	نەورۆز (newroz - Kurdish new year)
o	ۆ	/o/	خۆشی (xoşî - Happiness)
p	پ	/p/	پڕ (př - Full)
q	ق	/q/	قسە (qise - Speech)
r	ر	/ɾ/	کرم (kirim - Earthworm)
s	س	/s/	سەرکەوتن (serkewtin - Victory)
ş	ش	/ʃ/	شاخ (şax - Mountain)
t	ت	/t/	تەمەن (temen - Age)
u	و	/ʊ/	بەرز و نزم (beriz u nizim - High and low)
û	وو	/uː/	بەستوو (bestû - Icy)
v	ڤ	/v/	ڤەداندەر (vedander - Creator)
w	و	/w/	وەرگرتن (wergirtin - To take)
x	خ	/x/	خاک (xak - Land)
y	ی	/j/	یار (yar - Lover)
z	ز	/z/	زەرد (zerd - Yellow)

Regional variations

Due to the variety of Kurdish dialects, regional adaptations of romanization exist, reflecting pronunciation differences. This has led to some differences in preferred romanized forms across regions, as various linguistic institutions seek to adapt romanization practices that best reflect their local dialect.^[14]

Practical applications

The use of romanized Kurdish is prevalent in digital communication, especially within Kurdish diaspora communities, where Latin-based keyboards are more accessible.^[14] Additionally, the UK government has developed a practical romanization system for administrative purposes, designed to simplify Kurdish transcription without the use of diacritics.^[15][16]

See also

• Romanization of Arabic
• Romanization of Persian
• Kurdish Academy

References

Notes

1. Kurdish: لاتینی کوردی, Latînî Kurdî
2. Long vowel
3. Short vowel
4. Rarely used
5. Biziroke (Consonant) in Kurdish, exists and is used only in the Kurmanji dialect, and has no appearance in Sorani Kurdish
6. Common Middle Eastern name

Sources

1. Sheyholislami, J. (2011-06-06). Kurdish Identity, Discourse, and New Media. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-11930-7.
2. Minorsky, V. (1933). "Remarks on the Romanized Kurdish Alphabet". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 65 (3): 643–650. doi:10.1017/S1356186300500054. ISSN 1356-1863.
3. "Romanization Guidelines for Kurdish". Kurdish Academy. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
4. Korangy, Alireza; Mortezaee, Mahlagha (2023-07-04). Essays on Modern Kurdish Literature. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-063468-6.
5. "جەلادەت بەدرخان". www.rudaw.net (in Kurdish). 2019. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
6. Mabry, Tristan James (2015-02-06). Nationalism, Language, and Muslim Exceptionalism. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-9101-8.
7. "Seventy-one years since the passing of Mir Jaladat Badirkhan-ARK NEWS". www.arknews.net. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
8. Bic0475 (2008-07-28). "Mir Celadet Alî Bedirxan (1893-1951), Konê Reş". Koerdisch Instituut Brussel. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
9. Behn, Wolfgang (1977). The Kurds in Iran: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography. Mansell. ISBN 978-3-7940-7007-7.
10. "Kurdish Romanization Overview" (PDF). Kurdipedia. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
11. "Table of Kurdish Unified Alphabet". Kurdish Academy of Language. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
12. "Transliteration system". The Dialects of Kurdish (legacy site). Retrieved 2024-11-09.
13. "Rênûsî Kurdi". 2016-12-31. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
14. "Romanization of Kurdish" (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
15. "Romanization of Kurdish 2022" (PDF). UK Government. 2022. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
16. "Romanization of Kurdish". Scribd. Retrieved 2024-11-09.

External links

• Kurdish Language Initiative of Seywan Institute
• Kurdish language and alphabets