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Kurdish

Kurdish

3 7.4
A language people in parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria speak
  • noun
  • /ˈkɜrdɪʃ/
translation icon : kurdo
  • "In many stages, we were even deterred from having publications in Kurdish," says Minister of Culture Sami Shoresh.

Examples

  • A.F. Miller, the resident British assistant administrative inspector, could only speak Turkish; he had little need for Arabic or Kurdish.

    Academic text (2007)
  • How did you learn Kurdish?

  • If we need to teach Kurdish in the streets, we will.

    Blog text (13)
  • Although Spanish was the first language for the largest number of students, there were several who spoke Kurdish, and one whose first language was Arabic.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The present constitution, adopted in 1982, contains a number of specific provisions that even seek to limit speaking and writing in Kurdish.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Broadcasting in Kurdish is de facto illegal.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Do you speak Kurdish?

  • Around 300,000 people from Kobani, most of whom were Kurdish, took shelter in Turkey when ISIS besieged the city in September 2014.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Although Arabic became the official language of Iraq, Kurdish became a corollary official language in Sulaimaniya, and both Kurdish and Turkish became official languages in Kirkuk and Kifri.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Many people around the world are beginning to learn Kurdish to connect with the culture and history of the Kurdish people.

Synonyms

Kurdish language
vsKurdish
1 5.1

A language spoken by Kurdish people in parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria

has identical meaning but explicitly uses the word language in form

Compounds

A language spoken by Kurdish people in parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria

A Kurdish Sunni armed group that uses violence and wants an Islamic state under sharia

Surface Forms

Kurdish singular
Kurdishs plural

Morphology

Kurdish = Kurd (transparent) = Kurd + ish

The language name is formed from the ethnonym 'Kurd' plus '-ish'; the shift from adjective to a noun meaning 'the Kurdish language' is a regular and recognizable use.

Etymology

Kurdish as the name of a language simply means the speech of the Kurd people, and the place name Kurdistan means 'land of the Kurds'. So calling a language Kurdish means it is the language 'of the Kurds'.