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Ayoub Barzani
19/09/2008


The Kurdish language is considered to be among the threatened languages. The official Turkish state policy, since the creation of the Turkish republic, is directed at the elimination of all manifestation of Kurdish identity and culture. The state repressive politico-military machine is relentlessly active since 1924, destroying Kurdish rural life, changing Kurdish historical names of Kurdish cities and towns, banning Kurdish names for Kurdish children, destroying Kurdish historical memory, not a single Kurdish school for children are allowed to learn in their mother tong. In this republic, pretended so proudly by Turkish political class and Turkish press, to be generously democratic and has all merits to join the EU, no where else in the Middle East, but in this "democratic Turkey", a policy of forced assimilation is so ruthlessly applied on a people ranking around 25 million.

Fortunately, at the beginning of the Kemalist threat, Kurdish intellectuals realized soon the danger ahead, they begun hastily to work on writing Kurdish in Latin characters, as Mustafa Kemal Pasha has banned Arabic characters. Dr. Jeladet Bederkhan, Dr. Kamuran Bederkhan, Osman Sebri, Dr. Noureddin Zaza, Mousa Anter and others, have adopted Latin characters, and tried to save whatever they could, before the total ban of Kurdish culture all over Kurdistan annexed to Turkey.

Though they considerably succeeded in their efforts, but the new way of writing Kurdish remained largely among the exiled Kurdish intellectuals in Damascus - Syria, at that time under French mandate. This was also to be banned under the Baath rule since 1963. Under the Baghdad Pact, the repression intensified against Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Hence, the efforts to solidify writing Kurdish in Latin characters transferred to the main Western Europe capitals, particularly Paris.

Then other generations of young Kurdish intellectuals followed the path of the ancient linguistic pioneers, there were dictionaries published, especially in Kurdistan – Iraq, and different periodic in Europe, thanks mainly to the efforts of Dr. Kamuran Bederkhan.

Just recently in 2008, a new book is published, treating the composition of writing and speaking Kurdish language in depth. It is easy to read, full of examples, its laconic style of writing and examining a wide range of issues related to Kurdish grammar, makes the reader feel that the subject is amply treated by the author.

For all those who are interested in Kurdish language can order the book from the following address, or contact directly the author:

Rênîşanêra Vegotina Kurdî

(Kompozîsyon Peyvkî û Nivîskî)

Hesen Huseyîn Denîz

ISBN: 978-9944-108-40-9
Tel: (0212) 613 12 11 (ISTANBUL)
Author's email: hasan2004deniz@hotmail.com