Magin_Edward-thesis

3
1.3 The people and the language
Northern Kurdish is often called Kurmanjî. 3 The total number of speakers,
including those residing outside the main Kurdish area, has been estimated to be between
fifteen and seventeen million (Thackston 2006:vii, viii). However, due to a long history
of political and socioeconomic upheaval, combined with a lack of research, a trustworthy
estimate has yet to be determined. The largest group of speakers is found in an area that
spans the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. There are also pockets of Northern
Kurdish speakers in other areas of Turkey, Iran as well as in Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Turkmenistan.
Northern Kurdish is one of several languages that are considered to be Kurdish.
Others include Sorani and even Dimili (or Zaza), which, according to Todd (2002:vi) and
other scholars, is too distinct to be called Kurdish. Dimili speakers, however, identify
themselves as being Kurdish (Todd 2002:vi). Speakers of Northern and Central Kurdish
make up the larger portions of the population that identify themselves as being Kurdish;
however, these are considered by scholars to be separate languages. It is not until a
speaker of one of these languages is exposed to the other’s language for some time that
there is any marked comprehension ability. Hence, the factors contributing to whether
one considers oneself to be Kurdish depend not just on language but on psychological,
social, cultural, economic and political factors (Hassanpour 1989:25).
1.4 The sociolinguistic situation
The peoples who have resided in Mesopotamia and its surrounding regions have
long been influenced by societies that spoke different languages, had different customs,
and practiced different religions. The brief historical sketch in § 1.2 provides only a few
3 Other names for Northern Kurdish are as follows: In Iraq—Badinani, Bahdini, Behdini, Kirmancîa Jori,
Kurmanji; in Turkey—Kermancî, Kirmancî, Kurdi, Kurdî, Kurmanji. There are a few other names used in
Syria and Iran (Lewis 2011:458, 534). A myriad of dialect names are also used as reference for one’s
speech type. Such names refer to the region or tribe one is from.