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Kurdish Sorani

Kurdish is another language in which Farsi Global has significant strength. Kurdish is a continuum of the northwestern Iranian languages spoken by the Kurds in Western Asia. Kurdish forms two main dialect groups, which are known as Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) and Central Kurdish (Sorani). According to recent studies, the population of Kurdish native speakers ranges from 20 million to 30 million.

  • Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) is the largest dialect group, spoken by an estimated 15 to 20 million Kurds in Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq and northwestern Iran. This dialect is written in the Latin alphabet. Bahdini, which is nearly the same as Kurmanji, uses the Sorani script, which shares many characteristics with Farsi and Arabic.
  • Central Kurdish (Sorani) is spoken by an estimated 6 to 7 million Kurds in much of Iraqi Kurdistan and the Iranian Kurdistan Province. Thus it's designated as the official language by the regional government of Kurdistan. It is important to know that Badini is nearly the same as Kurmanji, but it's written in the Sorani alphabet.

Nevertheless, Central Kurdish is an official language of Kurdistan. In Iraq, however, the subjugation of Kurds has always been an institutionalized policy. Moreover, Syria forbids the publication of materials in Kurdish, though this prohibition is no longer enforced due to the civil war. Prior to August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media. Being compelled to obey such policies, many Kurds leave their countries and seek asylum in places where they can freely speak their own language and practice their culture. The flow of Kurdish refugees and displaced people began in the twentieth century in the Middle East, and today it continues.

Large numbers of ethnic Kurds are found in Canada and the United States. They are mainly political refugees and immigrants who have gone in search of opportunity. According to a 2011 household survey by Statistics Canada, there were 11,685 people of Kurdish ethnic background in the country. In the United States, Kurdish immigrants began to settle in large numbers in Nashville in 1976, which is now home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States.

That community now bears the nickname Little Kurdistan. However, the earliest immigrants were Kurds from Turkey who settled in Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries, Great Britain, Switzerland and France during the 1960s.

Most Kurdish projects are in Sorani dialect. Sorani, which is the second official language of Iraq, is referred to in political documents simply as "Kurdish" and can be understood by nearly all Kurds. However, Kurmanji dialect can be understood only by Kurmanji speakers, thus highlighting the need for experts who are familiar with different dialects of Kurdish language in order to satisfy the language needs of the Kurdish diaspora. Southeastern Kurmanji, or Badini/Bahdini (Bahdinani), as is spoken in the Hakkâri province of Turkey and the Dohuk Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan, uses a Sorani script in which linguists must be proficient. The language experts at Farsi Global are keenly aware of the sensitivity and nuance of the Kurdish language, even with respect to rare dialects such as Zazaki (Zaza), Faili (Feyli) and Gorani. We, as a team, will provide the most reliable translation in order to meet the needs of this group in their new societies.