Southern Kurdish ( ku, کوردی باشووری ,کوردی خوارگ, Kurdî Başûrî, Kurdî Xwarig) is one of the dialects of the

Kurdish language Kurdish (, ) is a language or a group of languages spoken by Kurds in the geo-cultural region of Kurdistan and the Kurdish diaspora. Kurdish constitutes a dialect continuum, belonging to Western Iranian languages in the Indo-European languag ...

, spoken predominantly in northeastern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The Southern Kurdish-speaking region spans from

Khanaqin Khanaqin ( ar, خانقين; ku, خانەقین, translit=Xaneqîn) is the central city of Khanaqin District in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, near the Iranian border (8 km) on the Alwand tributary of the Diyala River. The town is populated ...

in Iraq to

Dehloran Dehloran ( fa, دهلران; also Romanized as Dehlorān) is a city in and the capital of Dehloran County, Ilam Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 27,602, in 5,787 families. The city lies along Road 64, near the Iraqi border. ...

southward and Asadabad eastward in Iran.

Name

Southern Kurdish is a new term coined by some Western linguists in order to refer to a group of dialects in Western Iran. According to the same linguists, the speakers of these dialects are not familiar with the term "Southern Kurdish" and do not refer to the language as such. According to the linguists: "When consulted about what kind of Kurdish they speak, respondents generally refer first to a very local variety (Kurdish of a given village), or a mid-level variety such as “Ardalāni” or “Garūsi”".

Variants

Southern Kurdish has many variants, linguist Fattah divides them into 35 varieties. These include: * Bicarî ** The most

septentrional Septentrional, meaning "of the north", is a Latinate adjective sometimes used in English. It is a form of the Latin noun ''septentriones'', which refers to the seven stars of the ''Plough'' (Big Dipper), occasionally called the ''Septentrion'' ...

variety of Southern Kurdish spoken in and around

Bijar Bijar may refer to: * Bijar (city), a city in Kordestan Province, Iran ** Bijar County * Bijar, Nehbandan, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Bijar, Punjab, a village in Pakistan * Bijar rug A Persian carpet ( fa, فرش ایر� ...

in Iran. Bicarî is the only Southern Kurdish variety detached from the greater Southern Kurdish-speaking region. * Qorwa (Chahar Dawli xarbi) ** The Qorwa variety is spoken around

Ghorveh Qorveh ( fa, قروه; ku, قوروە, translit=Qurwe; also Romanized as Qurve and Qurveh) is a city and capital of Qorveh County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 136,961 Demographics A majority of the populat ...

in Iran and is related to the variety spoken in Asadabad and other Kurdish-speaking areas in Hamadan Province. * Kolyayî ** The Kolyayî variety is spoken northeast of Kermanshah, principally in

Sonqor County Sonqor County ( fa, شهرستان سنقر) is located in Kermanshah province, Iran. The capital of the county is Sonqor. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 95,904, in 23,755 households. Retrieved 1 November 2022 At the 2016 cens ...

and surrounding counties. The variety also spans into the

Kolyai Rural District Kolyai Rural District ( fa, دهستان كليائي) is a rural district (''dehestan'') in the Central District of Asadabad County, Hamadan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 3,909, in 871 families. The rural district has ...

in Hamadan Province. * Bilawar ** The principal Southern Kurdish variety in

Poshtdarband Rural District Poshtdarband Rural District ( fa, دهستان پشت دربند) is a rural district (''dehestan'') in the Central District of Kermanshah County, Kermanshah Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and als ...

in Kermanshah. * Dinawar ** About 83 villages in

Dinavar District Dinavar District ( ku, ناوچه‌ێ دینه‌وه‌ر ,Navçe Dînewer, Nawçe-ŷ Dînewer, fa, بخش دینور) is a district (bakhsh) in Sahneh County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 19,973, in 5,042 ...

speak the Dinawar variety. The differences between the Dinawar and the Kolyayî varieties are anodine. * Sahana / Lekî-Kirmaşanî ** The Sahana variety, or lakî-kirmashanî has many similar characteristics with

Laki Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly ...

and is spoken in

Harsin County Harsin County ( fa, شهرستان هرسین) is in Kermanshah province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Harsin, east of Kermanshah, above sea level. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 90,452 in 20,788 households ...

and in

Sahneh Sahneh ( fa, صحنه; also Romanized as Şaḩneh and Sehneh; also known as Sahna) is a city in and the capital of Sahneh County, Kermanshah Province Sahneh County ( fa, شهرستان صحنه) is located in Kermanshah province, Iran. The c ...

. What distinguishes it most from Laki is the lack of the

ergative case In grammar, the ergative case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that identifies the noun as the agent of a transitive verb in ergative–absolutive languages. Characteristics In such languages, the ergative case is typically marked (most ...

. * Kordali Palai is quite distant, and may be a distinct language.Erik Anonby, Mortaza Taheri-Ardali & Amos Hayes (2019) ''The Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI)''. Iranian Studies 52
A Working Classification
/ref> Other variants include: Bîstûnî, Çihrî, Hersîn, Payrawand, Kirmaşanî, Sanjabî, Xalesa, Çemçemal, Qasirî Şîrîn, Serpuli Zuhawî, Harasam, Kelurî, Îwan, Erkewazî, Şêrwanî, Îlamî, Salihabad, Rîka, Badraî, Melikşahî, Mêxasî, Mihran, Xaneqînî, Mendilî, Duşêxî, Kaprat, Warmizyar, Zurbatiya and Feylî.

Alphabet

The Southern Kurdish alphabet is very similar to the Central Kurdish (Sorani) alphabet, which is a derivation of the Arabic alphabet. Southern Kurdish has one additional letter "ۊ"; the Arabic letter waw with two dots above.

Notes

Biography

External links