ckb ISO 639
زمانێ سۆرانی (zimanê soranî) Autonyms
Kurdish, Central
Visualizations
A language of Iraq
- ISO 639
- ckb
- Alternate Names
- Kurdi, Sorani
- Autonym
- زمانێ سۆرانی (zimanê soranî)
- Population
- 4,700,000 in Iraq (2020). Total users in all countries: 5,266,050.
- Location
- Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta’mim (Kirkuk), and Diyala governorates; Salah ad Din governorate: east of Tuz Khurmatu; all areas are south of Great Zab river; diaspora communities elsewhere.
- Language Maps
- Iraq
- Language Status
- 1 (National). Statutory national language (2005, Constitution, Article 4(1)).
- Classification
- Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Kurdish
- Dialects
- Hewleri (Arbili), Xoshnaw, Pizhdar, Suleimani (Silemani), Warmawa, Rewandiz, Bingird, Kerkuki, Garmiyani, Jafi. In Sulaimaniya, Hewleri and Kerkuki dialects seen as mutually intelligible. A member of macrolanguage Kurdish [kur].
- Typology
- SOV; no grammatical gender or case; noun head initial; tense-split ergative pattern; 9 vowel phonemes, 31 consonant phonemes (McCarus 2009).
- Language Use
- All domains. Children learn it first. Positive attitudes.
- Language Development
- Taught in all primary and secondary schools in Kurdish Autonomous Region. Literary standard is based on Sorani (from Suleimaniye) variety. Fully developed. Bible: 2017.
- Writing
- Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab], primary usage.
- Other Comments
- Muslim.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Kurdish, Central
Also Spoken in
- Location
- West Azerbaijan and Kordestan provinces; also Hamadan, Kermanshah, and Zanjan provinces; Mahabad area (Mukri dialect); Sanandaj (Sine) area (Sanandaji dialect).
- Dialects
- Mukriyani (Kordi, Mokri, Mukri), Jafi, Pijdari, Ardelani (Sanandaji, Sina’i, Sine’i, Sineyi).
- Language Status
- 3 (Wider communication)
- Language Use
- Mukri dialect also used as literary language similar to Central Kurdish (Sorani) literary language used in Iraqi Kurdistan (Hajo 1994). Used as L2 by Gurani [hac], Hulaulá [huy].
- Language Development
- Literacy rate in L2: High in Persian [pes]. Taught as subject in secondary schools in Saqqez. Taught as subject at 2 universities.
- Other Comments
- 90% in cities or villages, 10% nomadic. Kordi may also refer to Northern Kurdish varieties (such as in Khorasan Province), and Southern Kurdish [sdh] varieties, such as Kermanshahi [sdh]. Muslim. View other languages of Iran
Language Name
Kurdish, Central
User Population
557,000 in Iran (2019).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Kuwait
Language Name
Kurdish, Central
User Population
6,300 in Kuwait (2020 Joshua Project).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Sweden
Language Name
Kurdish, Central
User Population
2,750 in Sweden (2020 census), based on nationality.
