Kurmanji

Kurmanji (Kurdish: کورمانجی, Kurmancî, lit. 'Kurdish'), also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northernmost of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Syria and the Caucasus and Khorasan regions. It is the most widely spoken form of Kurdish.

Kurmanji
Northern Kurdish
کورمانجی, Kurmancî
Kurmanji Kurdish written in both scripts
RegionAutochthonous to Kurdistan, Kurdish diaspora
EthnicityKurds
Native speakers
16 million (2021–2023)
Indo-European
Dialects
  • Botani (Boti)
  • Marashi
  • Ashiti
  • Bayezidi
  • Hekari
  • Shemdinani
  • Badini
  • Shikaki
  • Silivi
  • Mihemedi
Writing system
Official status
Official language in
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-1ku
ISO 639-3kmr
Glottolognort2641
Linguasphere58-AAA-a
Geographic distribution of the Kurdish languages spoken by Kurds

The earliest textual record of Kurmanji Kurdish dates back to approximately the 16th century and many prominent Kurdish poets like Ehmedê Xanî (1650–1707) wrote in this language. Kurmanji Kurdish is also the common and ceremonial language of Yazidis. Their sacred book Mishefa Reş and all prayers are written and spoken in Kurmanji.

Ethnologue reports that the use of Kurmanji is declining in Turkey even when the language is used as a language of wider communication (LWC) by immigrants to Turkey, and that the language is threatened because it is losing speakers.

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