SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS KURDISH GRAMMARIANS

Îrec Mêhrbexş

KURDISH

GRAMMARIANS

Compiled by Îrec Mêhrbexş

Contents Abdul Rahman Zabihi (1920-1980) .............................. 2

Abdull Rahman Haji Ma'ref (1940-2007) ..................... 5

Amir Hassanpour (1943) ............................................... 9

Cecil John Edmonds (1889-1979) ............................... 24

David Neil MacKenzie (1926-2001) ........................... 28

Hassan Ghazi (1946) ................................................... 34

Ibrahim Amin Balldar (1920-1998) ............................ 38

Jamal Nabaz (1933) .................................................... 43

Jeladet Bedir Xan (1893-1951) ................................... 48

Melayé Jezîrî (1570 - 1640) ........................................ 56

Osman Sabri (1905-1993) ........................................... 57

Sa'id Kaban Sedqi (1866-?) ........................................ 60

Seyda Jigerxwîn, (1903 - 1984) .................................. 67

Taufiq Wahby (1891-1984) ........................................ 69

Xana Qubadî (1700-1759) .......................................... 73

Abdul Rahman Zabihi (1920-1980)

Abdul Rahman Zabihi (Kurdish: Ebdul

Rehmanî Zebîhî, was born in Mehabad in 1920.

He was fluent in Kurdish, Persian, Arabic and

Turkish. He was also familiar with English, and

French. His linguistic effort to the development

of the Kurdish language concentrated most in dialectology and

lexicography. Zabihi is the author of one of the best Kurdish-Kurdish

dictionary.

A landmark in Kurdish lexicography was set by Zabihi's (1977)

monolingual work, which is modeled on, and meets the standards of

Le Petit Larousse (the author has also used, as a model, M. Mo'in's

monolingual Persian dictionary, Farhang-i Farsi which is as well

based on Le Petit Larousse). Monolingual lexicography has now

become an established practice due to the pioneering work of Khal

(Xall) and the able use of Kurdish in definitions by Zabihi, who has

introduced refined techniques into Central Kurdish dialect "Sorani"

lexicography.1.

Zabihi's dictionary is the only on which has provided labelling of the

parts of speech (including, also, transitivity, infinitives, three types of

adjectives, ect.) and, in the case of compounds and derivatives, has

analyzed them into their constituent morphemes. 1

Zabihi's planned ten-volume work went trough Kurdish beginning

with the Arabic letter hamza / ئـ /, i.e., the words with initial vowels

/a,u,ú,e,i,é,î/ and /b/1. Unfortunately he managed to publish just two

volumes of his work only. The rest of this pioneer work was never

published. Zabihi published the first two volumes of his dictionary by

his own money, but the Kurdish Scientific Academy in Baghdad

which was active at that time arranged to print that in its printing

house.

Mr. Zabihi was a member of leading committee of the first nationalist

political organization in eastern Kurdistan, "Komelley Jhiyanewey

Kurdistan" (Komelley Jh.K.). He became chief-editor of Kurdish

magazine Nîshtiman which was published July 1943 to spring 1944.

He manages to publish 9 issues of the magazine.

In December 1945 a new Kurdish political party KDP-IR was

established in Mehabad by President Qazi Muhammed in conjunction

with the establishment of the Kurdish Republic in eastern Kurdistan

(December 1945 to December 1946). Zabihi was also played an active

role in the republic. After the collapse of the republic, he went to exile

in southern Kurdistan, where he became actively involved in the

liberation movement again. Zibihi became a member of the political

Bureau of the Kurdish Democratic Party KDP-IR. During the period

of the monarchy in Iraq he was forced to leave the country, he found

himself in Syria. After the fall of the monarchy in Iran in 1979, Zabihi

returned to eastern Kurdistan.

It did not take long when the new established Islamic Republic crush

the Kurdish uprising in Eastern Kurdistan by exposing a war as their

previous monarchic masters. Zabihi went to exile again in Baghdad in

1980. There is no news from Zabihi since 1981.

Publications

Qamúsî zimanî Kurdî, Ebdu Rehmanî Zebîhî, Dubare capî 1988

Abdull Rahman Haji Ma'ref (1940-

2007)

Dr. Abdull Rahman Haji Maref (Kurdish: Ew-

Rehman Hajî Marif, was without a doubt one

of the best Kurdish contemporary linguists. His

academic and scholarly works form the bases

for many modern Kurdish linguistic standards. As such, his loss will

be greatly felt in all aspects of research on the Kurdish language and

culture.

Dr Haji Ma‘rif was born in 11th Sep 1940 in the City of Silémanî in

Baban Province in Kurdistan (Iraqi Kurdistan). He finished his

primary school at Giwéjhe primary school for boys. In his writings as

a young student, he showed his interest and dedication to Kurdish and

non-Kurdish literature.

The young Adul Ma‘rif known to his friends as ―Sikalla‖ managed to

publish couple of articles in the Journal ―Hîwa‖ between 1959 and

1960. He finished his high school in Silémanî before starting his

higher education at the University of Baghdad in 1960. He studied for

a year at the college of Literature before his ambition lead him for

getting higher education in Soviet Union in 1961. He gained

admission to what was known then as the University of Leningrad (St.

Petersburg). He finished his B.Sc. and M.Sc. studies in Russian

Literature with Honour degree.

The following years he put his academic achievements into the

context of his personal background--which was quite dear to his hear-

-by working on his doctoral studies on Kurdish Language and

Literature at the Academy of Middle Eastern Studies in Leningrad in

1969. He was supervised by the renown Kurdish scholar, Professor

Qenat Kurdo. He obtained his PhD in Kurdish Language with an

honour degree in 1972.

In 1973, the young and ambitious Dr Ma‘rif returned to his native

town after 11 years of absence. Soon he was given a position at the

Iraqi Academy in Bagdad. He became an active member of the

Kurdish Study Group at the Iraqi Academy ―Korrî Zanyarî Bexda –

beshî Kurdî‖. With his academic skills and scholarly work he

managed to become one of the active contributors to the Study Group

and published many articles in the Academy‘s Journal ―Govarî Korrî

Zanyarî Kurd le Bexda‖.

While still a professor in Kurdish language and Literature at the

University of Baghdad, in 1986 he published his well-known

controversial book ―Writing Kurdish with Arabic alphabet‖1, where

he gives a well-argued account on historical perspective of Kurdish

writing system and the critical analysis of many bottlenecks in using

Arabic alphabet for Kurdish. He emphasised in an interview with

Kirkuk based ―Newshefeq‖ Journal in 2004 that:

―Even though the Iraqi authority hardly accepts us to speak about the

Kurdish identity of Kirkuk, they will much less listen to the

discussion of writing Kurdish with Latin alphabet. Now, this

bickering between Arab chauvinism and our (Kurds) simple ideas for

unchaining the Kurdish language of all its obstacles have made both

sides sound immature.

In 1986, I managed to publish a book ―Writing Kurdish with Arabic

Alphabet‖. 1 Besides giving an academic account to all aspects of this

issue, I also direct the readers that writing Kurdish with Latin

alphabets will solve many problems related to Kurdish writing

practices. For example, regarding the shape of the Kurdish vowels I

wrote: ―We know that the Arabic alphabet have been modified so it

can be used for writing Kurdish. The shapes of some vowel letters

cause problems in writing them and there are many obstacles related

to them that need to be solved. But if we look at this issue in the Latin

based writing system, we do not find the same problem. Base on this

argument I believe that the Latin based alphabet is more suitable for

writing in Kurdish.‖ 2

Dr. Abdull Rahman Haji Maref died in an unfortunate car accident on

Monday the 8th of July 2007 in front of his house in Silémanî. He was

buried in that city‘s Girdi Seywan cemetery. He was without a doubt

one of the leading linguists in all of Kurdistan. His death is a great

loss for the Kurdish linguists and the Kurdish Nation at large.

Publications

A.R. Hajî Marif, Wishey zimanî Kurdî, Bexdad, 1975.

A.R. Hajî Marif, Zimanî Kurdî le ber roshnayî fonetîkda, Bexdad,

1976.

A.R. Hajî Marif, Wushe ronan le zimanî Kurdîda, Bexdad, 1977.

A.R. Hajî Marif, Ma kutiba 'an al-lughat al-kurdiyye, Bexdad, 1978.

A.R. Hajî Marif, Rézmané Kurdî, bergî yekem, morfolojîya, beshî

yekem, naw, Bexdad, 1981.

A.R. Hajî Marif, Núsînî Kurdî be elfubéy Erebî, Bexdad, 1986.

A.R. Hajî Marif, Rézmané Kurdî, bergî yekem, wushe sazî, beshî

duwem, jénaw,. Bexdad, 1987

A.R. Hajî Marif, Raberî sercawe le barey zimanî Kurdîyewe, Bexdad,

1987.

A.R. Hajî Marif, Rézmané Kurdî, bergî séhem, awellnaw, Bexdad,

1993

A.R. Hajî Marif, Rézmané Kurdî, bergî cuwarem, jhimare u awell-

kirdar. Bexdad, 1998

Amir Hassanpour (1943)

Fri, 16/05/2008 - 00:25 — Admin

Prof. Amir Hassanpour (Kurdish: Emîr

Hesenpúr, was born in 1943 in Mahabad in

Mukrîyan Province in Kurdistan. He did his

primary school in Mehabad before he moved

to Tehran for his secondary school at Dar-ol-

Fonun Secondary School in 1961. He began

his undergraduate studies in economics at University of Tehran

(1961), and finished a B.A. in English language in 1964. He studied

in Teacher's Training College in Tehran (1965), and for a short time

taught in the secondary schools of Mahabad in 1965-66. He was

drafted into the Development and Extension Corp of the army and

worked at the Land Reform office of Mahabad 1966-68.

In 1968, he began studying linguistics at Tehran University (M.A.,

1970) and finished his doctoral work (ABD, 1972), while teaching for

a year at the University of Tehran; he went to the university of Illinois

in Urbana-Champaign, where he studied communications (Ph.D,

1989), sociolinguistics and contemporary Middle Eastern history.

Dr. Hassanpour moved to Canada in 1986, and taught

communications studies at the University of Windsor and Concordia

University in Montreal. He is now an Assistant Professor at the

Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of

Toronto. His research and teaching interests include international

communication, Canadian communication and culture, broadcasting

policy, communication theory, and Middle Eastern and Kurdish

politics and culture.

He is the author of "Nationalism and Language in Kurdistan, 1918-

1985" (San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1992). He

has made numerous contributions to academic journals, the

Encyclopedia of Television, and Encyclopaedia Iranica.

Publications

Language & Literature

―Kurdi wek zimaneki cut-standard‖ [Kurdish as a bi-standard

language], Rojname [Iraq], No. 206, April 24, 2008, p. 11. [in

Kurdish]

―‗Ferhengî Zarekî‘ le xulî têknolojî ziman da‖ (―‘Oral Dictionary‘ in

the era of technologies of language), in Selah Payanyani (compiler),

A Dictionary of Oral Mukri Kurdish/Ferhengî Zarekî Mukriyan, Vol.

1, Mahabad, Iran, Rahrav Publications, 2006, pp. 13-77

―The tongue has no bone, but it breaks many bones,‖ Idea&s: The

Arts & Science Review [Faculty of Arts & Science, University of

Toronto], Autumn 2006, 3 (2), pp. 22-23;

―Kurdish on death row,‖ Ideas: The Arts & Science Review [Faculty

of Arts & Science, University of Toronto], 3 (2), pp. 32-35.

"Kuristan‘da Milliyetçilik ve Dil, 1918-1985", (Istanbul, Avesta

Publishers, 2005) translated by Ibrahim Bingol and Cemil Gundogan,

(translation of Amir Hassanpour, Nationalism and Language in

Kurdistan, 1918-1985. San Francisco: Mellen Research University

Press, 1992).

2001 ―The (re)production of patriarchy in the Kurdish language,‖ in

Mojab, Shahrzad (ed.), Women of a Non-State Nation: The Kurds,

Costa Mesa, CA, Mazda Publishers, pp. 227-63.

―The politics of a-political linguistics: Linguists and linguicide,‖ in

Robert Phillipson (ed.), Rights to Language: Equity, Power and

Education, Mahawi, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, In.,

Publishers, 2000 , pp. 33-39.

1999 "Language rights in the emerging world linguistic order: The

state, the market and communication technologies,‖ in M. Kontra, R.

Phillipson & T. Skutnabb-Kangas (eds.), Language: A Right and a

Resource: Approaching Linguistic Human Rights. Budapest, Central

European University Press, pp. 223-41.

"Berengarî barî baw bûn: Awirrêk le jiyanî 'Ebdulrrehmanî Zebîhî

'ulema' (1920-198?")" [Resisting the "status quo": A look at the life of

AbdulRahman Zabihi "Ulama" (1920-198?)], in Ali Kerimi (ed.),

Jiyan û Beserhatî 'Ebdulrrehmanî Zebîhî ''Mamosta 'Ulema,"

Goteborg, Sweden, Zagros Media, pp. 15-51.

"Berbîngî zimanî kurdî berbiden!" [Leave the Kurdish language

alone!], in Ali Kerimi (ed.), Jiyan û Beserhatî 'Ebdulrrehmanî Zebîhî

''Mamosta 'Ulema" Goteborg, Sweden, Zagros Media, pp. 447-63.

―The identity of Hewrami speakers: Reflections on the theory and

ideology of comparative philology,‖ in Anthology of Gorani Kurdish

Poetry, edited by A. Soltani, London, Soane Trust for Kurdistan, 1998

, pp. 35-49.

―Edeb,‖ Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. VIII, 1997, p. 174.

"The non-education of the Kurds," (with T. Skutnabb-Kangas & M.

Chyet), International Review of Education (special issue: "Education

of Minorities"), Vol. 42, No. 4, 1995, pp. 367-379, Translated into

Turkish: ―Kürtlerin eğitilmemesi: Kürdi bir perspektif‖ (―The

education of the Kurds: A Kurdish perspective,‖ translated by Ömer

Kurhan), Vesta, 2: 248-61, Winter 2004.

"The internationalization of language conflict: The case of Kurdish,"

in E. Fraenkel and C. Kramer (eds.), Language Contact-Language

Conflict. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1993, pp. 107-55.

"The pen and the sword: Literacy, education and revolution in

Kurdistan," in P. Freebody and A. Welsh (eds.), Knowledge, Culture

and Power: International Perspectives on Literacy as Policy and

Practice. London: The Falmer Press, pp. 23-54. Translated into

Kurdish by Azad Sediq Mihemed in Êsta, No. 8, September 1997, pp.

14-27.

"State policy on the Kurdish language: The politics of status

planning," Kurdish Times [New York], Vol. 4, No. 1-2, Summer/Fall,

1991, pp. 42-85.

History and Politics

―Navad o sevumnin salgard-e zhenoside mellathaye Armani va

Ashuri‖ [24 April 2008: 93rd anniversary of the genocide of

Armenian and Assyrian nations], Shahrvand [Toronto], Vol. 17, No.

1147, April 24, 2008, pp. 5, 78-80. [in Persian]

―Helebce duway bist salan‖ [Halabja twenty years later: Kurdistan as

a ‗Zone of Genocide‘] Part I: Kurdistan Report, No. 405, March 16, p.

6: Part II: No. 406, March 17, 2008, p. 6

―Şerefname: Devletleşme, műlkilik ve egemenlik,‖ [Sharafnameh:

state ormation, territoriality and sovereignty], Yazinca [Boğaziçi

Űniversitesi, Edebiyat Kulűbű, Istanbul], translated by Onur Gűnay

and Fırat Bozçalı, Sayi, 8, 2007, pp. 1-28. Reprinted as introduction

to a new edition of Şerefname published by Avesta in Istanbul in

2008.

Review of Hakan Ozoglu book, "Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman

State: Evolving Identities," Competing Loyalties, and Shifting

Boundaries. (SUNY Series in Middle Eastern Studies. Albany: State

University of New York Press, 2004. xv + 186 pp. Maps, notes,

bibliography, index.) in H-Net Review (H-TURK)

―The dangers of Iran‘s Holocaust denial,‖ (with Shahrzad Mojab),

Toronto Star, February 14, p. A17.

"A Political-social movements. Ethnic and minority: Iran and

Afghanistan,‖ in Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures

(Leiden: Brill), Vol. 2, 2005, pp. 571-73.

"Kurds",@ Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity

(Detroit: Macmillan Reference), Vol. 2, pp. 632-637.

―Ninety Years Later: The Armenian Genocide Continues,‖ CTV.ca

translated into French by Louise Kiffer: ―90 ans plus tard, le génocide

arménien se poursuit‖ (publié le : 11-05-2005)

"Kurdish revolts", @ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and

North Africa (Detroit: Macmillan Reference), Vol. 2, pp. 1339-42;

AAbd al-Rahman Qasemlu,@

"Kurdish diaspora", (with Shahrzad Mojab), @ in Encyclopedia of

Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World (New

York: Kluwer Academic, 2004), Vol. 1, 2004, pp. 214-24.

―Tabligh-e nezhad-parasti va nefrat dar ghaleb-e ‗name-ye

khanandegan‘‖ [Propagating racism and hate under the guise of ―letter

to the editor‖], Shahrvand (Toronto), No. 872, March 16, 2004, p. 2.

"Mihan va melat-e Arya-i Tabligh-e nefrat va zhenosid", @ [The

Aryan homeland and nation: The propagation of hate and genocide],

Shahrvand, Vol. 13, No. 886, May 7, 2004, pp. 3, 58, 60-62.

―Negahi enteqadi be konfarans-e ―adabiyat va khalaqiyat-e honari-ye

zanan dar Iran‖ [A critical Glance at the conference on ―Women‘s

Literary and Artistic Creativity in Contemporary Iran], Shahrvand

(Toronto), No. 941, November 26, 2004.

―Honour killing: Nationalist and (post)-modernist politics and

perspectives,‖ Gzing: Cultural-Literary Kurdish Magazine, No. 37,

Winter 2003, pp. 19-33. [in Kurdish]

―Kurdewari, a patriarchal culture: An interview,‖ [in Kurdish], Gzing:

Cultural-Literary Kurdish Magazine, No. 36, Fall 2003, pp. 10-18.

―The making of Kurdish identity: Pre-20th century historical and

literary sources,‖ in Abbas Vali (ed.), Essays on the Origins of

Kurdish Nationalism. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, pp. 106-

162.

―Diaspora, homeland and communication technologies,‖ in Karim H.

Karim (ed.), The Media of Diaspora: Mapping the Globe (Routledge,

2003), pp. 76-88.

―Thoughts on the struggle against ‗honor killing‘,‖ (with Shahrzad

Mojab), The International Journal of Kurdish Studies, Vol. 16, Nos. 1

and 2, 2002, pp. 83-97.

―The politics and culture of ‗honour killing‘: The murder of Fadime

Şahindal,‖ (with Sharzad Mojab), Pakistan Journal of Women‘s

Studies: Alam-e Niswan, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2002, pp. 57-77.

―Berew têgeyiştin ű berberekanî kiridinî Enfal‖ (Towards

understanding and resisting [the genocide of] Anfal), Anfal: A

Documentation and Research Magazine, No. 1, 2000, pp. 10-20.

"Kürt Diliyle Ilgili Devlet Politiklari ve Dil Haklar", (State Policy on

the Kurdish Language and Language Rights), translated by Cemil

Gündo, Istanbul, Turkey, Avesta [Publications], 1997.

"Review of Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political

Structures of Kurdistan", (by Matin van Bruinessen, London, Zed

Books, 1992) in Iranian Studies, Vol. 29, Nos 1-2, Winter-Spring, pp.

200-204.

"Stalîn, qeyranî şorişî w rûxanî komarî azerbaycan û kurdistan"

[Stalin, revolutionary situation, and the fall of Azerbaijan and

Kurdistan republics], Gzing, No. 13, Fall, pp. 15-25.

"The politics of nationality and ethnic diversity," (with Sh. Mojab), in

S. Rahnema and S. Behdad (eds.), Iran after the Revolution: Crisis of

an Islamic State, London, I. B. Tauris, pp. 229-50.

"Dimdim," Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. VII, Costa Mesa, California,

Mazda Publishers, pp. 404-405.

"The Kurdish experience," Middle East Report, Vol. 24, No. 4 (189),

July-August, 1994, pp. 2-7, 23.

Review of "Azerbaijan: Ethnicity and Autonomy in Twentieth-

Century Iran", (by T. Atabaki, London: The British Academic Press,

1993), in CIRA Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 10-12.

Review of "A People Without a Country: The Kurds and Kurdistan"

(ed., Gerard Chaliand, New York, Olive Branch Press, 1993), in

Middle East Journal, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 731-32.

Review of "The Kurds of Iraq: Tragedy and Hope" (Michael Gunter,

New York, St. Martin's Press, 1992), in Middle East Studies

Association Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 1, July, pp. 90-91.

"Kurdish studies: Orientalist, positivist and critical approaches,"

review article in Middle East Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 119-122;

rejoinder, Ibid., Vol. 47, No. 3, 1993, pp. 572-76.

Review of "The Kurds: A Concise Handbook" ( by M. Izady,

Washington: Crane Russak, 1992) in CIRA Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 1,

1993, pp. 14-16.

"Nationalism and Language in Kurdistan, 1918-1985", San

Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1992.

"Bayt [popular ballad]," "Bukan," and "Çahriq," Encyclopædia

Iranica, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, Vol. IV, 1989, pp. 11-12,

511, 644-45.

"Bahdinan" and "Baradust," Encyclopædia Iranica, London:

Routledge & Kegan Paul, Vol. III, 1988, pp. 485, 739-40.

"Kurdistan Missionary'--unikt historiskt dokument," Svensk-Kurdisk

Journal [Stockholm], Nr. 8, 1987, pp. 16-18.

Media and Culture

―Tab‘id va teknolozhi-ye ertebatat‖ (Exile and communication

technologies), Arash (Persian language magazine, Paris), No. 100,

2007, pp. 368-61.

In Encyclopedia of Television, H. Newcomb (ed.), Chicago, Fitzroy

Dearborn Publishers, Second Revised Edition, 2005:

―Captioning," Vol. 1, pp. pp. 452-533

―Dubbing," Vol. 1, pp. 764-65

―Language and television," Vol. 2, pp. 1313-18

―Subtitling," Vol. 3, pp. 2219-21

―Voice-over,‖ Vol. 3, p. 2456.

―Images of war and the war of images, @ Daylight Magazine [New

York], No. 2., Summer 2004, pp. 54-55.

―Diaspora, homeland and communication technologies,‖ in Karim H.

Karim (ed.), The Media of Diaspora: Mapping the Globe, Routledge,

2003, pp. 76-88.

―Lapdogs or watchdogs,‖ University of Toronto Bulletin, Vol. 56, No.

16, April 7, 2003, p. 11.

In Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, Berkshire Reference

Works/Scribners, 2002, USA:

―Language purification,‖ Vol. 3, p. 442

―Mass media --West Asia,‖ Vol. 4, pp. 114-15

―Self-censorship,‖ Vol. 5, p. 145

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, (with S. Blum),

London, Macmillan, 2001:

―Kamkars,‖ Vol. 13, p. 343.

―Said Ali Asghar Kurdistani,‖ Vol. 14, pp. 41-42.

―Mihammad Mamili,‖ Vol. 15, p. 718.

―Miryam Khan,‖ Vol. 16, p. 752.

―Şivan Perwer,‖ Vol. 19, p. 477.

―Naser Razzazi,‖ Vol. 20, p. 890.

―Homeland and Hostland: Iranian press in Canada,‖ ISIM

[International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World]

Newsletter, No. 8, September, pp. 1, 34.

―Modernity, popular sovereignty and the Kurdish question: A

rejoinder to Argun,‖ Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 19, No.

1, 1999, pp. 105-114.

―Satellite footprints as national borders: Med-TV and the

extraterritoriality of state sovereignty,‖ Journal of Muslim Minority

Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1998, pp. 53-72.

―The MED-TV story,‖ InteRadio: The Magazine of the World

Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, Vol. 10, No. 2,

December, pp. 8-9.

"Majority censorship, minority broadcasting", @ contribution to the

Virtual Conference: The Right to Communicate and the

Communication of Rights, May 11-June 26, 1998, Translated into

Turkish: ―Çoğunluk sansürü, azınlık yayımcılığı,‖ translator Ömer

Kurhan, Vesta (Istanbul), Fall 2003, No.1, pp. 264-76.

"Med-TV, Großbritannien und der türkische staat: Die suche einer

staatenlosen nation nach souveränität am äther‖ (MED-TV, Britain

and the Turkish state: A stateless nation's quest for sovereignty in the

sky), in Ethnizität, Nationalismus, Religion und Politik in Kurdistan,

edited by C. Brock, E. Savelsberg and S. Hajo, Münster, Germany,

Lit Verlag, 1997, pp. 239-78.

In Encyclopedia of Television, H. Newcomb (ed.), Chicago, Fitzroy

Dearborn Publishers:

―Captioning," Vol. 1, pp. 310-311

―Dubbing," Vol. 1, p. 533

―Language and television," Vol. 2, pp. 923-26

―Subtitling," Vol. 3, pp. 1590-91

―Voice-over,‖ Vol. 3, p. 1775.

"The creation of Kurdish media culture," in P. Kreyenbrock & C.

Allison (eds.), Kurdish Culture and Identity, London, Zed Books Ltd,

1996, pp. 48-84.

―Sovereignty in the sky," War Report [London, Institute for War and

Peace Reporting], No. 47, November/December, pp. 44-45.

"‗The morning of freedom rose up‘: Kurdish popular songs and the

exigencies of cultural survival," (with S. Blum), Popular Music, Vol.

15, No. 3, pp. 325-43.

Review of The Making of Exile Cultures: Iranian Television in Los

Angeles (by H. Naficy, Minneapolis, The University of Minnesota

Press, 1994), in Iranian Studies, Vol. 29, Nos. 3-4, pp. 378-81.

Getting the Real Story: Censorship and Propaganda in South Africa

(Edited by G. Sperling & J. McKenzie. Calgary, Alberta: Detseling

Enterprises Ltd., 1990) in Canadian Journal of Communication, 1993,

Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 247-49

Questions and Theory

Farhang-e estelahat-e falsaf-e va te‘ori (Dictionary of Philosophical

and Theoretical terms) published in Bazr, 2007:

―Chap va rast‖ [Left and Right], Bazr, No. 19, June (Tir)

2007, pp. 6-9

―Tabaghe, Part I‖ [Social class], Bazr, No. 21, November

2007, pp. 14-17.

―Tabaghe, Part II‖ [Social class], Bazr, No. 24, February 2008,

pp. 14-17.

Review of Slavoy Žižek‘s books: V.I. Lenin, Revolution at the Gates

(Verso, 2004); Maximilien Robspierre, Virtue and Terror (Verso,

2007); Mao Tse-Tung, On Practice and Contradiction (Verso, 2007),

Saamaan No, No. 2, pp. 200-213.

―Kurd êste tenya….,‖ Rojhelat (Sanandaj, Iran), No. Zero, 19

January 2004, p. 10; ―Kam modêrnîite?...,‖ No. 3, p. 11

"Kurdayetî w kêşey tiyorî: Kurd wek netewey medenî" [Kurdish

nationalism and the question of theory: Kurds as a civic nation],

Havîbûn, No. 9, 2001, pp. 6-27.

"Kurdayetî w kêşey tiyorî" [Kurdish nationalism and the question of

theory], Havîbûn, No. 6, 1999, pp. 10-18.

"Kurdayetî w kêşey tiyorî" [Kurdish nationalism and the question of

theory], Havîbûn, Nos. 2-3, 1998, pp. 26-30; No. 4, 1998, pp. 10-19.

―Çend basî tiyorî sebaret be mêjûy rojnamegerî kurdî" [Some

theoretical debates about the history of Kurdish journalism], Gzing,

No. 20, Summer 1377/1998, pp. 8-13.

Interviews

―Kurd va andisheye chap‖ [Kurds and left thought], Rojav [Tehran],

Nos. 5-6, Winter and Spring 2007, pp. 245-54.

―Tiyorî w mêjûy mîdiya‖ [Theory and history of media], Rojhelat,

2006, No. 61, p. 11; No. 62, pp. 11-12

―Bo kurdi tene azadiya miringe heye‖ [For Kurdish there is only the

freedom to die], interview by Mazlum Dogan, in Tiroj, Vol. 3, No. 13,

April 2005, pp. 24-26.

―Amrazî rageyandinî giştî w kêşey deselat‖ [Mass media and the

question of power], Kurdistani New (Nö) (Kurdish Daily, Sulemani,

Iraq), No. 3743, Aug 8, p. 9.

―Witûwêjêî govarî Pêşrew le gel…‖ [Interview of Peshraw magazine

with…], Peshrew (Persian biweekly): No. 210, Sep 1-15, pp. 4-6; No.

211, Sep 15-30, pp. 5-6 [on mass media]

―Negahi be kuch-e Marivan va jonpesh-ha-ye dehghan-i-ye

Kordestan‖ [A look at the decampment of (the people of) Marivan

and the peasant movements of Kurdistan], Haghighat, No. 25,

November 2005, pp. 9-12.

―Iranian Kurds,‖ Shahrvand (English Section), May 31, 2005.

―Barî êstey Êraq‖ [The present situation in Iraq], Payam (Gotenberg,

Sweden), June, Part I: No. 11, pp. 2, 6; Part II: No. 12, August, pp. 2-

3, 8; Part III: ?; Part IV: No. 15, October 2004, pp. 2-3.

―Dar rabete ba hamle-ye nezami-ye Amrika be ‗Aragh, owza‘e ati va

mas‘ale-ye Kord‖ [About the military offensive of the US against

Iraq, the forthcoming situation, and the Kurdish question], Jahan-e

Emrouz, No. 103, First Half of April 2003/Nime-ye avval-e farvardin

1982, pp. 2-3.

―Mellat, mas‘ale-ye melli va jonbesh-ha-ye melli-ye Kordestan‖

[Nation, the national question and the nationalist movements of

Kurdistan], Jahan-e Emrouz, No. 36, January 1999/Dey 1377.

Translated into Kurdish by Hêdî, ―Netewe, w meseley neteweyî w

bizûutnewe neteweîyekanî Kurdistan,‖ Gzing, No. 23, Spring 1378

(1999), pp. 5-11.

―Witûwêjêk sebaret be zimanewanî w edebî Kurdewarî‖ [An

interview about linguistics and Kurdish literature], Gzing (Cultural

magazine, Sweden), No. 1, November, 1993, pp. 6-10.

―Divê azadîya her lehçêyê hebe‖ [Every dialect should enjoy

freedom], Armanc (Literary, Cultural Monthly, Stockholm), Hejmar

134, Çileya Pêşîn/December 1992, rûpel 6-7.

Cecil John Edmonds (1889-1979)

Cecil John Edmonds (Kurdish: Sisîl Jan

Idmonds, a Royal British diplomat was born

26 October 1889, youngest son of Revd.

Walter and Laura Edmonds. He was Educated

at Bedford School; Christ‘s Hospital and

Pembroke College, Cambridge. Edmonds

Joined Levant Consular Service as student interpreter. In 1910 he was

acting Vice-Consul, Bushire. In 1913 he became Assistant Political

Officer in Mesopotamia, and 1915 (Temp. Captain), South West

Persia. Edmonds served as Political Officer, British Forces North

West Persia in 1917.

He became an important factor in Kurdistan modern history when in

1919 was pointed as Special Duty in S. Kurdistan. Edmonds became

the Divisional Adviser and Administrative Inspector in the Kirkuk

and Suleimani provinces under Iraq Govt. in 1922. These are the year

after match of World War I when the Ottoman empire (1299–1923)

dissolved and new nations were born in Middle East.

Edmonds was given the position of Political Officer with military

columns in Kurdistan in 1924. He was an skilled linguist with good

knowledge in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Kurdish which gave him

the opportunity to become Liaison Officer with League of Nations

Commission of Inquiry into frontier between Iraq and Turkey in 1925.

This is the time when he became a close friend of Colonel Tofiq

Wahby (1891-1984) a native Kurdish officer from Ottoman army in

Suleimani. Their relation had a great impact in Wahby's work for

codifying the Kurdish written language. The Kurdish aspiration for

nation building did miss one crucial factor namely an official

administration language.

Edmonds‘ emphasis on the need to unify the Kurdish language by

turning Middle Kurdish (Soranî) into the official dialect in southern

Kurdistan was meant to establish Kurdish on the same footing as

Arabic and to dismiss the governments attempt to undermine its

political importance. Edmonds was also the first scholar to transcribe

Kurdish into Latin characters, as no offcial Kurdish alphabet existed.

He believed it was important to use the Latin alphabet in order to

distinguish Kurdish from the area's two dominant vernaculars, Arabic

and Persian.

Edmindes influence led to introducing of first ever Kurdish alphabet

which was dominated by English Latin based alphabet. The strongest

and most effective opponent to the proposed Alphabet for Kurdish

was the Iraqi government, which rejected alphabet reform or change

as an expression of Kurdish particularism or "separatism." Among the

Kurds themselves, opposition came from two sources. A conservative

group opposed Romanization because of either religious

considerations or their links with the central government (Jemal

Nebez 1957). The religious opponents chanted En ' Latînî ye, Ladînî

ye ' This Latinization is irreligiosity' (Jemal Nebez 1976). Edmonds

wrote several articles on Kurdish language codification with Latin

alphabet. The most influential on was "Suggestions for the Use of

Latin Character in the Writing of Kurdish" published in The Journal

of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, January 1931.

Edmonds became the Assistance Adviser of the Ministry of Interior in

Iraq in 1926. His influential position made him a Consular in 1928.

His expertise was needed in every frontier of new born nations in

Middle East under British mandate. He then became the British

Assessor at the League of Nations Commission of Inquiry into the

frontier between Iraq and Syria in 1932. Member Of Demarcation

Commission of Iraqi-Syrian Frontier in 1933. Later same year he was

appointed to Advisory of the Ministry For Foreign Affairs in Iraq in

1933. Member of Iraqi Delegation to the League of Nations in 1932-

38. Right before and during World War II he held the position of

Adviser to the Ministry of the Interior Iraq 1935-45.

Edmonds served the United Kingdom in years to come as Consul-

General in 1937, CMG 1941, UK Permanent Delegate to International

Refugee Organisation in 1947, and Minister in HM Foreign Service in

1948 till he was retired in 1950.

Edmondes used his expertise from Kurdistan when he became a

Lecturer in Kurdish at SOAS between 1951-57. He managed to

publish a Kurdish English dictionary with Wahby in 1966. Edmondes

died in 11 June 1979.

Publication

"Suggestions for the Use of Latin Character in the Writing of

Kurdish" published in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,

London, January 1931

"Some Developments in the use of Latin Character For the Writing of

Kurdish", The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, January

1933, pp.

"A Kurdish-English dictionary", T. Wahby and Cecil John Edmonds,

1966, Oxford Press

Sources:

Political thought and political history: studies in memory of Elie

Kedourie "Dating the past: C. J. Edmonds and the Invention of

Modern Iraq", 2003

David Neil MacKenzie (1926-2001)

Prof. , linguist: born London 8 April 1926;

Lecturer in Kurdish, Soas, London

University 1955-61, Lecturer in Iranian

Languages 1961-65, Reader 1965-75;

Professor, Göttingen University 1975-94

(Emeritus); FBA 1996; married 1951 Gina

Schaefer (three sons, one daughter; marriage dissolved 1981), 1981

Gabriela Hoffmann (marriage dissolved 1988); died Bangor,

Gwynedd 13 October 2001.

D. N. MacKenzie was a polyglot whose linguistic knowledge was

remarkable in both range and depth. Generally recognised as the

world's leading authority on modern Kurdish and medieval

Khwarezmian, he also made distinguished contributions to the study

of many other Iranian languages, including Pashto, Pahlavi and

Sogdian, at the same time displaying enviable competence in non-

Iranian languages such as Arabic and Chinese.

Neil MacKenzie – he never used his first name, David – was born in

London in 1926 and attended a succession of schools in Slough,

Windsor and Cambridge before enlisting as a "boy soldier" in 1943.

During the two years preceding the partition of India in 1947 he was

stationed in the North-West Frontier Province, where he learned

Pashto and thus became interested in the Iranian family of languages.

On his return to civilian life he enrolled at the

School of Oriental and African Studies in

London, where he graduated with a BA in

Persian and an MA in Old and Middle Iranian.

After fieldwork in Kurdistan, MacKenzie

obtained his PhD in 1957 with a thesis later

published as Kurdish Dialect Studies (1961-62).

This work provided for the first time a sound

basis for a classification of the numerous dialects of Kurdish.

Together with a series of early articles on the history of Kurdish and

its relationship to other West Iranian languages it immediately

established MacKenzie's reputation both as an Iranist and as a general

linguist.

MacKenzie had been appointed Lecturer in Kurdish at Soas in 1955,

but the title did not do justice to the breadth of his interests. In 1961 it

was changed to Lecturer in Iranian Languages and in 1965 he was

promoted to Reader. During the Sixties he wrote and published

important books on Pashto literature and on the Gorani dialect of

Awroman as well as on Kurdish, his ever- expanding range giving the

lie to a former colleague's description of "poor MacKenzie" as "the

man who knows all the dialects and none of the languages", a phrase

that he enjoyed quoting.

At the same time he began to turn his attention to earlier Iranian

languages, immersing himself successively in Middle Persian or

Pahlavi (together with Judaeo-Persian and other archaic forms of

Persian), Sogdian and Khwarezmian.

A particularly important achievement was his elaboration of the first

scientific system of transcribing Pahlavi. This system, presented in

two modestly titled works, "Notes on the Transcription of Pahlavi"

(an article in the Soas Bulletin, 1967) and A Concise Pahlavi

Dictionary (1971), has since been widely adopted. The modesty was

typical of a scholar who never took his scholarship too seriously and

who once wrote of his work:

At times I think that etymology should be classed as a "social disease"

– perhaps requiring one to ring a little bell to warn the healthy.

In 1975 MacKenzie was appointed to the Chair of Oriental Philology

at the University of Göttingen, an appointment which was all the

more gratifying because he thus became the successor (at several

removes) of F.C. Andreas, the teacher of his own much-revered

mentor, W.B. Henning. During his 20 years in Göttingen his

productivity continued unabated, and by 1990 he had 10 books to his

credit as sole or joint author.

MacKenzie's scholarly output was substantial by any standards. It

would surely have been even more so if he had not devoted so much

of his time to the work of others. He was the de facto editor of many

important publications, though seldom credited as such on the title-

page. Having acquired a personal computer earlier than most in his

field, he came to be known as an expert in the production of camera-

ready copy, a chore which he generously undertook for many pupils

and colleagues.

An upholder of the highest standards of scholarship, MacKenzie was

fearsome as an examiner or reviewer. His criticism could be caustic,

since he detested sloppiness and had no time for tactful

circumlocutions; but those who had the courage to submit their work

to him in advance of publication knew that it would be worth their

while to endure a certain amount of mortification for the sake of his

penetrating comments. A friend once wrote that MacKenzie's

"spirited directness of speech" was respected by those who knew him

well as an indication of his personal integrity. One aspect of this

integrity was to apply the same standards to his own work as to

others', to accept criticism and admit mistakes, often with self-

deprecating humour.

After his retirement in 1994 MacKenzie settled in North Wales. His

return to Britain was immediately followed by his election as a Fellow

of the British Academy. He had already been honoured in 1991 by a

Festschrift, Corolla Iranica, and in 1999 his collected papers, Iranica

Diversa, were published in two volumes. In retirement he was not

content to rest on his laurels but continued to seek new challenges,

investigating the little-known Zaza language at the same time as

working on a longstanding project, the compilation of a Khwarezmian

dictionary.

It is a matter of extreme regret that the latter remains unfinished.

Source: Nicholas Sims-Williams, Professor D. N. MacKenzie, The

Independent, 22 October 2001

List of Publications

Bāǰalānī, D. N. MacKenzie, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and

African Studies, University of London, Vol. 18, No. 3, In Honour of J.

R. Firth (1956), pp. 418-435 (article consists of 18 pages)

Kurdish dialect studies, 2 vol., London: Oxford University Press,

1961-62.

The Language of the Medians, In BSOAS 22, 1959, pp. 354-55.

Reviewed work(s): A Kurdish Grammar: Descriptive Analysis of the

Kurdish of Sulaimaniya, Iraq by Ernest N. McCarus, Bulletin of the

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol.

22, No. 1/3 (1959), pp. 591-592

Zoroastrian Astrology in the Bundahishn, BSOAS, 27, 3, 1964, 511-

29.

The Origins of Kurdish, In Transactions of the Philological Society,

pp. 68-86, 1961

The Dialect of Awroman (Hawrâman-î Luhôn). Grammatical Sketch,

Texts, and Vocabulary, Københaven, 1966.

The ―Sûtra of the Causes and Effects of Actions‖ in Sogdian, London,

1970.

A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary, Oxford University Press, London,

1971.

The Buddist Sogdian Texts of the British Library, Acta Iranica, 10,

Téhéran-Liège, 1976.

The Khwarezmian element in the Qunyat al-munya, Author: Zahidi

al-Ghazmini, Mukhtar ibn Mahmud, d. 1260, 1990.

Corolla Iranica, Papers in honour of Prof. Dr. David Neil MacKenzie

on the occasion of his 65th birthday on the eighth of April 1991, ed.

R.E. Emmerick and D. Weber, Frankfurt am Main, 1991.

Iranica Diversa, 2 vols., SOR, LXXXIV, 1-2, Roma, 1999.

Hassan Ghazi (1946)

Hassan Ghazi (Kurdish: Hesen Qazî, was

born in the city of Mahabad (Sablax) in

Mukriyan Province. He was born in the

residency of the president of Kurdistan

Republic of 1946, Qazi Muhammad. Like

many Kurdish intellectuals of his time he has

been forced to spend most of his adult life in exile. His long life

passion for linguistic research started early in his life when he

collected Kurdish ballads and words in Mukriyan villages and

studied their etymological roots. In early 70s he was honoured to be

one of few students of Kurdish legendary linguist T. Wehbi in

London. He says "T. Wehbi was an amazing teacher. In his class

everything was about "purity "of Kurdish language and deep studies

of words and their etymological roots. He was very much concerned

with Kurdish phonetics in his lectures, a subject which most of the

students found difficult".

H. Ghazi has published several dictionaries such as a Swedish-

Kurdish dictionary compiled with Hiwa Cardoi. He also has managed

to publish a few Swedish-Persian and Swedish – Kurdish Social and

political terminology booklets . Hassan Ghazi have translated

numerous information material from Swedish into Kurdish for the

benefit of Kurdish refugees in Sweden. In 1993 he he managed to

publish a translation of the "A new approach to Grammar" by Dr

Muhammad Reza Batini which mainly deals with Chomskiyan

Generative Grammar. He worked as a lecturer at teacher training

school in Stockholm 1986-1987. Ghazi was a Kurdish expert for

evaluating the Kurdish literature at Swedish Cultural Council for 4

years .He has translated into Kurdish a great number of Professor

Martin van Bruinessen's (masterly) essays on Kurdish society from

English into Kurdish and have published them in numerous Kurdish

reviews in Europe. He has worked as program producer and presenter

for couple of Kurdish satellite TV for many years. His program

focused on the scholarly approach to Kurdish issue in particular on

Sociology and linguistics. Among his famous interviews were the

panel with Dr. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas the world renowned expert on

bilingualism and linguistic Human rights, Prof. Amir Hassanpour,

Prof. Martin van Bruinessen, Prof. Kemal Mezher Ahmad and

Iranian linguist and philosopher Dariush Ashuri (please view this

program on Google video), just to name a few.

Hassan Ghazi have been a member of editorial board of several

Kurdish journals. His translations contributed to several Kurdish

coinages in Kurdish which are now popularly used in middle-Kurdish

written language such as "Mangile" for satellite, "péshwecún " for

development and "naséne" for identity. Even the terms "Syd" and

"Nord Kurdiska" ( Southern and Northern Kurdish) is his contribution

to enhance Swedish vocabulary.

Hassan Ghazi is fluent in 5 languages namely Kurdish, Persian,

Swedish, English and Turkish which has enabled him to translate

more than 70 scholarly essays and articles related to different aspect

of Kurdish issues from English, Swedish, Persian and Azerbaijani

Turkish into Kurdish.

In Ghazi's view many obstacles in Kurdish linguistic studies

particularly in Iraqi Kurdistan which Kurdish is recognized as one of

the two official and state languages there is due to the lack of

knowledge about sociolinguistics.

Right now he is working on a pictorial history of Kurdistan republic

of 1946.

List of Publications (to be completed)

Zorbey zimane zînduwekan fire stendard u fire nawend in, Rojhname

No. 228, 26/05/2008

Yexirbun biyutuhum bi eydîhum, Rojname No.#, 14/04/2008

Pévajhoy stendard búnî shéwazekan berdewame, Hawlatî No.423,

18/5/ 2008, p18

Swedish- Kurdish Social terminology, 1993

A New Approach to Grammar, 1993

Swedish-Kurdish Dictionary, co-author Hiwa Cardoi, 1992

Swedish-Persian Social terminology, 1992

Edited Kurdish phonetics by Dr.Kemal Foad, Arzan publishing

House, Sweden, 1985

Ibrahim Amin Balldar (1920-1998)

Ibrahim Amin Baldar (Kurdish: Îbrahîm Emîn

Balldar, was born in 1920 in the city of

Sulaimaniya/Silémanî, the capital of native

Baban province in Kurdistan. He is the

legendary author to the first official Kurdish

textbook "Elfubéy Niwé" published in 1951.

Balldar finished his primary and secondary school in his hometown of

Silémanî. He continued his education at the rural teachers school of

Rustamiyya/Rostamia, receiving his diploma in 1940. He began his

professional career as a teacher in the villages around Silémanî.

Balldar taught in district villages in Hawraman, Surdash, Péjhdar,

Soran as well as Sharîzor. This imparted to young Balldar the

practical experience with teaching in a rural setting with a very low

literacy tradition.

Balldar was a passionate schoolteacher who was eager to go the extra

distance to be more productive. He was only 31 years of age, when

the Iraqi ministry of Education accepted the reformed Kurdo-Arabic

writing system for Kurdish language. Balldar published the first

standard Kurdish textbook Elfubéy Niwé (―The New Alphabet‖) for

primary schools in 1951. This textbook has been upgraded and

republished over 36 times. This book is a turning point in Kurdish

history of education. Many great Kurdish scholars of have ever since

began their elementary school education with this same textbook.

His ambitions for higher education led him to enter the Trade and

Economy School in Baghdad in the middle of 1950s where he

received his Bachelor degree. In early 1960s he was accepted to study

in a masters program at the San Francisco State Teachers College.

After his study in the USA he returned to his hometown and started

work as lecturer at the Department of Literature of the newly-

established University of Silémanî in 1968.

The University of Silémanî was transferred to Arbil/Hewlér and

renamed The University of Salahaddin in 1981. Balldar continued his

career as lecturer in that university until late 1980s. Balldar then

moved to Baghdad and continued his career at the Al-Mustansiriya

University.

Balldar died on Friday the 10th of July 1998 in his home in Baghdad.

His ashes were buried in Gardi Saywan cemetery in Silémanî.

Fig 1: The reformed Arabic alphabet for Middle Kurdish in Balldar's

Textbook "Elfubéy Niwé" in 1951

Fig 2: The revised alphabet in Balldar's Textbook "Elfubéy Niwé" in

1960 edition

Publication

I.A. Balldar, Elfubéy Niwé (New Alphabet), Ed 1, Najah Press,

Baghdad, 1951

I.A. Balldar, Elfubéy bo gewran (Alphabet for Adult), Ed 1, Baghdad,

1955

I.A. Balldar, Elfubêy Niwé (New Alphabet), Ed 2, Furat Press,

Baghdad, 1960

I.A. Balldar, Al-Libinye Al-medresye Al-medaris Al-Ibtdayiye ( االبنیه

Ed 1, Baghdad, 1965 ,(للمدارس االبتدائیه المدرسیه

I.A. Balldar, Mashákil al-kutub al-dirásîyya al-Kurdîyya (Problems of

Kurdish textbooks), Journal of Kurdish Academy, Vol. 14, 1986, pp.

232-247

I.A. Balldar, Elfubéy Niwé, Ed 34, Apec Förlag AB Press, Sweden,

1999 , (KAL's note: This edition of the book has been convreted

into Yekgirtú Alphabet by Dr D. Roshani)

Jamal Nabaz (1933)

Prof. Jamal Nabaz (Kurdish: Jemal Nebez, was

born on the 1st of December 1933 in Silémanî

in Baban province in Kurdistan (Iraqi

Kurdistan) as the son of a tolerant Muslim

scholar who raised Jemal in a multilingual

environment. Parallel to attending the public schools in Iraq he had

the opportunity to study Islamic law, philosophy and theology with

his father and other well known scholars of the time.

As a young scholar Jemal noticed, that not only the political situation

of Kurdistan but also the Kurdish language were in a holistic

situation. If the political situation was to change, then a reform of the

Kurdish language was an absolute necessity also.

Dr Nebez wrote many essays on the political, social and human rights

of the Kurds in Arabic Iraqi newspapers. One of these publications

was a critical article published in spring 1954 in "Sawt al-Ahali"

(voice of the population). The article took up the issue related to a

press-interview given by Celal Bayar -the president of Turkey at the

time- during his visit to the United States. Bayar allegedly denied the

existence of any other ethnic groups but Turks in Turkey.

During the two years he had taught in Kirkuk, he created the basis for

the first physics and mathematics books in the Kurdish language. In

1956, he prepared a stencilled script on Algebra and in 1960,

succeeded in publishing the first physics book in Kurdish under the

title, "Introduction into the Mechanics and Properties of Matter",

including a rich glossary of Kurdish terms pertaining to physics and

mathematics. In the course of his sojourn in Damascus, he managed to

write a booklet in Arabic on "The Kurdish Freedom Movement and

its Aims" in 1957. He published another book in the same year, titled

"Kurdish in Latin Script", in Baghdad.

Dr. Nebez has constantly advocated for a Kurdish Unified Alphabet

as a core solution for Kurdish linguistic issues. His proposal was

published in his book "Zimanî Yekgirtúy Kurdî "Towards a Unified

Kurdish Language" in 1997. He emphases in a conference speech in

Paris in 1993 that:

Because the Kurds write in various scripts this causes an obstacle for

the exchange of their linguistic products. As a student, I was already

of the conviction - which I have held to this day - that the lack of a

single, unified alphabet constitutes a great calamity for the

Kurdish people. The introduction of a mutual alphabet would

lead to better communication amongst Kurds and contribute to a

convergence of the various dialects and modes of expression. I am

talking here of convergence and not of absolute unification. A

unified Language needs a unified grammar of which there is none

today. So much more important is the matter of a single, unified

alphabet. I was, and still am, of the opinion that the Latin

alphabet must be reformed and promoted. The promotion of the

writing of the Kurdish language in the Latin alphabet does not

mean that its writing in the Oriental script should be completely

ignored.

Source: "The Kurdish Language from Oral Tradition to Written

Language", Paris, Conference on " The Kurdish language toward the

year 2000", 28/11/1993

He has published many books on Kurdish

language and he also translated some literary

works, including works of Gogol and

Shakespeare into Kurdish. His latest book

"Kurd dîrúk ú kultura wan" in North Kurdish

has been published by Avesta Book. Callers are

able to download an English essay on this book

"The Kurds: History and Culture" as an PDF e-

Book at the bottom of this page. Please see list of publications below.

Publications

Cirokî Gerdaweke "The Tempest". Translation of William

Shakespeare‘s play into Kurdish, Baghdad 1955.

Lalo Kerim "Uncle Kerim". A Kurdish novel, published in Hewlér

1956, second edition in Stockholm 1986.

Xiwéndewaré be Zimanî Kurdî "Primary Education in the Kurdish

Language". On Problems of Schooling and Learning and How to

Solve Them, Baghdad 1957, Second Edition in Stockholm 1987,

Nusînî Kurdî be Latînî "Writing Kurdish in Latin Letters", Capxaney

Me‘arif, Baghdad 1957.

Wergérran Hunere "Translation is an Art", Silémanî, Capxaney Jhîn,

1958.

Palto "The Coat". Translation of Nikolai Gogol‘s novel into Kurdish,

from Arabic and English, Baghdad 1958.

Seretay Mîkanîk ú Xomallekanî Made "Introduction into the

mechanics and properties of matter", Baghdad 1960.

Kurdische Schriftsprache. Eine Chrestomathie moderner Texte.

"Kurdish Written Language. A Collection of Modern Texts",

Hamburg: Buske Verlag, 1969.

Sprichwörter und Redensarten aus Kurdistan "Proverbs and Stock

Phrases from Kurdistan", Munich, National Union of Kurdish

Students in Europe NUKSE, 1970.

Der Kurdische Fürst Mir-i Kora (Rawandizi) im Spiegel der

Morgenländischen und Abendländischen Quellen "The Kurdish

Prince Mir-i Kora (Rawandizi) in the Light of Oriental and Occidental

Sources". A Scientific Contribution to the Kurdish History, Hamburg

1970. Translated into Arabic by Fakhri Salaschor, Publication of the

Academy of Science and Art, Stockholm and Hawler 1994.

Kurdische Märchen und Volkserzählungen "Kurdish Fairytales and

Folktales", published by the National Union of Kurdish Students in

Europe NUKSE in Bamberg 1972.

Zimanî Yekgirtúy Kurdî "Towards a Unified Kurdish Language",

published by the National Union of Kurdish Students in Europe -

NUKSE in Germany 1976. Second Edition by the Seyidiyan

Publishing House in Mehabad in 1979.

Hendék le Késhe Binretékanî Qutabxaney Kurdî Sosiyalizm "Some

Fundamental Considerations of the Kurdish School of Socialism",

Stockholm 1984. Second Edition published in Hewler 2001.

Govari Komonistawey‚ Yekétîy Tékoshîn‗ (1944-1945) ú Îdyolojhîy

Xurdeborjhway Marksistî Kurd "The Communist Kurdish Journal

"Yekîtîy Tékoshîn" [Unification of Struggle] in 1944-45 and the

Ideology of the Petit Bourgeois-Marxist Kurds", Publication of the

Kurdish Academy of Science and Art, Stockholm 1988.

Rojhanî Awareyîm le Swîs "My Exile in Switzerland", memoirs of a

1962 sojourn in Geneva, published in Silémanî 1999 by "Binkey

Edebé ú Ronakbîrî Gelawéjh", "Gelawéjh Foundation for Literature

and Intellectuals".

Jeladet Bedir Xan (1893-1951)

Prince Jeladet Ali Bedir Khan (Kurdish: Mîr

Jeladet Alî Bedir Xan, also known as Mîr

Jeladet, was born 26th

April, 1893 in Kayseri, a

suburb of Istanbul, Turkey. He was the second

oldest son of Emîn Ali Bedir Xan and Senîha

Xanim Cerkez. His father, the son of the Emir of Bedir Xan, was a

famous politician at the time of the Ottoman Empire. For most of his

life, Jeladet Alî divided his time between France, Germany, and Syria.

He held a master's degree in law from Istanbul University and

completed his studies in Munich. A member of the European literati,

Jeladet spoke Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, German, French and possibly

Greek.

It is well documented that he and his younger brother Kamuran Alî

(1895-1978) accompanied Major Noel in his travels through

Kurdistan during 1919. Noel was a British intelligence officer whose

main assignment was to assess the possibility of the creation of an

official nation of Kurdistan. Major Noel was as pro-Kurdish as he was

anti-Kemalist.

Aware of the Bedir Xans' activities, Mustafa Kemal correctly accused

Jeladet and his brother Kamuran of opposing the Kemalist movement

in Anatolia. Jeladet left Turkey for Egypt in 1923 when the Kemalists

declared the new republic.

Jeladet's devotion to Kurdish nationalism is

reflected in his family life. His wife Rewshen,

a Bedir Xan herself, also took part in Kurdish

nationalist activities during the Turkish

Republican period in Syria (1920-24).

Rewshen continued to be a supporter of Kurdish nationalism after

Jeladet's death in a 1951 accident in Damascus. Jeladet and Rewshen

had two children, Jemshîd and Sinem Xan.

In 1821 Jeladet‘s grandfather, Emir of Bedir Xan, had become prince

of Botan. He was the scion of a family that traces its descent back to

the days when Abdul Aziz, son of the Khalif Umar, built the town of

Jezirat-ibn-Umar on the banks of the Tigris; it has been the capital of

the principality of Botan ever since.

Throughout the 19th century, a Kurdish national movement had been

gaining ground among Kurdish notables held in Residence FORCÉE

in Constantinople, and around 1887 they decided to publish a

newspaper to foster this movement. As this was impossible in Turkey,

Miqdad Alî Bedir Xan (Midhat Bey) escaped to Cairo, where he

published the first Kurdish paper, which he called KURDISTAN. Due

to the absence of an established alphabet and the turbulent times in

general, the first issue of KURDISTAN was not published until April

22, 1898. Miqdad Ali Bedir Xan wrote numerous times to the Sultan

of Istanbul for permission to publish his newspaper in Istanbul, but

always in vain. During the 4 years of its existence, KURDISTAN was

printed at different times in Egypt, England and Switzerland - where

the last two issues (31/32) were published on 14 March, 1902.

The rise to power of the Committee of Union and Progress, and its

publication of the new Turkish Constitution, induced the Bedir Xan

family to return to Constantinople, and in 1908 the Kurdish

nationalists formed a political society (the Kurdistan Taali ye Taraki

Jamiyati), of which Emîn Alî Bedir Xan (Amin Aali Bedr Khan) -

Jeladet's father - was a founder. For a while, this society was able to

work in the open with the apparent approval of the Young Turks, but

in 1912 it became clear to the Kurds that the C.U.P. meant to suppress

them. The society went underground and its leading members,

including Emîn Alî Bedir Xan, went abroad. When Mustafa Kemal

first came to power, he led the Kurds to expect a liberal policy

intended to assimilate all Kurds in Turkey into the Turkish nation.

The Bedir Xan family was again compelled to leave Turkey as exiles,

and they lived for a while in France and Germany. In 1927, at a

conference of Kurdish nationalists, a committee was formed, called

the Xoybún (Hoybun), to coordinate the movement. Jeladet Alî Bedir

Xan was elected as the first president of this committee.

Jeladet has told W.G. Elphinston that he had to work for a living

while he lived in exile, and that he worked as a gardener, a waiter, a

house-painter and a typesetter in a printing works. It was the

knowledge that he gained at this last occupation that enabled him to

single-handedly print and publish a Kurdish journal, HAWAR, when

in later years he lived in Damascus. He used his invented northern

Kurdish-Kurmanjî dialect of Jezire, a Latin-based scripting system

which is currently used as the standard northern Kurdish alphabet. He

published the Kurdish grammar lesson "Bingahîna réziman Kurdî"

through the paper. HAWAR was published from 1932 to 1935 and

from 1941 to 1943.

Jeladet's invented Latin-based script for the Kurdish language (North-

Kurdish dialect), which is still used among the North-Kurdish

speaking Kurds, shows various flaws, particularly regarding certain

sounds that exist in other dialects but have no written counterpart in

his alphabet. Take, for example, the trill /r/ and velar /l/, one needs to

be able to differentiate 'Ker' (donkey) from 'Ker' (deaf), and 'Gel'

(people) from 'Gel' (distance between the legs). ln any case, all these

publications and activities were forbidden when the French left the

territory. The French left Southwest Kurdistan without any particular

guarantees for the Kurds regarding the newly founded Arab nation of

Syria.

Jeladet sought cooperation with other Kurdish

scholars of his time, who were also looking for

a Kurdish scripting system. If he had succeeded,

the Kurdish people today would in all

probability have a better Latin alphabet. In

regard to this issue, J. Bedir Khan replied to a

reader's inquiries about unifying the written language system,

including cooperating with linguist T. Wahby, in HAWAR as follows:

"Yes, we are aware that the distinguished linguist, dear Tewfiq Wehbi

Bey has also codified an alphabet based on Latin characters.

We met once in Damascus, introduced our proposed alphabets to each

other and compared them together. There were some differences in

them. We both were interested in unifying and publishing our

alphabets as one version but at the time my dear beloved brother

indicated his alphabet was not ready yet and some more work was

needed to complete it. Therefore the unification of both alphabets was

delayed.

Tewfiq Wehbi Bey then returned to Iraq where, as you all know,

unpleasant events took place. In spite of all difficulties I sent him

several letters, but I did not hear from him. Later I realized that my

letters have not reached him. Indeed the publication of "Hawar" was

delayed for this reason. "Hawar" came out in May but I have had

permission to publish since 26 October 1931 and was ready for the

publication of the first issue by February. On four occasions I waited

so the dear brother (T. Wehbi) and I could together introduce

such a version of alphabet that would prevent any future

disagreements. As I said above I did not get any response. I could not

wait any longer.

That is why we started to publish "Hawar" and we introduced our own

alphabet to both Kurds and others. We now have an achievement at

hand, an alphabet and a magazine. For me the most appropriate

thing for the time being would be to do our best in order to

advance this alphabet until such a day that circumstances leave us

no choice but to modify it.

Having said that I must reiterate, that we are always eager to achieve

unity and the aim of our endeavour is exactly that. We are advancing

with steadfastly steps towards our aim and we will not stop. As our

initiative has already been delayed, we can no longer afford to wait

any longer.

Many thanks to dear Pirot who presented the opportunity for me to

explain the issue.

Jeladet Alî Bedir - Xan, "Hawar" : Issue 9, 30 Sep 1932 (see exact

full text in North Kurdish)

Jeladet concentrated then on the development of Kurdish culture, and

in his publications HAWAR and RONAHI - the latter being

illustrated - he strove for a cultural unity among the Kurds by

reminding them of their old traditions and their folklore.

Jeladet believed that Kurdish language could play a major role in

unifying the Kurds and their struggles for the right to self-

determination. He lived in an era (post-World War I) when on the

Kurds repeatedly lost the chance to establish their own country

because they were so disunited in voice. As he replied to another

reader on the issue of the great Kurdish homeland:

"As I have noted before, the Kurdish nation will converge via a

unified Kurdish language. The prerequisite of a unified Kurdish

language is a unified Kurdish alphabet. This means that the Kurdish

scholars and the literati need to develop a writing system that allows

all speakers hailing from every Kurdish dialect to use that writing

system."

Jeladet Alî Bedir - Xan, "Hawar" : Issue 9, 30 Sep 1932 (see exact

full text in North Kurdish)

When the war was over, Jeladet remained in Damascus - but his

brother Kamuran Bey went to Paris, where he opened a Bureau of

Kurdish Studies, from which he hoped to keep the Kurdish question

alive in the western world. He addressed a petition to the Secretary of

the United Nations asking that the principles of the Atlantic Charter

and of the Charter of the United Nations Organization be applied to

the Kurdish minorities in Turkey, Persia and Iraq. The first official

map of Kurdistan presented by the Bureau of Kurdish Studies and the

Kurdish League Xoybún (Khoybun) to the San Francisco Conference

on March 30, 1945.

Publications

Nivêjên Êzidiyan (The prayers of Yazidis)

Ji Mesela Kurdistanê (About the Kurdistan Problem), in Hawar

journal, vol.45

Elfabêya Kurdî û Bingehên gramera kurdmancî (Kurdish Alphabet

and The Basics of Kurmanji Grammar)

Djeladet Ali Bedir Khan, Roger Lescot, "Grammaire kurde: (dialect

kurmandji), Paris: J. Maisonneuve, (Librairie d'Amerique et d'Orient),

1991. (also Paris : Maisonneuve, 1970.

Melayé Jezîrî (1570 - 1640)

Mela Ehmed Jezîrî (Mela Ahmad

Jaziri) known as Melay Jezîrî

(1570 - 1640) was born in Jizîre,

Girdîyan province in Kurdistan

(today's Mardin).

Osman Sabri (1905-1993)

Osman Sabri (Kurdish: Osman Sebrî, Osman

Sebrî, was born in 1905 in the village of Narinj

in vicinity of major town of Adiyaman, in

Kowan Province in Kurdistan. He was among

the pioneer Kurdish journalist who realised the

importance of the Kurdish pen in Kurdish political struggles. Sabri

and his family were involved in the revolt led by Sheikh Said Piran of

1880-1925. The revolt was crushed by the massive military pressure

of new state of Turkey. Sheikh Said Piran was hanged by Turkish

army in 1925. His last words was "I can live without bread, but can

not live without freedom".

Sabri was a student of such rebellion philosophy and could not

compromise his national identity in his work and writing. Due to his

political views he was arrested and imprisoned at the age of 23 in

1928 in Denizli. After release he moved to Syria and later on to Iraq

in 1929. After the fall of Othman Empire in 1918 and creation of the

new military state of Turkey many Kurdish intellectuals and activist

such as: Jeladet Alî Bedir Xan, Jegerxwîn, Tîréjh and Qedrîjan. They

found Khoybun (Xoybún) in 1927 which was the first Kurdish

political party of Kurdish modern history. This circle of Kurdish

intellectual played a great role in Sabir's work as writer and intellect.

The Xoybún movement established the independent Republic of

Ararat (1927-1930). The young Sabri tried to join the revolt in Mount

Ararat when he was arrested by the British authorities in Mosul. Sabri

was released in 1935 and exiled by the British to Madagascar in 1936.

He went to Lebanon in 1937 and devoted more time to Kurdish

writing and publications in Beirut. He took part in establishing the

"Kurdish Democratic Party of Syria" (Partiya Demokrat a Kurd li

Súriyeyé) in 1957 and was elected as the secretary general of the

party. Due to his political activities, he was arrested and imprisoned

several times until 1972.

Sabri joined his views with J.A. Bedir Xan on the role of Kurdish

library and the effect of social awareness in mother tongue education.

He actively wrote in newly introduced Latin based alphabet of J.A.

Bedir Xan (1931). His poems become among the first published

Kurdish poetry in Latin based Kurdish alphabet. After the sudden

death of J.A. Bedir Xan in 1951 he published a book on Kurdish

writing practices "Elîfbeya Kurdî" in 1954 to promote the Kurdish

Latin based writing system. Sabri was died on 11th October 1993 in

Damascus, Syria.

Publication:

Sabri managed to publishe many articles in different Kurdish journals,

such as Hawar (1932-1943), Ronahî (1943), Roja Nû (1943), Hêviya

Welêt (in Europe, 1963), Çiya (in Europe, 1966), Hêvî (Paris, 1983),

Berbang (Sweden, 1983), Roja Nû (Sweden, 1979).

Books:

Elîfbeya Kurdî, 56 pp., Syria, 1955

Bahoz û çend nivîsarên din, 68 pp., 1956

Apo, ―Gotinên xav nepijîn bê tav‖, Germany, 1981

Elîfbêya Tikuz, 1982

Çar Leheng, Syira, 40 pp., 1984

Derdên me (gotar û helbest)

Dîwana Osman Sebrî (Collection of Poems), 215 pp., Stockholm,

1998

Bîranînên Osman Sebrî (Memoirs), 2003

Sa'id Kaban Sedqi (1866-?)

Sa'id Kaban Sedqi (kurdish: Se'îd Kaban Sidqî, was born in 1866 into

a religious family in Silémanî, Southern Kurdistan. He was very

young when his father, Mala Hassain, died. He then lived with a

relative, who encouraged him to study the Quran as well as Arabic,

Persian and Turkish. Kaban studied with Baba Sheikh Kurdistani, a

well-known teacher and religious scholar. In those days, Mosques and

Maktab "Hujra" (religious schools) were the only place that boys (not

girls) could get education.

Sa'id Kaban, after finishing his studies with Mala Kurdistani, entered

the Mala Azizi Mofti's Mosque to study and became an expert in

Arabic and Arabic literature. At the same time, he also attended Bin

Tabaq Mosque where he studied logic, Fiqh (Jurisprudence),

mathematics and geography.

Kaban showed a great interest in his studies and graduated as a Mula

at the age of 15. This was a great achievement in those days. He

received his certificate in December, 1910, wth highest honours in

Mosul, the capital of Wilayat Mosul of the Ottoman Empire.

The Young Turks' Mashrotiat revolution helped to open schools in

Silémanî, where Kaban became a primary school teacher. Because of

his achievements, Kaban was offered a post in Rushdia Military

School to teach Quran, religious studies and Persian studies.

After World War II, he became a teacher at the Tashwiqiya School,

which was opened by the British governors after they invaded

Kurdistan. From 1st January to 5th September 1919, Kaban was a

teacher in Saa'dat School; after 5th

September, until February 1925,

Kaban taught in the Mahmodia School, which was opened after the

new Kurdish Kingdom of Sheikh Mahmood Hafid in Silémanî was

established.

He taught at the Khalidia School from 1st June 1935 to 1st March

1936, when he retired. He was the headmaster of the Zanisti School

for a couple of years as well.

The Ottoman authorities had planted a myth amongst the Kurds,

saying that if anyone tried to tamper with the Arabic alphabet and

modify it for Kurdish, they would become Kafir (non-

believer/atheist). Kaban was the first one to clear this myth. As early

as 1920, he produced Gullzar (Flowergarden), a book which

explained the rules of Kurdish grammar; unfortunately, due to the

lack of publishing houses, it was not published. This did not stop the

manuscript from moving around in the intellectual circles, where it

had its impact. Kaban is the first person who modified Arabic ( ڕ (, ) ڵ

) and ( ێ ) to give Kurdish a trilled R, velar L and mid-front É.

Sa'id Kaban will be better appreciated once his work on Kurdish

grammar is put in a historical context. He devised a Kurdish grammar

in the 1920s, a period in which Arabic language was considered the

only language of God. Kaban's challenge was not just discovering and

writing the rules of Kurdish grammar; he also had to overcome social

and religious barriers, and stand up against the claims that enriching

the Kurdish language was a crime. For a person like Kaban, with a

religious background, this was a great challenge.

Gullzar (Flower Garden) - for rules of Kurdish grammar

Kaban was the first Kurd in the new established British mandate

"Iraq" to produce a grammar for the Central Kurdish "Sorani" dialect.

He did this despite the many intellectuals who earlier did not believe

that Kurdish had a grammar like other languages.

In 1928, Kaban published "Mukhtasari Sarf u Nahwi Kurdi" -

Summary of Kurdish Grammar, which was based on Gullzar. This

became a school textbook for the fourth and fifth grades of Silémanî

province primary schools.

Just after Mamost Kaban's Gullzar and Summary of Grammar, the

Ministry of Education asked Tewfiq Wahbi, the well-known scholar

and literary figure, to write a Kurdish grammar book. In 1929-30, the

Iraqi government published Wahbi's book Rules of Kurdish Grammar.

Wahbi may have modified the Arabic letters contemporaneously with

Kaban; that is why on one occasion [1], he writes that he is the first

one who achieved this modification. Kaban calmly challenged Wahbi

to prove it [2]. Then Wahbi admitted, with respect, that Kaban had

been first [3]. However, Wahbi also stated that in 1892, well before

either of them, Ali Taramakhi and Yusuf Ziya Pasha produced their

Kurdish grammar in the Kurmanji dialect.

The publications of Sa'id Kaban

Mukhtasari Sarf u Nahwi Kurdi [Muxteserî Serf ú Nehwî Kurdî]

(Summary of Kurdish Grammar) Najah publishing house, Baghdad,

1928; 76 pages. This book has several components:

The book is based on Gullzar, which Kaban produced in 1920. He

laid down the foundation of Kurdish grammar, albeit based on Arabic

grammar, and it is regarded as the first book in the Central Kurdish

"Sorani" dialect that tackles several Kurdish grammatical issues. He

proposed to use modified Arabic letters with diacritical-like marks

instead of Arabic ones. This would have been seen as a great

challenge to Islam in that time; it would also have been regarded as

tampering with the language of God - by a religious scholar from an

extremely religious family.

Kaban's modification lead also to the identified sounds (hence letters)

which were specific to Kurdish and do not exist in Arabic (KAL's

note: but some existed already in Persian and old Ottoman alphabets),

such as:

P - as in Pet [ پ ]

C (CH), - as in Chin [ چ ]

Jh - as in measure [ ژ ]

G - as in Gap [ گ ]

ll - velar L as in file [ ڵ ]

O, o- as in Over [ ۆ ]

É, é - as in Hair [ ێ ]

In this way, he pushed the number of Kurdish letters to 36. Kaban did

not come up with a set of totally new characters, which was the

beauty of his work. He simply added diacritical-like marks to the

Arabic ones and adopted them into Kurdish. For the first time, he

talked about the roots of Kurdish words, and he recorded several

morphemes in Kurdish language - namely le, pe, te and hal.

Before publishing this book, Kaban had given it to a number of

Kurdish intellectuals of his era; they all commented on it and adored

it. They were Mala Afandi Hewlérî, Mala Muhammadi Kurdi, Amin

Zaki Bag, Said Noori Berzinjî, Shekh Ibrahim Afandi al-Haydari,

Abdulla Zéwar and Jamil Sidqi Zehawî.

Méjhúy Púlî Sé (History for Third-Year Primary Schools), Baghdad,

1931

This is a school textbook which was studied for several years in

Kurdish primary schools. It was translated from Arabic.

Maa'loomat Dînî (Religious Information) Baghdad, 1932; 55 pages

This is a religious school textbook for the fifth year in Kurdish

primary schools. Kaban translated it with Said Fatah Berzinjî and Said

Noori Berzinjî from an Arabic book authored by Said Muhammad

Sa'id al-Rawi. Muhammad al-Quzliji, a lecturer in Jamia Hussain

Pasha (Hussain Pasha Mosque) reviewed the book; his review was

published as an appendix of the book.

Kaban's manuscripts

Kaban also left a number of manuscripts with historical and linguistic

significance. Kaban, as a teacher, needed to prepare textbooks; these

manuscripts were used for this purpose.

Four religious studies

Four of these are the history of Islam, where he talks about the good

will of prophets and mercenaries. Kaban finished two of these in 1925

(32 pages and 40 pages respectively) and he finished the other two in

1928 (54 pages and 40 pages).

Geography of Kurdistan

In 1928, Kaban finished writing a 34-page book on Kurdish

geography. Kaban sent this book to the Ministry of Science

(Education) and asked them to utilise the book as school textbook, but

it was rejected. He receive a letter on 27 October 1928 (No 6327)

from the Ministry saying that the topic of geography was not studied

in Arabic schools yet, so it was not appropriate to study it in Kurdish

schools.

Qiraa'ti Kurdi (Kurdish Readings)

Kaban wrote this 67-page school textbook manuscript in 1927. He

says in the introduction: "This consists of moral, religious, literary

and patriotic texts. I urge respectable teachers to take care of pupils

and teach them with care. After readings and teaching (these texts),

explain their use, summarise them and ask the pupils questions in

order to help the pupils to understand thoroughly and find the reading

useful."

This book can be seen as the start of Kurdish children's literature.

Asul u Qawaidi Tajweed

This book has been translated from Turkish and is 16 pages.

When he was transferred to the Kurdish town of Sargallo to teach,

Kaban devised 6000 mathematical problems for the pupils. Some

regard Kaban, for this work, as the first Kurdish mathematics writer.

(Sargallo is one of the cities that was gassed by Saddam's regime in

1987, one year before Halabja.)

Seyda Jigerxwîn, (1903 - 1984)

The Writer and Kurdish poet Seyda

Jigerxwîn, was born in 1903 to Hesaré,

village near the city of Mardin. His real name

was Shexmús Hesen. During World War I in

early 1914 which led to the fall of Ottoman

Empire and creation of the new state of Turkey, Seyda's family forced

to become refugees of war and fled to Amude near the city of

Qamishli in today's North Eastern Syria. From 1923, he become a

militates for the Kurdish cause and after the destruction of the revolt

of Sheik Seyîd in 1925, he had to flee the new born Turkish state.

Jigerxwîn studied theology and became a cleric in 1921. In 1948 he

joined the Communist Party of Syria and became a candidate for

parliament in 1954. He left the party in 1957 to create the Azadî

(Freedom) organization. Later, this new party was united with the

Kurdish Democratic Party of Syria. He was arrested and jailed in

Damascus in 1963 and exiled to the city of Siweyda. In 1969 he

moved to Iraqi Kurdistan, where he took part in the uprising. In 1973

he fled to Lebanon where he published the poetry collection of "Kî

me ez?" (Who Am I?).

Jigerxwîn returned to Syria in last 1976. The unbearable situation in

Syria forced him to go to exile again in 1989. This time he resided in

Sweden where many collections of his poems were published.

Jigerxwîn is the author of ten collections of Kurdish poetry. Seyde

Jigerxwîn passed away in 1984 at the age of 70. He was brought back

to Kurdistan buried as closest as he code get to his home town of

Mardin in the Kurdish city of Qamishlî.

Publications

AGIR Ú PIRÚSK, Jigerxwîn,

SEWRA AZADÎ, Jigerxwîn,

KÎ ME EZ?, Jigerxwîn, dîwana ekan, Stockholm, 1980,

RONAK, Jigerxwîn, dîwana caran, Stockholm, 1980,

ZEND-AVISTA, Jigerxwîn, dîwana péncan, Stockholm, 1981,

SHEFAQ, Jigerxwîn, dîwana sheshan, Stockholm, 1982,

HÉVÎ, Jigerxwîn, dîwana heftan, Stockholm, 1993,

ASHTÎ, Jigerxwîn

SALAR Ú MÎDYA, Jigerxwîn

SHEREFNAMA MENZÚM, Jigerxwîn

FOLKLORA KURDÎ, Jigerxwîn, Stockholm, 1988,

TARÎXA KURDISTAN, Jigerxwîn, berga 2, Stockholm, 1987,

Taufiq Wahby (1891-1984)

Mr. Taufiq Wahby (Kurdish:

Tewfîq Wehbî, the champion of

the codification of the central

dialect of Kurdish language in

1920's was the Kurdish philologist

and army officer. Colonel Tofiq

Wahby (1891-1984) served as a colonel of the army in the Ottoman

Empire. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and creation of the new

state of Iraq under British supervision, Wahby become an influential

member of the new Iraqi army. His scientific and highly remarkable

efforts were met with refusal when confronted with the Arab rule

nationalistically oriented Iraqi Ministry of Culture. The reason given

was that no 'foreign accents' or Kurdish "caps" could be placed on the

'holy Arabic letters', the letters in which the Qur'an (Koran) is written.

It is worth mentioning that the so-called Arabic letters originally were

neither Arabic nor Islamic. They already existed in pre-Islamic times,

and were derived from the Old Aramaic script, i.e. from the ancient

language of the Jews. Despite of the fact that the Kurdish press, and

the schoolbooks which were printed for Kurdish primary schools by

the Iraqi government could not employ this alphabet until the end of

the 1950's, this alphabet, which was modernised and adapted for the

Kurdish language, was nevertheless known amongst the Kurds.

There was something else the abovementioned Wahby at his time heal

endeavored to do. It was in the early 1920‘s when he enlisted the

Latin alphabet for the use of Kurdish in a form that leaned heavily an

English linguistic usage. His efforts then were also unsuccessful,

because the Iraqi government, using Islamic religious arguments

likewise forbade the dissemination of a "European-Christian" script in

Muslim Iraq. ln connection with this, it should be pointed out that

Wahby held eight ministerial posts in the Iraqi government. It should

be noted that Wahby's Latin alphabet, like that of J. Bedir Khan

(whose alphabet relied less on English linguistic use than on that of

the French and Turkish alphabets), displayed several flaws. Had these

two scholars collaborated, the Kurdish people today would in all

probability have a better Latin alphabet.

Regarding to this J. Bedir Khan reply to a reader's enquires about

unification of Kurdish alphabet and cooperation with T. Wahby in

HAWAR issues 9, 30 Sep 1932 --the first Kurdish paper written in

adapted Latin (French and Turkish) based alphabet by J. Bedir Khan

in French Syria—that

"Yes, we are aware that the distinguished linguist, dear Tewfiq Wehbi

Bey has also codified an alphabet based on Latin characters. We met

once in Damascus, introduced our proposed alphabets to each other

and compared them together. There were some differences in them.

We both were interested in unifying and publishing our alphabets as

one version but at the time my dear beloved brother indicated his

alphabet was not ready yet and some more work was needed to

complete it. Therefore the unification of both alphabets was delayed.

Tewfiq Wehbi Bey then returned to Iraq where, as you all know,

unpleasant events took place. In spite of all difficulties I sent him

several letters, but I did not hear from him. Later I realized that my

letters have not reached him. Indeed the publication of Hawar was

delayed for this reason. Hawar came out in May but I have had

permission to publish since 26 October 1931 and was ready for the

publication of the first issue by February. On four occasions I waited

so the dear brother (T. Wehbi) and I could together introduce such a

version of alphabet that would prevent any future disagreements. As I

said above I did not get any response. I could not wait any longer. "

T. Wahbi was a gifted linguist personality who promoted the Kurdish

language and culture. T. Wahby continued his linguistic ambitions in

many years to come and he published several books and article in this

line. Some of his best known publications are the Kurdish Grammar

(Baghdad 1929) and the Kurdish-English Dictionary (Oxford press

1966) which he co-published with C.J. Edmonds.

T. Wahbi held several government posts, including director-general of

irrigation and director of land survey (1942). He was appointed

minister of the economy in 1944. He later become become a member

of the Iraqi Senate. At the time of the Iraqi revolution of 1958 Wahbi

was in the UK and remained in London until his death in 1982. He

was an active member of Baghdad PEN

Club. T. Whabi will always remembered

among the first pioneers of Kurdish

codification and orthography. Wahby

died in 1984 at age of 93.

Publications

1925 - "Kurdiyekeman be con hirúfék ú

con binúsîn?" (In what character and how should we write our

Kurdish?), Diyarî Kurdistan, No. 5, pp. 5-6, No. 6, pp. 5-6.

1929 - "Destúrî Zimanî Kurdî"(Grammar of the Kurdish language).

Baghdad: Dar al-Tiba'a al-Haditha.

1933 - "Xiwéndewariy Baw", Baghdad: Dar al-Tiba'a al-Haditha.

1965 - "The origins of the Kurds and their language," Kurdistan

(KSSE), No. IX and X, July, pp. 23-28.

1966 - "A Kurdish-English dictionary", [T. Wahby and Cecil John

Edmonds], Oxford Press

1973 - "Esllî pîte qalibî "e":y ú shéwey Silémanî" (Origins of the

inflectional "e" in Sulaymani dialect), GKZK (Govarî Korrî Zanyarî

Kurd), 1973, Vol. 1, Part I, pp. 9-34.

1973 - "Haul Maqal 'Mas'uliyya al-Adib al-Kurdi al-Kubra' lil-Ustad

'Abd al-Majid Lutfi " (On the article "The Great Responsibility of the

Kurdish Literary Men" by Professor Abd al-Majid Lufti), Reprinted

from al-Ta'akhi, No. 1278, (Baghdad: al-Ta'akhi Press), 15 pp.

Xana Qubadî (1700-1759)

Khana Qubadi (Kurdish: Xana Qubadî, was born in 1700 AC in

Hewraman Province in Kurdistan. He was a pioneer Kurdish poet

who wrote in Kurdish Hawrami dialect.

He valued the Kurdish language in his work. Although the literature

of his time was highly influenced by Persian literature but he believed

that Kurdish is still the preferable language in for his poetry. He said:

Although it's said that Persian's sweet as sugar,

For me is Kurdish sweeter still.

Clearly, in this perfidious world,

Everyone is happiest with his own mother tongue.

Yusuf Ziya ad-Din Pasha

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Who was he? When/where was he born?

Shaykh Yusuf Ziya'u'd-Din (Ziya ad-Din) Pasha al-Khalidi al-

Maqdisf,

A Kurdish-Arabic Dictionary (الهدیّـة المحمیدیّـة فی اللّغـة الكردیّـة), with an

Introduction on the Grammar of the language, concluding with an

Anthology, Pp- 3I9- Constantinopol, 1310 (1892-3).

An article from the First Kurdish news paper "Kurdistan" about this

book

―Hin Xalidi hene, li Qudsa şerif in. Yek ji van, xweyfezl u kerem şex

Yusuf Ziyaeddin Paşa ye. Xwede umre wi direj u ilme wi zede bike.

Beri şeş sala kitebek çekiriye, nave ve kitebe ―El-Hediyyet‘ul

Hemidiyye fi‘l Luxet‘il Kurdiyye" ye. Ev kiteb wek Erebi yi behsa

qewaiden ezimane Kurmanci dike. Luxaten Kurmanci hemi gihandine

hev, ve kitebe de nivisiye. Mala wi ava, esaek ji ezmane Kurmanca re

dani. Ex hevi dikim ku ulema u mir u paşayen Kurda ji ve kitebe

peyda bikin. Gelek kitebek qenc e. Ulemayen Kurda re lazim e ku ew

ji ji ezamne xwe re tişki binivsin.‖

Kurdistan 7 Mayıs/ sene 1314 (1898)

Mikdat Mithat Bey (Bedirhanzade)

irecmehrbexs@gmail.com