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Associated Press
April 2 2004
Some Facts and Figures on Kurds
PEOPLE - An estimated 20 million to 25 million Kurds live mostly in
four countries - Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq. The largest community,
with about 12 million people, is in Turkey.
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HISTORY - Kurds trace their history to ancient Mesopotamia. They were
a significant power in the early Middle Ages and after World War I
were promised an independent homeland. Recent decades have seen
Kurdish rebellions in Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
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LANGUAGE - Kurdish is an Indo-European language like English and is
closely related to Iran's Farsi. The various Kurdish dialects are to
a large extent mutually incomprehensible. The dialects include:
Kurmanji, or northern Kurdish, the largest spoken dialect, which is
spoken in southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, Syria as well as parts
of Armenia and Georgia; Sorani, or central Kurdish, which is spoken
mainly in parts of northern Iraq and western Iran; and Zaza, which is
spoken in eastern Turkey.
Kurdish dialects have borrowed heavily from other languages,
including Persian, Arabic and Turkish, but they are grammatically
distinct.
Submitted by Janoyan Ana
April 2 2004
Some Facts and Figures on Kurds
PEOPLE - An estimated 20 million to 25 million Kurds live mostly in
four countries - Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq. The largest community,
with about 12 million people, is in Turkey.
---__
HISTORY - Kurds trace their history to ancient Mesopotamia. They were
a significant power in the early Middle Ages and after World War I
were promised an independent homeland. Recent decades have seen
Kurdish rebellions in Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
---__
LANGUAGE - Kurdish is an Indo-European language like English and is
closely related to Iran's Farsi. The various Kurdish dialects are to
a large extent mutually incomprehensible. The dialects include:
Kurmanji, or northern Kurdish, the largest spoken dialect, which is
spoken in southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, Syria as well as parts
of Armenia and Georgia; Sorani, or central Kurdish, which is spoken
mainly in parts of northern Iraq and western Iran; and Zaza, which is
spoken in eastern Turkey.
Kurdish dialects have borrowed heavily from other languages,
including Persian, Arabic and Turkish, but they are grammatically
distinct.
Submitted by Janoyan Ana