Kurdish Grammarians

KURDISH GRAMMARIANS SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS KURDISH GRAMMARIANS

Îrec Mêhrbexş

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 (19402007) Dr. Abdull Rahman Haji Maref (Kurdish: EwRehman 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 awellkirdar. 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-olFonun 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, 19181985" (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. 106162. ―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 TwentiethCentury 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. 23, 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 193238. 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 ConsulGeneral 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 nonIranian 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 titlepage. Having acquired a personal computer earlier than most in his field, he came to be known as an expert in the production of cameraready 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 selfdeprecating 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, 51129. 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 SwedishKurdish 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 newlyestablished 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 ‫)للمدارس االبتدائیه المدرسیه‬, Ed 1, Baghdad, 1965 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 eBook 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

Republican

period

during in

the

Syria

Turkish

(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 (NorthKurdish 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 selfdetermination. 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 1 st 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 ( ‫ ( ڵ‬,) ‫ڕ‬ ) and ( ‫ ) ێ‬to 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:

[ ‫ ] پ‬P - as in Pet [ ‫ ] چ‬C (CH), - as in Chin [ ‫ ] ژ‬Jh - as in measure [ ‫ ] گ‬G - as in Gap [ ‫ ] ڵ‬ll - velar L as in file [ ‫ ] ۆ‬O, o- as in Over [ ‫ ] ێ‬É, é - as in Hair 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 KAL needs your scholarly expertise in this area. Please register with us and help collecting information in this subject area. Who was he? When/where was he born?

Shaykh Yusuf Ziya'u'd-Din (Ziya ad-Din) Pasha al-Khalidi alMaqdisf, 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)

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