Gorani (Kurds)

Gorani (also Gurani) is a dialect spoken by several hundreds of thousands of Kurds in the province of Kurdistan and province of Kermanshah in Iran, and in the Halabja region in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Hewraman mountains between Iran and Iraq. The dialect is distinct in terms of grammar and vocabulary and is still debated by some linguists as a language apart from the standard modern Kurdish language.

Gorani is considered to be the closest Indo-Iranian language to Zazaki. The oldest literary documents in these related languages, or dialects, are written in Gorani. Hewrami, considered a sub-dialect of Gorani, is a very distinct dialect spoken by Kurds in a region called Hewraman along the Iran-Iraq border. Many Gorani speakers belong to the religious grouping Yarsanism, with a large number of religious documents written in Gorani.

Since the nineteenth century, Gorani has slowly been replaced by Sorani in several cities, both in Iran and Iraq. For large populations of Kurds, Sorani has replaced Gorani in cities such as Kirkuk, Meriwan and Halabja, which are still considered part of the greater Goran region.

Written literature:
* Shîrîn u Xusrew by Xanay Qûbadi (lived 1700-1759), published 1975 in Bagdad.
* Diwan des Feqe Qadiri Hemewend, 19th century
* The Koran in Gorani, translated in the 19. Century by Haci Nuri Eli Ilahi (Nuri Eli Shah).

Hewrami

Hewrami or Hawrami is an archaic branch of the Kurdish language. Sometimes it is called Gorani Kurdish as well. It is mostly spoken in Hewraman (also Hawraman or Huraman) in western Iran (Eastern Kurdistan) and northeastern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan). The key cities of this region are Pawe in Eastern Kurdistan and Halabja in Southern Kurdistan. The Hewrami dialect of Kurdish is sometimes called Auramani or Hurami. Hewrami is very similar to Avestan, the language of the ancient religion of Zoroastrainism. Prayers are still recited by Hewrami Kurds throughout this region of Kurdistan using a style called Siya Çemen (pron: Seeyah Cheman) in Hewrami, where the one reciting the prayer uses high notes to sing holy verses of Zoroastrian faith. Today, some Hewrami-speaking Kurds use the Siya Çemen style of singing to perform traditional songs.

Several Kurdish scholars regard Hewrami as one of the oldest dialects of the Kurdish language. Some linguists also claim that Hewrami has similarities to the language of the ancient Hurrian tribes that once dominated regions in Kurdistan, and that the name Hewrami or Hurami is derived from Hurrian.

Generally, the majority of Hewrami Kurds can speak Sorani as well in order to communicate with other Kurds in neighboring cities.

External links

* Ethnologue's Report for Hewrami
* Kurdish Institut Kurdish language, history, books and latest news articles.
* Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing? by Michiel Leezenberg, University of Amsterdam