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The history of the Kurdish people stretches from ancient times. The Kurds are an ethno-linguistic group who have historically inhabited the mountainous areas to the south of Caucasus (Zagros and Taurus mountain ranges), a geographical area collectively referred to as Kurdistan. This region now covers northern Iraq, western and north-western Iran, north-eastern Syria and south-eastern Turkey. Kurds are also found in south-western Armenia and an enclave in Azerbaijan (Kalbajar and Lachin, to the west of Nagorno Karabakh). They are also found in north-eastern Iran in Khorasan.

At the end of the First World War, the territory of this nomadic, independent population was parcelled out to Turkey, Iran and Iraq, at the Lausanne Conference. Autonomy was promised for the Iraqi section only.

Some of the Kurdist groups sought self-determination and the championing of Kurdish autonomy in the aftermath of World War I in the Treaty of Sèvres, but the Turkish resurgence under Kemal Atatürk prevented such a result. Kurds backed by the United Kingdom declared independence in 1927 and established so-called Republic of Ararat.

Turkey suppressed Kurdish revolts in 1925, 1930, and 1937 to 1938. Following these rebellions, the area of Turkish Kurdistan was put under martial law and a large number of the Kurds were displaced. Government also encouraged resettlement of Albanians from Kosovo and Assyrians in the region to change the population makeup. These events and measures led to a long-lasting mutual distrust between Ankara and the Kurds.

Iran also suppressed Kurdish revolts in the 1920s. A short-lived Soviet-sponsored Kurdish Republic of Mahabad in Iran did not long outlast World War II.

When Ba'athist administrators thwarted Kurdish nationalist ambitions in Iraq, war broke out in the 1960’s. In 1970 the Kurds rejected limited territorial self-rule within Iraq, demanding larger areas including the oil-rich Kirkuk region. Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. Elections were held simultaneously for the assembly of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Alliance represents a coalition of the two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan – once engaged in a civil war with each other – along with many smaller groups.

Although Kurdish has a north western Iranian root, little is known about Kurdish in pre-Islamic times. The most notable language in this group is Median, of which little is known either. The sacred book of the Yazidis, Mishefa Reş (Black Book) was written in Kurmanji Kurdish by Shaikh Adi's son in early 13th century. From the 15th to 17th centuries, classical Kurdish poets and writers developed a literary language. The most famous classical Kurdish poets from this period are Ali Hariri, Ahmad Khani, Malaye Jaziri and Faqi Tayran.

Today, Kurdish is an official language in Iraq, while it is banned in Syria where it is forbidden to publish material in Kurdish. Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media. Up to 2001, the use of Kurdish was still widely restricted by the Turkish government and singing in Kurdish was not allowed.

The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized in Turkey, (even tape recordings are not allowed) and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet has led to prosecution and harassment as recently as 2008. Over the past two years, numerous human rights activist and politicians all over south-eastern Turkey, have been taken to court due to use of Kurdish, sometimes as minor as only a few words: sending a greeting card with the words happy new year in Kurdish, for example, or saying my dear sisters in a speech at a political rally. Such lawsuits have become so common that in some cases the accused is simply fined for using the letters W, X or Q — present in the Kurdish but not the Turkish alphabet — in an official capacity. In cases involving elected politicians, like Abdullah Demirbas (mayor of Sur, Diyarbakir's central district), the language usage is sometimes considered disloyalty and can carry a prison sentence.

In Iran, though it is used in some local media and newspapers, it is forbidden in schools and not accepted as an official language. As a result many Iranian Kurds have left for Iraqi Kurdistan where they can study in their native language.

In March 2006, Turkey allowed private television channels to begin airing Kurdish language programming. However, the Turkish government said that they must avoid showing children's cartoons, or educational programs that teach the Kurdish language, and can only broadcast for 45 minutes a day or four hours a week. The programs must carry Turkish subtitles. Kurdish blogs have emerged in recent years where Kurdish-speaking Internet users can express themselves in their native Kurdish or in other languages. Kurdish satellite television is also available in the Middle East and Europe.

The main geographical division within Kurdish is between Northern and Central dialects.

The main northern dialect is Kurmanji; northern dialects are spoken in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Mosul and Bahdinan regions in Iraq, and Kurdish communities in Khorasan (northeast of Iran).

The main central dialect, Sorani; central dialects are spoken in Arbil, Sulaimaniya, Kirkuk (all in Iraq), Mahabad and Sanandaj (in Iran).

The average Diyarbakir Kurmanji speaker will not find it easy to communicate with the inhabitants of Suleymaniya or Halabja. A potentially unified form, emerging either via the natural or organised merger of Kurmanji and Sorani is humorously dubbed Soranji by Kurds.

A further complication is that a considerable number of the ‘Turkish workers’ living in several countries of western Europe, and who consider themselves to be ethnic Kurds, speak the quite different language of Zaza. (This is also one of the Iranian family of languages). Gurani is another separate language spoken by a community of ethnic Kurds.

The Kurdish language uses three different writing systems. In Iran and Iraq (Sorani) it is written using a modified version of the Arabic alphabet (and more recently, sometimes with the Latin alphabet in Iraqi Kurdistan). In Turkey and Syria (Kurmanji), it is now written using a Latin alphabet similar to Turkish. Kurdish in the former USSR is written with a modified Cyrillic alphabet assigned in 1945.

Kurdish Cuisine includes a wide variety of foods ranging from Kutilk, Berbesel, kellane, kullerenaske, dokliw (a thick soup), biryani, parêv Tobouli, kuki (meat and/or vegetable pies), birinç (white rice alone or with addition of meat and/or vegetables and herbs), and a diverse variety of salads, pastries, and drinks specific to different parts of Kurdistan: maqlooba, kofta, shifta, maraga. Spinach leaves with eggs, Wheat & Lentil soup, Beet & Meat soup, Sweet Turnip, Cardamon Cookies, Burgul Pilaf, melemen, ûr û rûvî, mehîr, yaprakh, chichma, tefti, niskene, nane niskan are also common food in Kurdish cuisine. Burgul (bulgur) used to be the staple food. Rice is becoming more popular. The Kurdish diet includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Cucumbers are especially common. Kurdish cuisine uses many fresh herbs and vegetables, and lamb and chicken are the primary meats. Breakfast is typically flat bread with honey with delicious sheep or buffalo yoghurt, and a glass of black tea. Savoury dishes are usually served with rice or flat bread. Lamb and vegetables are simmered in a tomato sauce to make a delicate stew that is usually served with rice. In the spring and summer, salads and fresh herbs are often on the dinner table. Kurds also make many types of kofta and kubba, dumplings filled with meat. Black, sweetened tea is Kurdistan’s favourite drink. Mastaw, about two tablespoons of yoghurt added to a cup of cold water, usually with a little salt, is very popular and often accompanies Dolma or Yaprakh. During the festival of Nawroz, Kurds typically picnic in the countryside, often taking a large pot of yaprakh. Also known throughout the Mediterranean as dolma, yaprakh is a dish of freshly picked vine leaves stuffed with rice, meat, herbs and garlic, and then simmered in a large pot.

The Kurdistan Region has fertile soil and a hot summer climate ideal for growing grapes and orchard fruits such as pomegranate, fig, and walnut. The Region’s honey has a clear light taste and is often sold with the honeycomb. Kurdistan also produces excellent sheep and buffalo dairy products. In the valleys where grapes are grown, raisins and grape jam are common.

Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers – storytellers, minstrels and bards. There was no specific music related to the Kurdish princely courts, and instead, music performed in night gatherings is considered classical. Several musical forms are found in this genre. Many songs and are epic in nature, such as the popular Lawik's which are heroic ballads recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes of the past like Saladin. Heyrans are love ballads usually expressing the melancholy of separation and unfulfilled love. Lawje is a form of religious music and Payizoks are songs performed specifically in autumn. Love songs, dance music, wedding and other celebratory songs (dîlok/narînk), epic oral poetry and work songs are also popular.

Kurdish dance is a group of traditional hand-holding dances similar to those from the Balkans, Lebanon, and Iraq. It is a form of round dancing, with a single or a couple of figure dancers often at the centre of the dancing circle.

Kurds sing and dance in all of their festivals, birthdays and marriage ceremonies. These folkloric dances are one of the main factors in distinguishing Kurds from neighbouring Muslim populations.

Kurdish films mainly evoke poverty and the lack of rights of Kurdish people in the region. Yilmaz Guney (Yol) and Bahman Qubadi are among the better known Kurdish directors.

Kurdish rugs are woven by the Kurdish people in the Middle East and the southern-most Caucasus.

They are stout and solid in structure, usually made in symmetrical knotting upon a woollen foundation.

Translation projects undertaken in Kurdish include web site content, sales and marketing material, documentation requirements for engineering and manufacturing.

Total Language Solutions are translation specialists in Kurdish DTP, print ready and electronic forms of material, integrating text and diagrams and more besides into and out of Hebrew.

Total Language Solutions are translation experts in the relevance of text, drawings, colours and layout presentation and localisation to meet consumer expectations and norms, without causing offence.

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